LONDON (UK) – Amid months of numerous controversies and speculations regarding the “toxic” atmosphere between Prince Harry and his wife Meghan and the British monarchy, the couple’s highly anticipated Oprah Winfrey interview will air on US television today. In the interview, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will talk about the circumstances that lead them to cancel their official royal ties from and their decision to abandon Britain to move to California and start new lives.
The interview is set to be broadcast in Britain on Monday as well as in many other countries around the world.
The last person who appeared on television from the royal family was late Princess Diana, who had shared intimate details of her failed marriage to Harry’s father, Prince Charles.
“I’m ready to talk,” Meghan, a former American actress, told Winfrey in an excerpt shown on U.S. station CBS, saying it was “liberating” to be able to give the interview.
Meghan and Harry’s detractors say the couple want the glamour of their positions without the dedication it requires or scrutiny it brings.
To their supporters, their treatment shows how an outdated British institution has lashed out against a modern, biracial woman, with undertones of racism.
In another extract released ahead of the broadcast, Meghan accuses Buckingham Palace of “perpetuating falsehoods” about them, saying they would not be silent in telling their story.
According to the sources Harry and Meghan wanted to have their say as they began a new chapter – moving home with a baby on the way after ending royal duties and on the back of a successful court case against a tabloid newspaper.
Some experts said the interview could damage the royal family, just as the split between Charles and Diana did. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams says, “The interview is a form of revenge. The link in people’s minds can only be the constant attacks on each other by Charles and Diana, which were so damaging to the monarchy in the 1990s. He added that the Palace’s move appeared to be a “pre-emptive strike” ahead of the interview.
In response to the report, a spokeswoman for Meghan said she was “saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself.”
The decision to do the sit-down interview with Winfrey, recorded some two weeks ago, has already attracted criticism, partly because it will air while Harry’s 99-year-old grandfather Prince Philip, the queen’s husband, is in hospital.
Buckingham Palace, which has made no comment on the interview, said it would investigate the claims, saying it was “very concerned”.
