Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s highly anticipated meeting with Oprah Winfrey is already being attacked by a royal expert.
On Sunday, CBS launched the first two tell-all promos where the media mogul is heard asking the Duchess of Sussex: “Were you silent or were you silenced?”
Royal biographer Robert Jobson said the trailer was full of “exaggerated and melodramatic absurdities”.
“The queen and the royal family are not the Corleone family from Windsor,” he told the UK’s DailyMail on Monday. “There are no gunmen or heavyweights out there silencing people. Meghan, while working for royalty, has always been protected by a team of Scotland Yard officers. Fortunately, she was never in physical danger and Harry knows it.”
OPRAH WINFREY TEASES MEGHAN MARKLE, PRINCE HARRY INTERVIEW: ‘SHOCKING THINGS’
“Talking about being ‘silenced’ is just ridiculous,” he continued. “It is suitable for a narrative, I suppose, but at what cost to the queen, Prince Philip, the royal family and our reputation as a country?”
In the clips, Harry invoked the memory of his late mother, Princess Diana, who had to find her way alone after she and Prince Charles divorced.
“I’m very relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side, because I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for her to go through this process alone all these years ago.” the 36-year-old said, adding, “because it has been incredibly difficult for both of us. But at least we have each other.”
The Princess of Wales was shown holding little Harry while he made comments. His mother died in 1997 of injuries sustained in a car accident at age 36.
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In one of the clips, which aired on Sunday during CBS magazine “60 Minutes”, Winfrey, 67, said to Markle, 39, “you said some pretty shocking things here” without any indication of what she was referring to. The former American actress was not seen in the clips.
The media reported that “This Morning” host Holly Willoughby announced that Winfrey’s team had been in contact with ITV to film an interview with Markle’s half sister, Samantha Markle.
In a January 2020 broadcast, Samantha said that the former “Suits” star and Harry owed her and her father, former Hollywood lighting director Thomas Markle, an apology for the “incredibly wrong, unpleasant behavior” and shocking “after the royal wedding in 2019.
“Oprah Winfrey’s team contacted ‘This Morning’ requesting a footage of our interview with Samantha Markle in preparation for the interview with the Duchess of Sussex,” said Willoughby. “We don’t know whether they used it or not in the interview, but what we do know is that nothing was off limits.”
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Prince Harry (left) talked about the mistreatment that his late mother, Princess Diana, suffered through the press.
(Reuters)
In the clips, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seen sitting across from Winfrey, holding hands during the interview in a lush garden.
The couple lives in Montecito, California, where they are neighbors of Winfrey, who also attended the wedding. Markle, who recently announced that she is pregnant with the couple’s second child, wore a black empire-style dress with embroidery. Harry wore a light gray suit and white dress shirt, without a tie.
Markle married Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson at Windsor Castle in May 2018, and her son, Archie, was born a year later.
The couple moved away from real life full-time in March 2020, dissatisfied with media scrutiny and the restrictions on their roles. They cited what they described as intrusions and racist attitudes by the British media towards the Duchess, who is African American.
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In January 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they were retreating as senior members of the British royal family.
(Getty)
It was agreed that the situation would be reviewed after one year. On Friday, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the couple will not return to royal duties and that Harry will relinquish his honorary military titles – a decision that makes the couple’s separation from the royal family formal and final.
The pair noted that “they will not return as working members of the Royal Family”.
A spokesman for the couple responded to suggestions that Markle and Harry were not dedicated to duty.
“As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented, regardless of their official role. “said the spokesman in a statement.
MEGHAN MARKLE, SAT OF PRINCE HARRY OF OPRAH WILL BE ON THE SAME DAY THAT THE ADDRESS OF QUEEN ELIZABETH’S COMMONWEALTH
Oprah Winfrey is friends with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. She also attended the royal wedding in 2018.
(Reuters / Lucy Nicholson)
The interview, entitled “Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special”, will air on March 7.
“Winfrey will speak to Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, in an extensive interview, covering everything from entering life as royalty, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public pressure,” according to to CBS. “Later, the two join Prince Harry as they talk about their move to the United States and their hopes and future dreams for their expanding family.”
The meeting will air on the same day that the queen will give a speech on TV for Community Day. Last year’s Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey marked the last royal appearance by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. This year’s plans were canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Older members of the royal family, including Prince Charles, Prince William and Kate Middleton, among others, are also expected to participate.
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The Oprah Winfrey session of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will air on the same day as Queen Elizabeth II’s speech on television on Community Day.
(Getty)
Community Day is on Monday, March 8.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.