Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are being criticized the most on Friday morning for their interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcasting Sunday at CBS.
The couple said the press was one of the driving forces behind their decision to move to the United States, but the UK’s royal family has relied on the media for generations to get support.
UK tabloids seem to have their knives in search of Meghan instead of explosive interview, and with Buckingham Palace investigating allegations of intimidation against the Duchess, CBS News Holly Williams’ reports that a total war appears to be taking shape – Harry and Meghan on the one hand, the palace on the other.
Amid accusations that the Sussex meeting is deaf, a host of “Good Morning Britain” said the timing of his next interview was described as “unhappy”.
The screen’s personality, Piers Morgan, called it “thick beyond belief”.
“I don’t understand what they want or what they think will win,” said another commentator.
With Harry’s grandfather Prince Philip in the hospital and a deadly pandemic on the rise, the couple is revealing everything about leaving real life behind.
In a catchphrase from the interview, Winfrey asks, “How do you feel about the palace hearing you speak your truth today?”
“I don’t know how they could expect that, after all this time, we would still be silent if there was an active role that ‘The Firm’ is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us,” Meghan said in the preview.
British comedian Gina Yashere, who lives in Los Angeles, told CBS News that the criticism from across the pond is yet another example of British racism – which she described as more subtle than the American variety.
“She wouldn’t do this interview with Oprah, they wouldn’t be in California, if it weren’t for the way they were reported, the way they were harassed and harassed while doing their royal duties,” said Yashere.
Although there was joy in the country when Harry married his beautiful and charismatic bride, a recent opinion poll found that only 32% of the British public viewed her favorably.
An ambitious, self-confident and outspoken American horrified the British establishment, said journalist Ayesha Hazarika.
“British culture is still incredibly socially conservative,” she said. “And British tabloids and British educated society – they prefer women in the royal family to be seen, but not heard.”
This is a game that the Duchess is clearly not willing to play.
Meghan’s supporters pointed out that while the palace is investigating his behavior, he never publicly announced an investigation into the charges against Prince Andrew, a former friend of Jeffrey Epstein.