Maand na maand, week na week, dag na dag, hittegolf na hittegolf, bosbrand na bosbrand, overstroming na overstroming. Canada, Oregon, Siberië, India, China, Duitsland, België en Nederland, Californië, Griekenland, Italië, Turkije… Het gaat maar door, het gaat maar door.
Er spelen hier twee factoren, twee dimensies van dezelfde rampzaligheden.
Gemeenschappelijke factor nummer een: klimaatverandering, die temperaturen doet stijgen, met extreme weersverschijnselen van hittegolf en droogtes tot plensbuien als gevolg. Die klimaatverandering heeft een oorzaak: uitstoot van broeikasgas, vooral vanwege productie, voedsel- en energievoorziening en vervoer. Die oorzaak is te bestrijden, en dat gebeurt volstrekt onvoldoende.
Gemeenschappelijke factor nummer twee: beroerde bestrijding van de veelal catastrofale gevolgen van droogte, hitte en overstroming. Niet overal is de nalatigheid even erg, niet overal even hard verwijtbaar: er gebeuren ook echt dingen die nauwelijks waren te voorzien en waartegen je je ook maar moeilijk kunt beschermen. Maar adequaat is de rampenbestrijding vaak bepaald niet, en dat geld maar al te vaak ook voor de zorg voor slachtoffers.
1
Laten we eens wat specifieker worden. In Jakoetië, in het noordoosten van Siberië, woedden in juli gigantische branden. Die komen na vijf jaren met zomerse snoeihitte, en in een zomer die volgens de Guardian door functionarissen beschreven worden als ‘de droogste in 150 jaar’.(1) De verschrikkingen doen zich voor in wat de NOS aanduidt als ‘Ruslands koudste regio’. Weinig kou dus.’Volgens lokale functionarissen is daar sprake van de droogste en heetste zomer in meer dan 100 jaar. Temperaturen van boven de 38 graden sloegen alle hitterecords.’(2)
Gevolg is een smerige smog die de gezondheid van bewoners bedreigt. Bewoners beschrijven de branden als uitzonderlijk groot. En ze noemen oorzaken: ‘van de klimaatcrisis tot slechte paraatheid van de regering, tot een verbod op het verwijderen van droog gras, bezuinigingen op bosbouwdiensten, beweerde brandstichting en vooral de hete zomers’.(3) Daar zie je de twee factoren. Het klimaat is op hol. Het bestuur is niet adequaat voorbereid op de gevolgen. Die gevolgen zelf dragen weer bij aan de klimaatcatastrofe: ‘Niet alleen worden er door de branden enorme hoeveelheden broeikasgassen de lucht in gepompt, ook de Siberische permafrost smelt, de ondergrond die eigenlijk nooit helemaal ontdooit’.(4) Door dat smelten komt steeds meer methaan vrij. Dat methaan, je raadt het al, is zelf weer een broeikasgas. Zo voedt de klimaatramp zichzelf.
Dit soort rampen krijgen ene paar nieuwsberichten, maar ze worden al snel door soortgelijke ellende elders uit de publiciteit geduwd. Vaak zijn er zelfs meerdere rampen tegelijk gaande. Terwijl Jakoetië brandde, sloegen ook in het zuiden van de Amerikaanse staat Oregon de vlammen om zich heen een hele grote vuurzee, in wat de Bootleg Fire genoemd werd. Het is de op twee na grootste brand in de geschiedenis van de staat. De geproduceerde hitte is zo groot dat de brand zelf heftige weersverschijnselen op gang brengt. ‘De intensiteit en extreme hitte kan de wind dwingen om er om heen te gaan, wolken te creëren en soms zelfs zogeheten vuurtornado’s op te wekken – kolkende kolommen van hitte, rook en sterke wind’, zo wordt in Common Dreams de New York Times geciteerd. Common Dreams schrijf er doodleuk bij: ‘De Bootleg Fire is een van de minstens 83 grote branden die woeden in 13 staten”, alleen al in de Verenigde Staten dus.(5)
Ook waar de boel niet brandt heeft droogte rampzalige gevolgen. Een enkel voorbeeld, uit Californië. In die staat werd een waterkrachtcentrale stilgelegd.(6) De reden: het water in Lake Oroville staat te laag, vanwege de langdurige droogte. Het waterpeil in dat meer daalde al twee jaar gestaag, en nu dreigt te laag te worden om turbines goed aan te drijven. Daarom ligt de Hyatt-centrale, een stroomleverancier die 800.000 huishoudens kan voorzien, stil. Stroom van elders halen kan wel, maar dan moeten leidingen natuurlijk niet beschadigd raken door bijvoorbeeld bosbranden elders.
Intussen trekken branden elders aandacht. Nu.nl op 32 juli 2021: ‘Griekenland, Italië en Turkije kampen nog altijd met hevige bosbranden. Dat leidde zaterdag tot nieuwe evacuaties.’(7) Op 5 augustus bleek Athene door de naderende vlammen gevaar te lopen.(8) Op 7 augustus konden we lezen dat mensen van het Griekse eiland Evia geëvacueerd zijn wegens het vuur. In Athene kwam as van brand elders omlaag. ‘Griekenland maakt de zwaarste hittegolf in dertig jaar mee. Ook kampt het land met droogte’, aldus Nu.nl dat ook bericht dat bestuurders zeggen dat er te weinig materiaal is om de branden te bestrijden.(9) Weer de twee factoren: het klimaat zorgt voor hitte en droogte. Het bestuur zorgt voor tekorten om de gevolgen te helpen op vangen. Het zelfde kapitalisme dat de rampen veroorzaakt via broeikasuitstoot, ondermijnt tegelijk de bestrijding van de gevolgen via bezuinigingen. Double fun, maar dan omgekeerd.
2
Het is zaak om die beide factoren te benoemen. Alleen wijzen op gebrekkige rampenbestrijding laat de diepere oorzaak – en daarmee de mogelijke lange termijn-oplossing, die intussen steeds onmogelijker wordt – onbenoemd, evenals de verantwoordelijke machten voor die klimaatramp. Maar alleen wijzen op de klimaatramp en de noodzaak om fossiele brand- en grondstoffen en voeding op dierlijke basis uit te bannen en zo meer, ziet over het hoofd dat mensen nu in de ellende zitten, en dat zelfs het ogenblikkelijk stopzetten van iedere broeikasuitstoot de huidige branden, droogte en overstromingen niet stillegt. Mensen hebben nu hulp en bescherming nodig, en waar regeringen die niet bieden, worden mensen logischerwijs heel boos.
Dit is een punt dat Kaveh Madani in een iets ander verband maakt met betrekking tot de watertekorten in de Iraanse provincie Khuzestan en de protesten daartegen. Ja, daar speelt klimaatverandering een rol: daar wordt de droogte door in de hand gewerkt. Maar dat is geen reden om Iraanse bestuurders en het bewind waar zij deel van uitmaken, vrij te pleiten. Hun besluiten, hun keuzes, hun prioriteiten hebben ervoor gezorgd dat dat het beschikbare water zo ongeveer overal terecht kwam, behalve daar waar bewoners er iets aan hebben. Alles aan het klimaat toeschrijven laat die bestuurders vrijuit gaan, en dat is niet goed. Dus: ‘maast die wereldwijde strijd (tegen klimaatverandering, PS) moeten we onthouden dat plaatselijke beslissers aansprakelijk zijn voor vermijdbare mislukkingen van milieubeheer die resulteren in de degradatie en het lijden dat we nu zien’, zo sluit Madani – zelf als voormalig plaatsvervangend vicepresident in Iran een d van die beslissers – diens artikel af.
Dat punt houden we beter even in gedachten als we het over Turkije gaan hebben. Ook dat land beleeft een ramp van verschroeiende hitte en vlammenzeeën. Die nam amper verantwoordelijkheid ‘Sommige politici en regeringsgezinde media suggereren dat de Koerdische organisatie PKK achter de natuurbranden zit, al is hier geen bewijs voor’.(11) Natuurlijk, geef de schuld maar aan Koerdische verzetsstrijders!De geloofwaardigheid van dat verhaal was meteen al minimaal. In buurlanden Griekenland, Italië en ook in Albanië en Noord-Macedonië, woedden soortgelijke branden. Daar hebben ze helemaal geen PKK om de schuld aan te geven.
Het is goed om de houding onder de Turkse bevolking te zien. Mensen waren niet tevreden over de aanpak van de ramp, en soms rechtstreeks boos op de autoriteiten. Bijvoorbeeld Kemal Deniz, een Turkse nederlandeer met een huis in in de Turkse stad Antalya. ‘“Mensen zijn hier geschrokken en verdrietig. Ze voelen zich machteloos en niet goed geholpen door de Turkse overheid” , zegt hij. Velen zijn boos omdat er alleen wordt geblust met helikopters en niet met blusvliegtuigen.’ Dat laatste is intussen veranderd – klaarblijkelijk door buitenlandse hulp – maar dat neemt de eerdere indruk niet weg. EN dan is er de zelfgenoegzame regeringstoon. Deniz nogmaals: ‘Erdogan (de Turkse president, PS) sprak op televisie geen medeleven uit, hij zei alleen dat Turkije goed bezig was met blussen.’(12) Het lijkt Rutte wel, over COVID-19.
Meer onvrede, meer contrast. Can Turan, wonend in Leiden maar met Marmaris als plaats van herkomst, beschrijft de evacuatie van toeristen. Die ‘is niet goed gegaan. Sommige zijn in transportboten naar Marmaris gebracht, maar die boten raakten heel snel vol en over de weg kon je niet gaan. Gelukkig is er veel Turkse gastvrijheid. Er kwamen veel vissersbootjes die allemaal meehielpen om mensen in veiligheid te brengen.’(13) Geen adequate overheidsaanpak. Wel de hulpvaardigheid van doodgewone mensen waar het uiteindelijk op aan komt. Can Turan spreekt ook van ‘mismanagement door de overheid. We hebben veel te weinig voorzieningen om bosbranden te bestrijden.’ Geldtekort kan zoiets trouwens niet zijn, want voor bommenwerpers, tanks, pantserwagens en heel veel traangas is merkwaardigerwijs ruimschoots budget. De Koerdistan Unie van Gemeenschappen KCK maakte al een soortgelijk punt, in een verklaring waarin het presidentschap ervan de beschuldiging dat de PKK achter de branden zit, nadrukkelijk weerspreekt.(14) Beetje overbodig wellicht dat laatste, gezien de minimale geloofwaardigheid die de regering intussen rond de branden nog heeft.
Hier en daar is de woede al behoorlijk fel. The Guardian besteedt er uitgebreid aandacht aan(15) en laat bijvoorbeeld een bewoner uit de omgeving van Marmaris aan het woord. ‘Ik sterf en smeek al vijf dagen [de autoriteiten om te helpen]’, zegt die. ‘Ze zeiden dat ze zouden helpen als het vuur bij huizen komt. Welnu, hier ga je, het is bij de huizen. Hoe ter wereld kan zo’n regering, zo’n management bestaan?’ En hij voegt toe: “God verdoeme ze allemaal. Als ze ook maar enige vrees van God hebben, of een geweten, dan zouden ze af moeten treden.’
Er is reden voor zulke woede. Die is losgekomen ‘nadat de regering toegaf dat het land geen bruikbare blusvliegtuigen had’. Aan waterkanonnen heeft het land minder tekort – die worden intussen als blusmateriaal ingezet. Erdogan maakt zich intussen enigszins belachelijk door naar rampgebied te reizen, theezakjes naar mensen te gooien en te beweren dat er zoveel steun komt bij wederopbouw ‘dat “anderen wiens huizen niet zijn afgebrand zouden willen dat die van hun ook afgebrand zouden zijn”’.
The Guardian citeert ook nog deskundige wat betreft bosbeheer, Erdogan Atmis. Die zegt: ‘het budget voor bosbrandpreventie is gereduceerd, en managers op het directoraat-generaal voor bosbeheer die werkelijk deskundig en ervaren zijn wat het bestrijden van branden betreft, zijn uit hun baan gezet en vervangen door pro-regeringsmensen.’ Intussen waarschuwden autoriteiten TV-stations dreigend: ‘Voortdurende live verslaggeving over de branden “demoraliseert de mensen” en kan bestraft worden’. Van de beschuldigingen richting PKK horen we intussen vrij weinig meer.
Het is duidelijk: de regering van Turkije heeft een blusprobleem maar ook een geloofwaardigheidsprobleem. Dat komt er van als de prioriteit van de overheid ligt bij repressie van andersdenkenden, oorlog tegen Koerden en lucratieve prestigeprojecten. Dus ja, die branden worden in de hand gewekt door klimaatverandering. Maar al die boze mensen die nu hulp nodig hebben, en die naar boven wijzen, naar bestuurders en regering als verantwoordelijk voor wanbeleid en asociale prioriteiten, die mensen hebben groot, heel groot gelijk. Dat geldt in Turkije, maar feitelijk overal waar klimaatverandering soortgelijke rampen helpt ontketenen en de overheid mensen goeddeels laat barsten. Mensen zijn wel wegens kleinere aanleidingen aan een revolutie begonnen.
YOUTUBE.COMGAME OF THRONESA LANNISTER ALWAYS PAYS HIS DEBTS4.16-4.18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUg2Q4A13Ss
CHAPTERS RACIST SMEAR CAMPAIGN
LEAVING THE COUNTRY
GOODBYE TO ROYAL TASKS
THE OPRAH WINFREY INTERVIEW, THAT SHOOK THE WORLD!
RACIST REMARKS AND ”THE FIRM” PRESSURE
STATEMENT OF THE QUEEN ON RACIST REMARKS
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE QUEEN
WHAT’S FURTHER ON THE TABLE
DEPRESSION OF MEGHAN MARKLE
SNAKE PIERS MORGAN!
ASTRID’S WRITING ABOUT THE OPRAH INTERVIEW, FROM
MARCH UNTIL AUGUST
FINAL
[END OF THE CHAPTERS, NOW READ MY ARTICLE!]
[Written between 10 March and 7 August 2021!]
Readers!At 10 March anno Domini 2021 I did a promise to you, that I wouldcomment on the Sensational Oprah Winfrey interview with PrinceHarry and his wife Meghan Markle [1], who both had finally decided not to return to their royal roles and duties [2]However,according to my information, Prince Harry is stillin the line for the throne [3],which I applaud, since as you’ll know, I cheered theroyal couple on from the beginning! [4]Why?Because Cheddar Man finally won. [5]HAHAHA/NO, That’s a half joke!I think one of the reasons is, that here I saw a Couple, that chose foreach other, despite the racist backlash Meghan Markle had from the beginning [6]and the courageous and honourable defense from Prince Harry on her behalf [7].Seems like a modern fairy Tale and Why not?People are allowed to dream, to juice the very life! That was the Fairy Tale side of it.But like a bad dream in ”Alice in Wonderland” [8], it was not a”and they lived happily ever after” Story, not only because ofthe backlash at first [9], but because apparently there was an evil partyspoiler within the Royal Family.I’ll deal with that later. But meanwhile the disturbing backlash continued [10], even a nasty petition to strip Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle from theirroyal titles ”The Duke and Duchess of Sussex” [11]The petitioner considered the titles as ” ‘morally wrong’ and ‘disrespectful’and considered them as ” ‘entirely non-democratic’ and a ‘symbol of oppression by the wealthy elite’. [12]Be that as it may [indeed, in 21st century monarchs and royal titles are a thing apart], but is this just an outburst of republicanism [13]or…it is more?Because, when it were just them ”holding royal titles”, then why especially directed against Prince Harry and his wife and not against the rest of the royal family, like Prince Harry’s elder brother, Prince William, heir to the throne after their father the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles?[Prince Willam is the Duke of Cambridge] [14]Seems suspicious to me! Because the whole case felt unfair to me, I send an email letter to the Council of Brighton, in which I wrote among else: ”Although I am not a British national, yet I take the liberty to write you about your debating the petition of stripping Prince Harry and his wife Ms Meghan Markle from the royal titles ”Duke and Duchess of Sussex”, which were given to them by Queen Elisabeth at the occasion of their wedding. [1]Shortly said:I think this petition is an outrage, a sign of disrespect against the Queen and especially Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle and I urgently request to you NOT to grant this nonsense petition;” [15] I was pleased to receive the following letter from Mr R. Watson, Customer Feedback Officer | Performance, Improvements and Programmes | Brighton & Hove City Council” ””Dear Astrid Essed,
Many thanks for your email. While we are obliged to debate any petition with more than 1,250 signatures at Full Council, the issue raised is a matter for the Crown rather than local authorities. We do not have the power to remove titles and, therefore, the council voted to simply ‘note’ the petition. No further action is being taken.
Best regards,
Richard Watson | Customer Feedback Officer | Performance, Improvements and Programmes | Brighton & Hove City Council”
[16]
The haters did not win! [17]
RACIST SMEAR CAMPAIGN
But like Prince Harry rightly stated in his declaration to defend his then
fiancee Meghan Marke [18], there has been a nasty, racist smear campaign against Meghan Markle from nearly the beginning the press [and others]
knew, that she had a love relation with Prince Harry. [19]
Of course it were not all journalists and the whole press:
Espexially low class ”journalist” Piers Morgan [20] led the smear campaign for resaons he knows best, followed by other journalistic
nobodies [21]
By the way:
This Piers Morgan journalist is so obsessed by his vendetta against
Meghan Markle, that he recently [march 2021] left the ITV Good Morning Britain show program because of his [again] hateful remarks about Meghan Markle, even though she and her husband left the country for a time already [22]
The reason for his nasty remarks led in the Oprah Winfrey interview [23]
and the remarks Meghan Markle made about her mental state of health
[suicide thoughts] [24]
I refer to that later.
But of course not the whole press was led by either racist or hateful
[or a combination of the two] moties against Meghan Markle:
For example journalist Zoe Williams did a good job with her
article in the Guardian ”Whatever Meghan does, she’s damned. Let’s not
repeat history.”, fighting the nasty villification of Meghan Markle. [25]
Am I saying now, that Meghan Markle is a Saint?
Of course not!
Everybody makes mistakes and she will have made hers:
But here I am fighting the abnormal negative attention, with often
racist undertones Meghan Markle got [26] and I am glad that there were
journalists, who played fair play!
LEAVING THE COUNTRY
Anyway, partly because of that continuing smear campaign against
Meghan Markle [27], Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, who became happy parents of a son, Lord Archie, on 6 may 2019 [28], decided
to step back as senior royals, splitting their time between the UK and
North-America. [29]
That was in january 2020. [30]
The MEGXIT, as sensational tabloids called it [31], as if Meghan Markle
made that decision alone…..!
Cherchez la Femme…../HAHAHAHA
First the Royal Couple went to Canada, later they moved to L.A. [Los Angeles] [32]
According to my information, they now live in Montecito [33], where Meghan Markle expects their second child [34], a daughter, as they revealed
in the Oprah Winfrey interview. [35]
A special Blessing after the miscarriage Meghan suffered last year! [36]
By the way, I forgot to mention, that after leaving England, Prince
Harry and Meghan Markle signed contracts with Netflix and Spotify [37]
A Shrewd Couple!
GOODBYE TO ROYAL TASKS
As I wrote before, in the beginning of this year, Prince Harry and
Meghan made up their mind, not to return to their royal tasks and
duties. [38]
Also we have seen Prince Harry and his son Lord Archie’s right on
succession to the throne remains the same. [39]
But [and that’s understandable, since they don’t do the
Royal Job anymore] that they lose their royal patronages. [40]
Prince Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, issued a declaration,
stating, confirming this grand step of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan,
stating ”While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family” [41]
The Statement of the Queen also referred to the fact, that
the royal patronages were withdrawn:
”Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service. The honorary military appointments and Royal patronages held by The Duke and Duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty, before being redistributed among working members of The Royal Family.'[42]
THE OPRAH WINFREY INTERVIEW, THAT SHOOK THE WORLD!
RACIST REMARKS AND ”THE FIRM” PRESSURE
So far, so good.
Now the interview with Oprah Winfrey
That D….mnd interview. [43]
Now assuming, that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spoke the truth
with Oprah Winfrey, did it shocked me?
For a part, yes.
For a part, no, since I already learnt [and wrote about] the racist smearcampaign against Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, by the press. [44]
But now the Royal Family was involved, at least one [or more?] members,
uttering racist remarks. [45]
And not the least!
I quote from the interview:
”Meghan: But I can give you an honest answer. In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time . . . so we have in tandem the conversation of ‘He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.” [46]
AND THAT’S SOMETHING!
OR ISN’T IT?
Before going deeper into this, there were twelve higlights in the notorious
[or famous] interview, which BBC clarified for us [47]:
I mention them for you, one by one:
1 Discussions about how dark Meghan’s baby might be
2 Kate ”made Meghan cry”, not the other way around
3 Meghan said she was on the verge of suicide but was refused help
4 Meghan spoke to one of Diana’s friends
5 Harry feels ”let down” by Charles
6 But the couple’s relationship with the Queen is good
7 Harry ”cut out financially”
8 The truth behind a photograph
9 Meghan ”didn’t do any research” on the Royal Family
10 They exchanged vowed three days before their wedding
11 Archie’s favourite phrase is ”drive safe”
12 And….it’s a girl!
[48]
Now I don’t comment on all the twelve highlights [the Megan-Katie thing [49] I consider as less important, I can’t judge who is right, I was not there], I only mention those things
which I think are really important.
To begin with:
THE FIRM, THAT MYSTERIOUS FIRM
During the interview with Oprah Winfrey, several times Meghan Markle
refers to an institution within the British Royal Family, ”The Firm” and she is very vague about the person or persons who back[s] this:
I quote from the interview:
”Oprah: So, are you saying you did not feel supported by the powers that be, be that The Firm, the monar-chy, all of them?
Meghan: It’s hard for people to distinguish the two because there’s . . . it’s a family business, right? [50]
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: So, there’s the family, and then there’s the people that are running the institution. Those are two separate things” [51]
ANOTHER QUOTE ABOUT ”THE FIRM”/THE PRESSURE
” And I . . . and I remember so often people within The Firm would say, ‘Well, you can’t do this because it’ll look like that. You can’t’. So, even, ‘Can I go and have lunch with my friends?’ ‘No, no, no, you’re oversaturated, you’re every-where, it would be best for you to not go out to lunch with your friends’. I go, ‘Well, I haven’t . . . I haven’t left the house in months’.” [52]
THE FIRM, AGAIN/IT’S WAY OF ACTING
[Quote]
”Oprah: So the institution is never a person. Or is it a series of people?
Meghan: No, it’s a person.
Oprah: It’s a person.
Meghan: It’s several people” [53]
THE FIRM/RACIST REMARKS
I must confess readers, that I don’t get grip on this, no persons
mentioned, no facts to check, no names
”It” or ” those people” can be anyone in the Royal Family, but, assuming that
Meghan Markle speaks the truth about some damaging sides of ”The Firm” [like having trouble with the skin colour of her and Prince Harry’s first child, Archie, a horror story, which was confirmed by Prince Harry, as denying Meghan a form of help, when she was depressed] [54], that Firm must be some important members of the Royal Family.
I puzzled and puzzled, but without more information I can’t make sense
of this.
Only of course, that assuming Meghan Markle and Prince Harry speak the truth, there must be a racist cuckoo in the British Royal Family, which is
no suprise to me, after from 17th centuries creation of the concept of race,
in time of slavery and colonialism. [55]
Would have been strange if it had not affected the Royal Family.
So ”The Firm” is a vague Institution of a series of people [who, is the big question] in the Royal Family with some power and some of them
have uttered very painful, racist things against Prince Harry about
the possible skin colour of the baby [who turned to be ”Lord Archie] [56]
I’ve puzzled and puzzled, like as I’m sure most people, who
saw or read the interview [I did noth], who that mysterious person or
persons might be, who made those nasty remarks about the skin colour
of Lord Archie, the great grandson of reigning Queen Elizabeth II!
If the whole thing is true-if Meghan Markle and Prince Harry speak the
truth and for now I have no reason to doubt that-it is a nasty business, but, again, not the whole amazing, that racism also exists between the British
Royal Family after from 17th centuries creation of the concept of race,
in time of slavery and colonialism! [57]
STATEMENT OF THE QUEEN ON RACIST REMARKS
More important is the Statement of the Queen, who spoke out concerns
about those racist remarks after the Oprah Winfrey interview. [58]
Quoting the message of Buckingham Palace:
”The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.” [59]
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE QUEENThat’s clear talk and as Meghan Markle remarked in the famous Oprah Winfreyinterview about the Queen:”So, there’s the family, and then there’s the people that are running the institution. Those are two separate things. And it’s important to be able to compartmentalise that, because the Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me. I mean, we had one of our first joint engagements together. She asked me to join her, and I . . .
Oprah: Was this on the train?
Meghan: Yeah, on the train.”
AND
”Right. Just moments of . . . and it made me think of my grand-mother, where she’s always been warm and inviting and . . . and really welcoming.
Oprah: So, OK, so she made you feel welcomed?
Meghan: Yes.” [60]
Prince Harry also commented:
” I’ve spoken more to my grandmother in the last year than I have done for many, many years.
ALSO
”My grandmother and I have a really good relationship . . .And an understanding. And I have a deep respect for her. She’s my Colonel-In-Chief, right? She always will be. ” [61]
[HAHAHA, THE MILITARY WAY……]
WHAT’S FURTHER ON THE TABLE
DEPRESSION OF MEGHAN MARKLE
As I said before, I don’t comment on all the topics of that famous
Oprah Winfrey Interview
I leave the Meghan/Katie thing [62] for what it is, that Meghan didn’t do research on the Royal Family [63] etcetera.
Also I don’t comment on Prince Harry’s relationship between his father
and brother [64], because fathers and sons often have their issues, like brothers.
After all, fathers and sons are fathers and sons and brothers will
be brothers and in most cases, everything will be allright and they”
ll end as one big, happy fami!y!
And I do believe, that a Royal Life can be a golden harnass [as Prince Harry commented, that his father and brother are ”trapped” [64], but that’s the price you pay for your privilege, isn’t it?
As Prince Harry said himself ”It’s part of the job” [65]
Also Prince Harry’s remarks, that he was ”cut out financially” [66],
didn’t impress me.
When you are the grandson of the Queen, one of the richest women in
the world [67] and you have been raised with all kinds of privileges
and financial advantages, than ”cut out financially” means a totally
different story than when it happens to the common man.
Besides, the first task of any man and father, royalty or not, is
to provide for his family on his own force.
So that’s for the royal privileges
But of course that all changes , when you are twelve [two weeks after his mother’s death, Prince Harry became thirteen years old] and fifteen years old
when you loses your mother far too early by a car crashincident, pushed
by the tabloids and you have to walk behind her coffin for the eyes
of the whole world to see [68]
I felt really sorry for Prince Harry and his brother Prince William at that moment.
Too young, far too young to lose one;s mother [although it is never the right time]
That also changes when you feel that depressed, like Meghan Markle stated in the Oprah interview, that you want to take your own life…..[69]
SNAKE PIERS MORGAN!
Even about that statement boulevard hater Piers Morgan made a nasty remark, so he had to leave Good Morning Britain after more than 40.000 complaints! [70]
GOOD RIDDANCE TOO!
So therefore I wanted to comment that depression of Meghan Markle,
nearly ruining her life and that of her family.
And if it’s really true, that Meghan knocked on the door of
”the Firm” and they didn’t open it, when she was in need [refused to give
the necessary help] [71], that that’s more than scandalous.
ASTRID’S WRITING ABOUT THE OPRAH INTERVIEW, FROM
MARCH UNTIL AUGUST
Since I began to comment the famous Oprah Interview [in March] until now [August], much has happened in the British Royal Family, so including in the lives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Prince Harry’s grandfather, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died [72]
Prince Harry and his brother Prince William unveil a statue in the honour of their mother, Princess Diana [73] and of course the happy arrival of
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter, Lady Lilibeth, the eleventh grandchild of Queen Elizabeth and named after her greatgrandmother Queen Elizabeth [Lilibet was the name the Queen’s family called her] and her grandmother Princess Diana [74]
[They listened to me:
I always said, that when Harry and Meghan became parents of a daughter,
they had to name her after her greatgrandmother the Queen/HAHAHA]
Also Prince Harry revealed some issues he had with his father concerning
the way he was raised [75], but I consider that as personal and I am sure
they will work that out.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have their own life now, far from any
racist smearcampaign [76] and I wish them, with their children, a happy life!
FINAL
So as I promised at 10 march this anno Domini [77], I would comment on
the famous Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Now I did.
And you readers probably will ask yourself:
Why she is bothering with an interview from march, we living in august?
Normally indeed I would not bother, but now it is important, because racism is there, that greeneyed monster [78] that can ruin lives.
But happily not the life of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who choose the
right way to leave this mess behind them.
But this is racism in the highest circles, the British Royal Family and you
would think, that somebody who is that priviliged as the Duchess of Sussex, should not be subject of it.
Yet it happened, but luckily she has a true husband, Prince Harry, who supports her no matter what, as he has proved. [79]
That made it worth to write about this, although it was months ago, that
the interview was taken.
As I wrote in this article, I could not track down, who is the racist cuckoo
in the British Royal Family, but that matters not.
Fact is, that racism is appartently also the issue in those circles.
And alas, racism is with us for a long time yet, perhaps until
we are attacked by aliens and together we are defending our Mother Earth
[HAHAHA]
But fighting against racism and prejudice, wherever you find it, was worth
to write this article.
And the fact that I completed this article five months after the famous Oprah Winfrey interview [80], adds the worth of fighting for equality.
[71] ”Meghan: And, look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry, especially, because I know how much loss he’s suffered. But I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. And I . . . I just didn’t . . . I just didn’t want to be alive any more. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember — I remember how he just cradled me. And I was — I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that, ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere’. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution. And I called . . . ”
Oprah: So the institution is never a person. Or is it a series of people?
Meghan: No, it’s a person.
Oprah: It’s a person.
Meghan: It’s several people. But I went to one of the most senior people just to . . . to get help. And that — you know, I share this, because there’s so many people who are afraid to voice that they need help. And I know, personally, how hard it is to not just voice it, but when you voice it, to be told no.
Oprah: Whoo.
Meghan: And so, I went to human resources, and I said, ‘I just really — I need help’. Because in my old job, there was a union, and they would protect me. And I remember this conversation like it was yesterday, because they said, ‘My heart goes out to you, because I see how bad it is, but there’s nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution’.
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: This wasn’t a choice. This was emails and begging for help, saying very specifically, ‘I am concerned for my mental welfare’. And people going, ‘Oh, yes, yes, it’s disproportionately terrible what we see out there to anyone else’. But nothing was ever done, so we had to find a solution.
…
….
THE SUN
MEGHAN MARKLE OPRAH INTERVIEW: READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF DUCHESS AND PRINCE HARRY’S BOMBSHELL CONFESSIONS
Buckingham Palace has announced the death of the Queen’s husband of 73 years
The Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen’s “strength and stay” for 73 years, has died aged 99.
A statement from Buckingham Palace on Friday said: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”
He was the longest serving consort in British history, and was only months away from his 100th birthday in June.
Philip had returned to Windsor Castle on 16 March to be reunited with the Queen after spending a month in hospital – his longest stay. He initially received care for an infection but then under went heart surgery for a pre-existing condition.
An official notice of his death was posted on the railings of Buckingham Palace, as is traditional, but was being removed shortly afterwards to avoid crowds gathering.
The coronavirus pandemic will have a major impact on the carefully laid plans for the duke’s funeral. With restrictions still in place amid the Covid-19 outbreak, the public elements of the final farewell will not be able to take place in their original form.
Philip’s health had been slowly deteriorating for some time. He announced he was stepping down from royal engagements in May 2017, joking that he could no longer stand up. He made a final official public appearance later that year during a Royal Marines parade on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.
Since then, he has rarely been seen in public, spending most of his time on the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, though moving to be with her at Windsor Castle during the lockdown periods throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and where the couple quietly celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in November 2020.
He celebrated his 99th birthday in lockdown at Windsor Castle. He spent much of the Covid-19 crisis staying with the Queen at Windsor in HMS Bubble – the nickname given to the royal couple’s reduced household of devoted staff during lockdown.
The duke spent four nights at King Edward VII hospital in London before Christmas 2019 for observation and treatment in relation to a “pre-existing condition”.
Despite having hip surgery in April 2018, he attended the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle a month later and was seen sitting beside the Queen at a polo match at Windsor Great Park in June. He and the Queen missed Prince Louis of Cambridge’s christening in July 2018, but he was seen attending Crathie Kirk near Balmoral in August, and driving his Land Rover in the surrounding Scottish countryside in September.
Despite living quietly out of the public eye, he made headlines when involved in a car crash in January 2019. Two women needed hospital treatment after he was apparently dazzled by the low sun as he pulled out of a driveway on the Sandringham estate. A nine-month-old baby boy in the other vehicle was unhurt. The Crown Prosecution Service decided it was not in the public interest to prosecute the duke after he later voluntarily surrendered his driving licence.
Born on the island of Corfu, Prince Philip, who once described himself as “a discredited Balkan prince of no particular merit or distinction”, played a key role in the development of the modern monarchy in Britain.
Though never officially given the title of prince consort, he lived a life of relentless royal duty, relinquishing his promising naval career, which some believed could have seen him rise to become First Sea Lord, for a role requiring him to walk several feet behind his wife.
Having made this choice, he immersed himself wholeheartedly in national life, carving out a unique public role. He was the most energetic member of the royal family with, for many decades, the busiest engagements diary.
Even when well-advanced in years, he could be seen on walkabouts hoisting small children over security barriers to enable them to present their posies to his wife.
Often he received little public recognition for his endeavours. In part this was due to his uncomfortable relationship with the press, whom he labelled “bloody reptiles” and whose coverage often focused on his gaffes. He once told the former Conservative MP and biographer Gyles Brandreth: “I have become a caricature. There we are. I’ve just got to accept it.”
The duke could be blunt and outspoken to the point of offensiveness. He claimed to have coined the word “dontopedalogy”: a talent for putting one’s foot in one’s mouth. Prone to bad-tempered outbursts, he never suffered fools gladly. Equally, he could be charming, engaging and witty – and displayed such genuine curiosity on his official visits that his hosts were flattered.
While constitutionally excluded from major areas of the Queen’s professional life – he held no constitutional role other than as a privy counsellor and saw no state papers – he set about modernising a monarchy he feared could end up as a museum piece.
It was at his instigation that the practice of presenting debutantes at court was abolished in 1958. He initiated informal palace lunches to which guests from a variety of backgrounds were invited. Garden parties were broadened.
He chaired the Way Ahead Group – composed of leading royal family members and their advisers – to analyse and avert criticism of the institution.
The Queen, who deferred to him in private, would say: “What does Philip think?” on any major matter concerning the royal household. Big decisions, including her finally agreeing to pay tax on her private income, the abolition of the royal yacht Britannia, and her letter to Charles and Diana suggesting an early divorce, were taken after consultation with the duke, according to insiders.
He set out his views on the monarchy on several occasions, recognising it could not be all things to all people and therefore would always find itself in a position of compromise – or risk being kicked from both sides. But, he argued: “People still respond more easily to symbolism than to reason.” People instinctively understood the idea of a representative rather than a governing leader, and it was important for national identity, he maintained.Advertisement
He had a keen interest in religion and conservation, despite dispatching a 2.5-metre (8ft) tiger with a single shot on an official visit to India in 1961, the same year he became president of the World Wildlife Fund UK.
Industry, science and nature were other passions. One of his most famous speeches was in 1961 when he told leading industrialists: “Gentlemen, I think it is time we pulled our fingers out.” And he loved gadgets.
From the outset he took a keen interest in young people through the Duke of Edinburgh award, which he launched in 1956, inspired by his school days, and organisations such as the National Playing Fields Association and the Outward Bound Trust.
With his youthful good looks and sporting prowess, Philip was a pin-up. He played polo until, in 1971, injury forced him to retire, after which he took up four-in-hand carriage driving – a coach with four horses – which he continued to compete in at international level well into his 80s.
He was a crack shot, a qualified pilot and an accomplished sailor. As the searchlight control officer on the battleship HMS Valiant, he was mentioned in dispatches in 1941 for his role in the Battle of Matapan against the Italian fleet. His wartime service also saw him present at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay in 1945.
His love of the outdoors and physical pursuit was nurtured in childhood at Gordonstoun, the Morayshire school founded by Kurt Hahn, which encouraged self-reliance in pupils. Hahn had a profound influence on the young prince, who rarely saw his parents as a child.
Born at the family home of Mon Repos, apparently on the kitchen table, on Corfu on 10 June 1921, Philip was the youngest child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece, an officer in the Greek army, and Princess Alice of Battenberg. The family fled when his father was charged with high treason in the aftermath of the heavy defeat of the Greeks by the Turks. They were evacuated in a British warship, with one-year-old Philip being carried in a makeshift cot fashioned from an orange box.
He had an unsettled and peripatetic childhood. His parents separated; his father settling in Monte Carlo where he amassed significant gambling debts, and his mother, who was deaf, going on to found an order of nuns before becoming depressed and being admitted to an asylum. He later said of his family’s break-up: “I just had to get on with it. You do. One does.”
Distantly related to the Queen – they were third cousins – their paths crossed several times before he became a serious suitor in 1946, though she was said to have fallen in love with him when she was 13.
A highly ambitious and complex man, he faced many obstacles in the early days of marriage at the palace. With no money and no title, the establishment thought him a little “below the salt”. George VI was dismayed his daughter wanted to marry the first man she had met and thought her too young. Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother, and never knowingly subtle, mischievously referred to him as “the Hun”, a reference to his mixed Danish, Russian and German heritage. Her brother, David Bowes-Lyon, dismissed him as “a German”.
Courtiers saw him as an outsider – with barely a suit to his name – and a little too Teutonic.
But he succeeded in overcoming prejudice and set about creating a role in which he would become the linchpin of palace life. Describing her reliance on him, the Queen said in a speech to celebrate their golden wedding in 1997: “He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments. But he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”
The bishop of London, Richard Chartres, once told the unauthorised biographer Graham Turner: “If one of the standard English aristocrats had married the Queen it would have bored everyone out of their minds.”
The Duke of Edinburgh was many things, but one thing he was not was boring.
“We remember her love, strength and character,” they said.
“Qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better.”
They said they hoped the statue would “be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy” and thanked “all those around the world who keep our mother’s memory alive”.
The pair were seen laughing and talking animatedly with guests, who applauded as they pulled off a green cloth covering the statue.
They remarked on changes to the Sunken Garden, which Kensington Palace said had been “one of the princess’s favourite locations” when she lived there.
Prince Harry has hinted at difficulties between him and Prince William since stepping back from royal duties last year.
He said he had been willing to drink and take drugs to cope with the pain of losing her.
Harry, who lives in the US with his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, and their two children, arrived in the UK last week in order to complete his quarantine ahead of Thursday’s event.
ANALYSIS BY DANIELA RELPH
ROYAL CORRESPONDENT
It was a low-key event – quiet and intimate.
There were just a handful of guests at the unveiling of the statue – Prince William, Prince Harry, Diana’s two sisters, her brother and members of the statue committee.
William and Harry walked out together into the Sunken Garden. Harry, in particular, spent time with his two aunts and uncle in animated conversation.
Neither of them spoke publicly at the event. There were no speeches or fanfare.
It was professional and friendly and gave no obvious sense of the tensions behind the scenes. There was even laughter between the brothers as they prepared to unveil the bronze statue.
They don’t want the day to be about their own broken relationship. They want it to be about their mother and her legacy.
Diana’s siblings were among those at the ceremony at Kensington Palace, Diana’s former home in London.
The dukes were seen warmly greeting their aunts, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, and their uncle, Earl Spencer.
What the critics say
Ruth Millington, art historian and critic: Rank-Broadley was given a very difficult task – to honour a woman who still means so much to so many.
She was a public figure, a campaigner and an activist, as well as what she considered her most important role: a mother.
Within art history, there are far too many overly romanticised representations of mothers. But there is nothing overly sentimental about this statue. While opening her arms symbolically to the three children, Diana clasps the girl’s hand with strength.
While using the traditional medium of bronze, Rank-Broadley has broken the mould of royal monuments. He has focused on rendering the folds of fabric to indicate movement: Diana looks like she might step down from the plinth and keep walking. It’s a monument which invites engagement and embodies her openness.
With this poignant memorial, the artist has created a characterful depiction of Diana, which does her justice.
Rank-Broadley has managed to capture the many sides of Diana with this complex statue: she’s determined and graceful, brooding and warm, commanding and compassionate.
Far from elevating her to a high pedestal, he has represented her – as she will always be remembered – as a princess of the people.
Elizabeth Fullerton, art critic: It’s an uncontroversial, accessible representation of a female icon.
Is it good art? Well that depends on your taste.
It’s pretty conservative, made in a naturalistic style and doesn’t move the conversation forward in terms of innovation in contemporary art – but then again, that clearly wasn’t the aim. This isn’t the Fourth Plinth after all.
Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in August 1997, when William and Harry were aged just 15 and 12.
When they commissioned the statue of their mother in 2017, they said they hoped it would help visitors to the palace “reflect on her life and her legacy”.
More than 4,000 flowers have been planted for the Sunken Garden’s redesign, which has taken 1,000 hours to complete.
The garden – which sits within London’s Kensington Gardens, next to Hyde Park – will be open to the public to visit for free from Friday, in line with Kensington Palace’s opening hours.
(CNN)Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has given birth to a daughter, the second child for her and Prince Harry, the couple announced in a statement on Sunday.”It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world,” the statement said.”Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital,” it said, adding that the new arrival weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces (3.49 kilos) and that “both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home.””Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales,” the statement added.Baby Lili is a sister for the couple’s 2-year-old son, Archie Harrison.In a message on their Archewell foundation website, Meghan and Harry said they had been “blessed” by their daughter’s arrival.”She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”Buckingham Palace released a statement Sunday on the baby girl’s birth.”The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been informed and are delighted with the news of the birth of a daughter for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” it read.The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall along with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tweeted their congratulations.The US Embassy in London also congratulated the Sussexes, noting the news comes just in time for Father’s Day.
‘Feeling of joy’
Harry and Meghan revealed they were expecting a girl during their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in March.The newborn is the Queen’s 11th great-grandchild. She is eighth in line to the throne behind her grandfather Charles, uncle William, his three children (George, Charlotte and Louis), her father Harry, and big brother Archie.Her birth in the United States makes her the most senior royal in the line of succession to have been born overseas.It also makes her a dual US-UK citizen, meaning that the youngest Sussex could potentially go on to become US President when she grows up — while also being in line to the British throne.Meghan and Harry kept the pregnancy as private as possible, speaking just a handful of times about their daughter’s impending arrival.One of those occasions was for a pre-recorded message from Meghan for the recent Vax Live concert in May, which she and Harry co-chaired.”My husband and I are thrilled to soon be welcoming a daughter — it’s a feeling of joy we share with millions of other families around the world,” the Duchess told the audience at the event, intended to promote Covid-19 vaccine equity and gender equality.”When we think of her, we think of all the young women and girls around the globe who must be given the ability and support to lead us forward,” she said. “Their future leadership depends on the decisions we make, and the actions we take now to set them up, and set all of us up, for a successful, equitable, and compassionate tomorrow.”
Pregnancy announcement
The royal couple announced back in February they were expecting an addition to their family, sharing a black-and-white snap of them gazing at each other, while Meghan cradled her baby bump.The photo was shot by Misan Harriman, a Nigerian-born British photographer and friend of the couple, who took the picture remotely from his London residence.The timing of their Valentine’s Day announcement likely held special significance for the couple, coming almost exactly 37 years to the day after Prince Charles and Princess Diana revealed that they were expecting their second child: Prince Harry.Meghan disclosed in an opinion piece for The New York Times that she suffered a miscarriage last summer.Their newborn daughter is entitled to be a Lady from birth, but will likely not use the title.When Archie Harrison was born in 2019, the Duke and Duchess opted to forgo titles and indicated they would not use his father’s second peerage title, the Earl of Dumbarton.Neither of the Sussex children is currently eligible to use HRH titles, following the rules set out by George V in the 1917 Letters Patent. However, this will change when their grandfather Charles ascends to the throne.As for the question of whether Archie and his baby sister will be joined by more siblings in the future, that doesn’t seem to be on the cards right now.Harry revealed that he and his wife are likely to keep their brood limited to “two, maximum” while discussing the Earth’s dwindling resources with activist and chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall for a special edition of British Vogue last July.Harry and Meghan were married in a lavish wedding at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England, three years ago.They stepped back from their roles as senior working royals last year, relinquishing their HRH titles, and now live in Santa Barbara, California.
The private neighborhood
Harry and Meghan settled into their Santa Barbara home last July, according to August reports from People magazine.”They have settled into the quiet privacy of their community since their arrival and hope that this will be respected for their neighbors, as well as for them as a family,” a representative for the family told the magazine in August 2020.Richard Mineards, a columnist for Montecito Journal who covered the royals for 45 years, told CNN on Sunday that the area where they live is very “grand … with very large estates” and it does not have issues with paparazzi.”I mean, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Oscar winner Jeff Bridges, Oscar winner Kevin Costner (and) George Lucas live just down the road,” Mineards said. “We are a celebrity community.”The community also has “very wealthy people” such as tech billionaires, he said. “You name it, we have it,” he said. END OF THE ARTICLE”
OFFICIAL STATEMENT
“It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world. Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA.
She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home.
Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.
This is the second child for the couple, who also have a two-year-old son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. The Duke and Duchess thank you for your warm wishes and prayers as they enjoy this special time as a family.”
A MESSAGE OF THANKS FROM THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX
“On June 4th, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili. She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”
Duke of Sussex also speaks of ‘genetic pain and suffering’ in royal family in new interview in US
The Duke of Sussex has appeared to criticise the way he was raised by Prince Charles, discussing the “genetic pain and suffering” in the royal family and stressing that he wanted to “break the cycle” for his children.
In a wide-ranging 90-minute interview, Prince Harry, who is expecting a daughter with Meghan and is already father to Archie, two, likened life in the royal family to a mix between being in The Truman Show and being in a zoo.
Speaking to the American actor Dax Shepard for his Armchair Expert podcast, Harry was promoting his new Apple TV+ series about mental health, The Me You Can’t See, with Oprah Winfrey, which launches next week.
Discussing his childhood, Harry said: “There is no blame. I don’t think we should be pointing the finger or blaming anybody, but certainly when it comes to parenting, if I’ve experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I’m going to make sure I break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on, basically.
“It’s a lot of genetic pain and suffering that gets passed on anyway so we as parents should be doing the most we can to try and say: ‘You know what, that happened to me, I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen to you.’”
He said that in his 20s, he realised he did not want the royal “job”, having seen what it did to his mother, Princess Diana.
He said he had been forced to “grin and bear it”, but added: “I’ve seen behind the curtain, I’ve seen the business model, I know how this operation runs and how it works. I don’t want to be part of this.
“It’s a mix of being in The Truman Show and being in the zoo.”
The Truman Show is a 1998 satirical film starring Jim Carrey, where the main character becomes aware he is secretly the star of international hit reality TV show.
Harry also told how he started therapy after a conversation with his wife, Meghan, who “saw it straight away”.Advertisement
“She could tell that I was hurting and that some of the stuff that was out of my control would make me really angry, it would make my blood boil.”
He said therapy had helped him “pluck his head out of the sand” and made him realise he needed to use his privileged position to help others.
Of Prince Charles, he said: “Suddenly I started to piece it together and go ‘OK, so this is where he went to school, this is what happened, I know this about his life, I also know that is connected to his parents so that means he’s treated me the way he was treated, so how can I change that for my own kids?’
“And well here I am, I moved my whole family to the US, that wasn’t the plan but sometimes you’ve got make decisions and put your family first and put your mental health first.”
He added that Meghan, now knowing the life of a royal, would say: “You don’t need to be a princess, you can create the life that will be better than any princess.”
Harry also revealed that he met up with his future wife in a London supermarket in the early days of their relationship and the couple pretended not to know each other.
The duke said: “It was nice with a baseball cap on looking down at the floor, walking along the street and trying to stay incognito.”
He described the freedom he felt living in Los Angeles: “I can actually lift my head and I feel different, my shoulders have dropped, so have hers, you can walk around feeling a little bit more free, I can take Archie on the back of my bicycle, I would never have had the chance to do that.”
As the podcast was released, it emerged that Madame Tussauds had moved waxwork models of Harry and Meghan away from other members of the House of Windsor and placed them in the attraction’s Hollywood zone with waxworks of other celebrities.
This article was amended on 15 May 2021 to remove an audio clip which had been included in an earlier version.
[62] BBCMEGHAN AND HARRY INTERVIEW:RACISM CLAIMS, DUKE ”LED DOWN” BY DAD, AND DUCHESS ON KATE9 MARCH
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56316659
SEE FOR THE FULL TEXT, NOTE 47
[63] BBCMEGHAN AND HARRY INTERVIEW:RACISM CLAIMS, DUKE ”LED DOWN” BY DAD, AND DUCHESS ON KATE9 MARCH
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56316659
SEE FOR THE FULL TEXT, NOTE 47
[64] ”Oprah: Please explain how you, Prince Harry, raised in a palace and a life of privilege — literally, a Prince . . . how you were trapped.
Harry: Trapped within the system, like the rest of my family are. My father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave. And I have huge compassion for that.”
”Oprah: Well, OK, so the impression of the world — maybe it’s a false impression — is that, for all these years before Meghan, you were living your life as a royal, Prince Harry . . . the beloved Prince Harry and that you were enjoying that life. We didn’t get the impression that you were feeling trapped in that life.
Harry: Enjoying the life because there were photographs of me smiling while I was shaking hands and meeting people? Like, I’m sure you guys have covered some of that. That’s . . . that’s a part of the job. That’s a part of the role. That’s what’s expected. No matter who you are in the family, no matter what’s going on in your personal life, no matter what’s just happened, if the bikes roll up and the car rolls up, you’ve got to get dressed, you got to get in there. You wipe your tears away, shake off whatever you’re thinking about and you got to be on your A-game.” THE SUNMEGHAN MARKLE OPRAH INTERVIEW: READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPTOF DUCHESS AND PRINCE HARRY’S BOMBSHELL CONFESSIONS8 MARCH 2021 https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14277841/meghan-markle-oprah-interview-full-transcript/
[66] ”Harry: Yeah, it exists. But, also, the Netflix and the Spotify, they’re all . . . that was never part of the plan.
Meghan: Yeah.
Oprah: Because you didn’t have a plan?
Meghan: We didn’t have a plan.
Harry: We didn’t have a plan. That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford . . . afford security for us.
Oprah: Wait. Hold . . . hold up. Wait a minute. Your family cut you off?
Harry: Yeah, in the first half, the first quarter of 2020. But I’ve got what my mum left me, and, without that, we would not have been able to do this.
[67] ”Being a member of The Firm also comes with high expectations for keeping the moneymaking machine running for generations to come. The crown holds, but cannot sell, nearly $28 billion in assets through the Crown Estate ($19.5 billion), Buckingham Palace (est. $4.9 billion), the Duchy of Cornwall ($1.3 billion), the Duchy of Lancaster ($748 million), Kensington Palace (est. $630 million) and the Crown Estate Scotland ($592 million). Forbes also estimates that Queen Elizabeth has another $500 million in personal assets.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive interview with the Queen of Media has the Windsors tied in knots. Here’s how it affects their 1,000-year-old business.
After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s devastating interview with Oprah Winfrey on March 7, “The Firm” is on shaky ground. The senior members of the House of Windsor should have seen the tectonic consequences coming. “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time,” Markle told Winfrey, “we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.”
The menacing moniker dates back more than 80 years to the period following the most divisive episode in modern royal history—the 1936 abdication of Edward VIII. Alternatively attributed to Queen Elizabeth II’s father, King George VI, who succeeded his older brother, and her husband, Prince Philip, the darkly accurate nickname for the senior members of the family stuck. The Firm—also known as “Monarchy PLC”—are the public faces of a $28 billion empire that pumps hundreds of millions of pounds into the United Kingdom’s economy every year. The lavish televised weddings (the boost to the U.K. economy from Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding was an estimated $1.5 billion), buzzy tours of Commonwealth countries and public displays of pomp and circumstance generate massive interest—and profits—for a global business enterprise that spans from prime real estate in central London to remote farmlands in Scotland.
The saga of the royal family has also been a mother lode for the British media. In the Oprah interview, Markle spoke of the “invisible contract” with the tabloids, describing a relationship that is at once symbiotic, sycophantic and sinister. It’s also been great for newsstand sales and TV ratings. Three years ago, Brand Finance, a U.K.-based brand valuation firm, estimated The Firm’s contributions to the media industry at nearly $70 million. That number seems small after Harry and Meghan’s interview was broadcast in more than 60 countries. And even the prince acknowledged that they have watched the acclaimed Netflix series The Crown.
Who gets to be part of The Firm and reap the benefits has become a point of great contention over the years. Following Harry and Meghan’s departure from official duties, the number of full-time senior royals has been winnowed down to eight. Aiding Her Majesty as members of The Firm are an elite group of seven royals: Prince Charles, who is next in line for the crown, and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Prince William, second in line to the throne, and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge; Princess Anne, the Queen’s daughter; and Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest son, and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex. According to historian and royal commentator Carolyn Harris, the move to narrow the inner circle is as much about consolidating resources as it is about maintaining reputational control.
“These efforts to streamline are clearly trying to counter public opinion concerned about the Sovereign Grant going to too many people and there being too much funding for minor royals,” Harris says.
The organizational chart of The Firm is a testament to the 1,000-year-old family business, and the public perception that sustains it is vital to its success. “It is a very formalized influencer business,” explains David Haigh, chief executive of Brand Finance. Unlike a celebrity family such as the Kardashians, however, the Windsors don’t personally profit from the business itself—although they contributed an estimated $2.7 billion annually to the U.K. economy prepandemic. The impact the royal family has on the U.K. economy is mostly through tourism, but Haigh notes there are other financial benefits, such as free media coverage of Britain (which was an estimated $400 million in 2017). There are also many valuable royal warrants granted by the monarch—essentially a stamp of approval on high-end consumer products like Barbour jackets and Johnnie Walker whisky. Haigh estimates that a royal warrant can boost the holder’s revenue by as much as 10%. The economic advantages for companies and institutions in the royal family’s orbit far exceed the $550 million cost associated with the family’s massive operating expenses, according to Haigh.
Not everybody wants to be a part of the monarchy machine, however. The enormous pressures that come with the job have driven members out of the family, including, of course, Princess Diana and now Harry and Meghan. It has not always ended well for those who leave—or are pushed out—but armed with powerful celebrity friends in America and several Hollywood deals, Harry and Meghan may find themselves far better off financially (and emotionally) than those, in the words of Prince Harry, who remain “trapped.”
Elizabeth Corp.
Since she inherited the throne from her father in 1952, Queen Elizabeth has chaired The Firm—even if she doesn’t have the final say over how the business is managed. Prince Philip, the 99-year-old patriarch of the Windsor family, was once a powerful member of The Firm, but he has formally stepped back from his official duties. In addition to losing Prince Harry, the Firm ousted another senior member in the past year, after Prince Andrew’s close relationship to late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein was exposed—and he had a disastrous television interview of his own in 2019.
Beyond the extended family, the House of Windsor has thousands of employees around the world. Buckingham Palace alone employs some 1,200 people—even if they aren’t always paid a Queen’s ransom to work there. An entry-level IT specialist can make upwards of $40,000 a year, as well as benefits, at Buckingham Palace, according to a recent job listing on an official palace portal. The Crown Estate, the institution that oversees the assets of the monarchy, also employs an additional 450 people, including a board of directors that make the financial decisions for the monarchy.
Being a member of The Firm also comes with high expectations for keeping the moneymaking machine running for generations to come. The crown holds, but cannot sell, nearly $28 billion in assets through the Crown Estate ($19.5 billion), Buckingham Palace (est. $4.9 billion), the Duchy of Cornwall ($1.3 billion), the Duchy of Lancaster ($748 million), Kensington Palace (est. $630 million) and the Crown Estate Scotland ($592 million). Forbes also estimates that Queen Elizabeth has another $500 million in personal assets.
In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020, the Crown Estate pulled in more than $700 million, with more than $475 million in profits. The royal family receives 25% of the Crown Estate income, which is also known as the Sovereign Grant, and the remaining 75% goes to the British Treasury. The latest Sovereign Grant received by the royals was roughly $120 million, which the family uses solely for official expenses, which include payroll, security, travel, housekeeping, maintenance costs and IT expenses. The private expenses of the Queen, and her extended family, are also supported by another allowance through the Duchy of Lancaster called the Privy Purse. In the latest fiscal year, the Duchy of Lancaster reported a net profit of $30 million.
As with any business, the pandemic has taken a toll on royal revenue. In September, the Keeper of the Privy Purse acknowledged that the royal balance sheet faced a potential $45 million shortfall, mostly due to a major drop in tourism and visits to royal landmarks in the U.K. because of lockdowns. He also added that the royals wouldn’t be asking for extra funding from the Treasury. Not that the Queen needs to fill her coffers. Her Majesty’s $500 million in personal assets is thanks to her investments, art, jewels and real estate, including two castles: Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle. The bulk of that will pass down to Prince Charles when he finally ascends the throne. And like his mother, he won’t directly own most of that $28 billion, which includes the Queen’s personal wealth, the assets under the Crown Estate, its holdings in Scotland, the Duchy of Lancaster, the Duchy of Cornwall and two palaces: Buckingham and Kensington.
Charles, Inc.
Now 72, Prince Charles has the second-biggest operation within the royal family. As the Duke of Cornwall, Charles gets an income from the Duchy of Cornwall in addition to what he already receives from the Sovereign Grant. The Duchy was founded in the 14th century by Edward III to keep his first-born son occupied (and flush) while waiting to become king. Nowadays, the Duchy has a staff of 150 managing a portfolio of more than 130,000 acres of property across southwest England worth nearly $1.3 billion.
As with the Crown Estate, Prince Charles cannot sell the assets belonging to the Duchy, but he can earn money from them. By renting out property to retailers, farmers and residents, the Duchy brought in more than $50 million in revenue last year, $30 million of which went to the Prince of Wales and his descendants to support their respective staffs and operations. Even without the crown, the Duchy of Cornwall is far more lucrative for Charles than the Sovereign Grant, which paid him less than $2.5 million last year. Of that, $7.3 million funded the Prince’s 132 personal staffers, $6.75 million went to taxes and $4.4 million was dedicated to charitable activities, including the Prince’s Trust, Charles’ charity to help unemployed youth.
A good portion of this income has also been used to support his sons. Prince William and Prince Harry received a combined $7.8 million last year to support their own operations, but as Harry suggested in the Oprah interview, that is no longer the case for him. In the same interview, Meghan also suggested that part of what fueled the couple’s departure was the family’s intention to deny their son, Archie, from assuming the title of prince, along with the financial support from being a working royal. This, royal historian Harris says, is the manifestation of Charles’ particular focus on limiting the number of senior members—and consolidating the resources—of the family. Even if the decision to shut out Archie was strictly business, Harris notes that “the optics of that are not good, as that could be interpreted as excluding a mixed-race member of the royal family.”
“The worst possible accusation in their speech to Oprah was that the royal family is racist,” Brand Finance’s Haigh says. “That would damage the economic effect [of royals].” In her first statement after the Sunday interview, the Queen addressed the matter in an effort to mitigate the gallons of negative press ink spilled covering the scandal. “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,” Her Majesty said in her official announcement. “Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
William, LLC
The first son of Prince Charles and third in line to the throne, Prince William, does not have a direct source of income through his father’s Duchy—but he and his wife, Kate, certainly have the power to boost the sales of brands without the royal warrant, which, according to Brand Finance, added more than $165 million to the U.K. economy annually in 2017. Kate’s halo effect has often increased the sales of brands she is seen wearing or even those that emulated her style. In 2015, G.H. Hurt & Sons, which made Princess Charlotte’s baby shawl, recorded 100,000 visits after photos of the newborn appeared in the British press.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge don’t receive any money from their influence, however. Now 38, William receives an annual income from the Duchy of Cornwall to cover his family’s private expenses. In the fiscal year ending March 2020, the prince received a portion of nearly $8 million, which he had to share with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle before they announced they were stepping away from their royal duties. Yet the Duke of Cambridge is not fully dependent on the income from the Duchy—neither is Harry. Part of the estate of their late mother, Princess Diana, went to the princes on their 25th birthdays. Thanks to what he inherited from Diana—which Forbes estimated to be $10 million—Harry and his family were able to settle down in California, he told Oprah on Sunday, after his family “literally cut [him] off financially.”
Going Out Of Business
Being cut off from the British royal family is hardly a financial death sentence. Now settled down in a $14.7 million Santa Barbara mansion in California, Harry and Meghan have several sweet deals to sustain them over the next few decades. The income will be necessary to fund round-the-clock security, which could cost as much as $4 million per year.
They also have multiple revenue streams. In December, the couple released their first podcast with Spotify, called Archewell Audio. That same month, the couple signed a three-year podcasting deal with the music giant that could be worth from as much as $15 million to $18 million,Forbes reported in February. This is in addition to the Apple TV+ series on mental health that Harry will executive produce with Winfrey for an undisclosed sum and a $100 million, five-year Netflix deal the royal couple signed in September. They are expected to produce documentaries, docuseries, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming for the streaming service, and also rake in nearly four times the allowance they received from the Duchy of Cornwall.
Choosing Winfrey to conduct their first post-royal interview was as good for their future endeavors as it was for television. When Meghan opened up about her struggles with suicidal thoughts during her time at Frogmore Cottage and not having access to mental health support, Oprah mentioned her partnership with Harry. “No one should have to go through that,” she said instantly. “You know Harry and I are working on this mental health series for Apple, so we hear a lot of these stories.”
Free from the constraints of The Firm, Harry and Meghan will not likely struggle financially as his great uncle, King Edward VIII, did when he gave up the crown to marry an American divorcée, Wallis Simpson, in the 1930s. As Brand Finance’s Haigh notes, if they expand beyond their Netflix and Spotify deals and delve into jewelry and apparel, “Harry and Meghan could become a $1 billion brand.”
[69][69] ”Meghan: And, look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry, especially, because I know how much loss he’s suffered. But I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. And I . . . I just didn’t . . . I just didn’t want to be alive any more. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember — I remember how he just cradled me. And I was — I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that, ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere’. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution. And I called . . ”
‘In Winfrey’s interview, Meghan detailed how her mental health had deteriorated while she was pregnant amid a barrage of negative press and lack of support from “the firm” – the apparatus surrounding the royal household – which had repeatedly turned down her appeals for help and discouraged her from leaving the house for months.
“It was all happening just because I was breathing,” Meghan said, breaking down in tears during the interview, which was broadcast on ITV on Monday night. “I just didn’t want to be alive any more. That was a clear, real, frightening and constant thought.”
…..
……
”Morgan questioned on Monday’s edition of GMB whether she was telling the truth. “Who did you go to?” he said. “What did they say to you? I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report.”
Decision to quit follows Ofcom launching investigation after receiving more than 40,000 complaints
Piers Morgan has quit as co-host of ITV’s breakfast show Good Morning Britain after critical remarks he made about the Duchess of Sussex’s mental health prompted an on-air row with a colleague and an Ofcom investigation.
Pressure had mounted on Morgan since he made the comments on Monday’s edition of the show, which followed the airing of Meghan and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in the US on Sunday night.
The Guardian understands that a formal complaint was lodged with ITV on behalf of the duchess after the broadcast.
By early evening on Tuesday, Ofcom had received more than 41,000 complaints about Morgan’s behaviour, prompting the broadcasting regulator to launch an investigation into whether his comments broke the UK broadcasting code relating to harm and offence.
Just a couple of hours later, ITV released a statement saying: “Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add.”
In Winfrey’s interview, Meghan detailed how her mental health had deteriorated while she was pregnant amid a barrage of negative press and lack of support from “the firm” – the apparatus surrounding the royal household – which had repeatedly turned down her appeals for help and discouraged her from leaving the house for months.
“It was all happening just because I was breathing,” Meghan said, breaking down in tears during the interview, which was broadcast on ITV on Monday night. “I just didn’t want to be alive any more. That was a clear, real, frightening and constant thought.”’
She told Winfrey she had asked to go somewhere to get help with these suicidal thoughts, but was told it would not look good by one of the most senior people in the institution of the monarchy.
Morgan questioned on Monday’s edition of GMB whether she was telling the truth. “Who did you go to?” he said. “What did they say to you? I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report.”
The remarks provoked a backlash, and it is understood that ITV executives wanted Morgan to apologise for them on-air. During Tuesday’s programme Morgan said: “When we talked about this yesterday, I said as an all-encompassing thing I don’t believe what Meghan Markle is saying generally in this interview, and I still have serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what she said.
“But let me just state on the record my position about mental illness and on suicide. These are clearly extremely serious things that should be taken extremely seriously, and if someone is feeling that way they should get the treatment and help they need every time.”
On the same show, Morgan stormed off set after a discussion about Meghan with his colleague Alex Beresford. The weather presenter defended the couple, telling Morgan: “I understand you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle, or had one, and she cut you off. She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has but yet you continue to trash her.
As Beresford continued, Morgan got up and stormed out of the studio, saying: “OK, I’m done with this, sorry, no, can’t do this.” Beresford called his behaviour “pathetic” and “diabolical”, while co-host, Susanna Reid, was forced to send the show to an early break.
Beresford later tweeted of the discussion, in which he had also shared some of his own experiences of racism: “I wish I had the privilege to sit on the fence. In order for me to do that I would have to strip myself of my identity and that’s not something I can do. It’s not any of our places to pick apart claims of racism in order to make us to feel more comfortable.”
ITV’s chief executive, Dame Carolyn McCall, subsequently said the row was not “manufactured”.
McCall added that ITV’s managing director of media and entertainment, Kevin Lygo, had been in discussion with Morgan in recent days regarding his coverage of the Harry and Meghan interview. She said Good Morning Britain was a balanced show, adding: “ITV has many voices and we try and represent many voices every day. It’s not about one opinion.”
Among those reacting to Morgan’s exit from GMB, where he has been co-host since 2015, was Lorraine Kelly, who presents the 9am show on ITV that follows it. She told the BBC’s The One Show that Morgan had only just emailed her to break the news and said she had “no real details”.
“It’s certainly going to be quieter,” she said. “We all wish him well … Like I say, it will be calmer.”
Piers Morgan tweeted late on Tuesday: “Thinking of my late, great manager John Ferriter tonight. He’d have told me to do exactly the same thing. @GMB #TrustYourGut”
END OF THE ARTICLE
”Just a couple of hours later, ITV released a statement saying: “Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add.”
END OF THE GUARDIAN ARTICLE This is what ultimately led to his downfall after the Duchess of Sussex said she felt she “didn’t want to be alive any more”. ” Morgan said he “didn’t believe a word” the duchess had said in the interview. He later attempted to clarify his comments, saying his disbelief referred specifically to her claim that her request for support was rejected by Buckingham Palace. But by then, the damage was done.”
Piers Morgan first met Meghan Markle at a bar in Kensington in 2016.
At the time, the US actress was starring in legal drama Suits. She met Morgan while on a spring visit to the UK, as part of a trip that also included watching Wimbledon matches with her friend Serena Williams.
“We spent two hours in a pub, she had a couple of dirty martinis, I had a couple of pints, we got on brilliantly,” Morgan told Ryan Tubridy on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show.
“And then I put her in a cab, and it turned out to be a cab which took her to a party where she met Prince Harry. And the next night they had a solo dinner together, and that was the last I heard from Meghan Markle.
“She ghosted me, Ryan,” Morgan concluded. “Meghan Markle ghosted me.”
She might have gone quiet on Morgan, but it certainly wasn’t the last he and the rest of the world heard of Meghan.
Five years after those dirty martinis, she is the Duchess of Sussex, and her recent interview with Oprah Winfrey prompted so much anger from Morgan that it ultimately led to his exit from Good Morning Britain.
His departure has prompted a huge reaction from viewers and commentators, both positive and negative. But beyond those declaring their love or hatred for him, many have pointed out the far-reaching consequences of his exit.
It may be a symbolic and important gesture by a broadcaster concerned not to contradict its own message about mental health. But it will also mean the show loses its Rottweiler, who was widely praised for holding government ministers to account during the pandemic.
His absence will also almost certainly harm viewing figures. ITV shares fell nearly 5% on Wednesday, wiping almost £200m off its market value, following the announcement of Morgan’s departure.
At the point Morgan entered the world of breakfast television, ITV had been suffering poor viewing figures for several years. GMTV had been rebranded as Daybreak in 2010, but that was failing to match the ratings of its predecessor.
In 2014, ITV decided it was time for another change. Daybreak was scrapped, Good Morning Britain was launched, and Susanna Reid was poached from BBC Breakfast.
Morgan’s arrival the following year was disruptive, to put it mildly. He was combative and opinionated, a far cry from the usual warm, cuddly tone of breakfast television, and closer to the style of some morning programmes in the US.
Scepticism of woke culture was at the core of Morgan’s appeal, to the point where he wrote a book on the subject in 2020. While the rest of society grappled with issues of social progress, Morgan’s refusal to toe the politically correct line led to both backlash and praise.
His impact could be measured in a number of ways. First, there were the viewing figures, which increased dramatically. While BBC Breakfast held on to its crown, GMB improved its viewing share as people tuned in to hear Morgan’s take on the day’s events. As a result, ITV made more money from advertising.
You could also look at the column inches. The more outrageous Piers was, the more people would talk about him. The more news outlets wrote stories about him, the more clicks and ad revenue they got. By complaining so vocally, his critics were keeping him relevant, completing the cycle.
Those complaints from viewers and campaign groups were made both to Ofcom and ITV.
In 2019, an item about gender identity in which Morgan claimed he now “identifies as a penguin” prompted 1,000 complaints to the media regulator and outcry from charities and viewers. It sparked a petition, signed by more than 90,000 people, calling for his sacking. Proving his divisiveness, a counter petition was set up to keep him, and was signed by 72,000.
When a TV producer said on Twitter earlier this year that he would not work with Morgan again, the presenter responded by saying he would “rather employ a lobotomised Aardvark”. That led to an open letter to ITV accusing Morgan of bullying, signed by more than 1,000 industry workers.
And yet, Morgan has always considered himself to have liberal views. His CNN programme in the US was famous for his campaigning on gun control. And he claims “not to have a prejudiced bone in his body”, much to the incredulity of his opponents.
“The woke crowd loathe me, because the informed ones know I’m actually a liberal,” he wrote in his book, Wake Up, last year. “So on paper, I’m one of them. I’m therefore the enemy within.”
Morgan added that he considers himself a feminist and a supporter of gay rights, civil rights and transgender rights – “apart from the absurd new trend of limitless self-identification”.
But the damage his words have inflicted also cannot be ignored, such as his apparent dismissal of mental health issues. This is what ultimately led to his downfall after the Duchess of Sussex said she felt she “didn’t want to be alive any more”.
Morgan said he “didn’t believe a word” the duchess had said in the interview. He later attempted to clarify his comments, saying his disbelief referred specifically to her claim that her request for support was rejected by Buckingham Palace. But by then, the damage was done.
Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething spoke for many when he described Morgan’s comments as “wholly unacceptable, incredibly unkind and exactly where we should not be in public debate and discourse”.
“We’ve won lots of ground by talking and being more open about mental health challenges,” he said. “I think the comments and the tone of them would have set a number of people back.”
Morgan was also accused of missing the mark on the issues of racism raised by Meghan. He has always maintained the press’s coverage of her is motivated by her behaviour, not underlying racism.
“I’m sorry Piers, you don’t get to call out what is and isn’t racism against black people,” Trisha Goddard told him on Monday’s programme. “I’ll leave you to call out all the other stuff you want, but leave the racism stuff to us, eh?”
However, Morgan had also won over some of his previous critics in the past year, for his challenging interviews with government ministers. The absence of these exchanges will be a big loss to the show, as Kevin Maguire and Krishnan Guru-Murthy have pointed out.
Hiring a shock jock was always going to result in controversy. But could ITV have done more to rein him in?
Channel 4 historian and media commentator Maggie Brown said: “Piers Morgan needed a stronger editor or producer to just keep him in check while allowing him to be bombastic, mainstream and successful. Himself. This is a common pattern for much appreciated TV stars who go on to overstep the mark.”
And what might Morgan do next? Losing jobs has never stopped his career progression in the past.
After his exit from GMB, former politician George Galloway tweeted: “Dear Piers Morgan. You told me once ‘a sacking is an opportunity’. It turned out that way for me and I hope it will for you. In fact I’m sure it will.”
Morgan will not come cheap, but many would be keen to hire him all the same, particularly the soon-to-be-launched GB News. The channel’s chairman Andrew Neil said on Wednesday that he would be open to giving Morgan a job.
It is perhaps fitting that Morgan’s last ever appearance as a GMB presenter saw him finally get his six-year long wish.
“Good Morning Britain beat BBC Breakfast in the ratings yesterday for the first time,” Morgan pointed out when he received the viewing figures for Tuesday’s episode.
“My work is done.”
END OF THE ARTICLE
”Five years after those dirty martinis, she is the Duchess of Sussex, and her recent interview with Oprah Winfrey prompted so much anger from Morgan that it ultimately led to his exit from Good Morning Britain.” BBCPIERS MORGAN: FROM MEGHAN’S ”GHOSTING” TO GOODMORNING BRITAIN EXIT10 MARCH 2021 https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56326337
END OF NOTE 70
Reacties uitgeschakeld voor Notes 61 t/m 70/”The Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Story/Astrid’s Comments
LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace on Tuesday responded to Prince Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey. Here is the statement in full.
___
“The following statement is issued by Buckingham Palace on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.
“Harry, Meghan, and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
The Queen’s statement comes after palace insiders told the Daily Mail’s royal reporter Rebecca English that the Queen was in “crisis talks” with Prince William and Prince Charles about how to respond. “Staff are reeling,” a source said. “But there is [also] a strong sense of needing to retain a dignified silence and show kindness and compassion. There’s a lot people want to say but no one wins with a tit-for-tat battle. Bridges need to be built after all this is over, after all.”
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth said Tuesday that the royal family will address allegations of racism within Buckingham Palace made by Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex in their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The queen’s comments were her first since that interview, when Harry and Meghan Markle also detailed a lack of support by the royal family for the duchess’s mental health issues and media intrusion.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” Elizabeth said in a statement issued at 5:30 p.m. London time, after hours of speculation about how she would respond to the claims.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately,” she added.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
Before the statement, there had been a wall of silence from the royal family about the interview, which was aired Sunday on CBS and by British broadcaster ITV on Monday night.
The palace was said to have held “crisis talks,” according to British media reports, including the BBC, with senior royals reported to have had urgent discussions over how to limit the fallout from the interview, which saw Harry and Meghan allege that a member of the royal family had questioned what skin tone their then-unborn child might have.
Meghan, the first mixed-race member of the modern British royal family, would not reveal who had made the comment, saying, “I think that would be very damaging for them.”
The palace would not comment on the interview when contacted by CNBC on Tuesday.
During a public visit to a Covid vaccination center in London on Tuesday, Prince Charles was asked what he thought of the interview by a Sky News reporter, but did not comment.
Winfrey later clarified that the royal who had made the comment was not Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Philip.
In addition to allegations of racism, the interview contained damaging claims that the palace had failed to provide support for Meghan when she experienced mental health issues that left her feeling suicidal.
The Sussexes spoke of the pressures of royal life and also said they had been prompted to leave the U.K., and to step back from their roles as working royals early last year, because of hostility from the British tabloid press that they said the palace had failed to defend them from.
Nonetheless, the couple also said the royal family had been welcoming of Meghan when their relationship began in 2016. Meghan also said that the queen had always been “wonderful” to her.
Britain’s press responded on Tuesday with a mixture of recognition of how damaging the interview had been, and also some defensiveness.
While many papers reflected on the “bombshell” allegations that had left the palace “reeling,” others said the interview was self-serving for the couple and disrespectful to the queen.
The Daily Mirror’s headline said the interview had provoked “the worst royal crisis in 85 years,” while the Daily Express headlined with, “So sad it has come to this,” alongside a picture of the queen. The Daily Mail, meanwhile, headlined its paper Tuesday morning with the words: “What have they done?”
How damaging is it?
The interview has left commentators and royal correspondents questioning how damaging the allegations are for the royal family, an institution that has worked to maintain a public image of duty and decorum and has always sought to keep internal family affairs, let alone rifts and controversies, out of the spotlight.
After the U.S. broadcast of the interview, there was widespread public support for Meghan among commentators and friends of the couple. In the U.K., a country in which most people tend to hold the queen in high regard, if not always the wider monarchy, the reaction has been more mixed.
A live YouGov poll on Tuesday asked the public “with whom do your sympathies mostly lie” after the interview and the current results showed 40% of respondents feeling more sympathetic toward the queen and royal family, with 24% more sympathetic toward Harry and Meghan. Tellingly perhaps, another 24% said “neither.”
Whether the revelations will rock an enduring fascination with the British royal family at home and abroad remains to be seen. The dispute is bound to reignite debate over the value of the monarchy, however, and republican sentiment.
It has already stoked discussion in Australia, part of the Commonwealth and where the queen is still head of state, over whether it is time for change, with former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull reportedly telling ABC TV in Australia on Tuesday that “our head of state should be an Australian citizen, should be one of us, not the Queen or King of the United Kingdom.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, meanwhile, said Monday that the country was unlikely to stop having the queen as a head of state anytime soon.
Royal worth?
There has long been a debate over the worth and cost of the monarchy, which brings in tourism revenue to the country, but also comes at a cost to the British taxpayer.
The royal household receives income from what’s known as its Crown Estate — land and properties belonging to the queen, such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, open to the public during normal times and which bring in revenue — as well as what’s called the Sovereign Grant.
The single grant is money paid by the government to enable the queen to “discharge her duties as head of state,” the government says, but it also supports other senior royals’ official duties such as overseas visits, hospitality and public engagements.
In exchange for these public funds, however, the queen has to surrender revenue from the Crown Estate to the government, which in turn calculates how much money makes up the grant.
Explaining how the Sovereign Grant works, the government noted last year that: “In exchange for this public support, the Queen surrenders the revenue from The Crown Estate to the government which for 2018-19 was £343.5 million. The Sovereign Grant for 2020-21 is £85.9 million which is 25% of £343.5 million.”
That’s not much given that the royal family does attract visitors to the U.K., with tourism agency Visit Britain reporting back in 2017 that tourism linked to royal residences such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle adds up to 2.7 million visitors a year. It’s hard to pinpoint how many visitors come specifically to the U.K. because of the monarchy, however.
The anti-monarchy campaign group Republic contests the idea that the monarchy is a boon for U.K. tourism, saying there is no evidence to back up such claims.
[46] ”Meghan: But I can give you an honest answer. In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time . . . so we have in tandem the conversation of ‘He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.’
BBCMEGHAN AND HARRY INTERVIEW:RACISM CLAIMS, DUKE ”LED DOWN” BY DAD, AND DUCHESS ON KATE9 MARCH
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56316659
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s much-anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey has aired in the US and the UK – with the couple sharing their side of the story about life in the Royal Family.
The couple spoke about their relationships with other royals, racism and how their mental health suffered.
Meghan spoke with Oprah for most of the interview, before being joined by Prince Harry.
1. ‘Discussions about how dark Meghan’s baby might be’
One of the biggest allegations from the interview was that there were “several conversations” within the Royal Family about how dark Meghan and Harry’s baby might be.
“In those months when I was pregnant [there were] concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born,” said Meghan.
She said the conversations were with Harry, who relayed them to her. Both she and Harry refused to say which royal said it.
“That conversation, I am never going to share,” said Harry. “At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked.”
Harry also said that it hurt him that his family never spoke out about the “colonial undertones” of news headlines and articles.
2. Kate ‘made Meghan cry’ – not the other way around
“A few days before the wedding [Kate] was upset about the flower girl dresses and it made me cry,” Meghan said. She said Kate later apologised and brought flowers and a note to make amends.
“I’m not sharing that piece about Kate to be disparaging about her,” Meghan said. She said Kate was “a good person” and hoped that she would have wanted the false stories corrected.
3. Meghan said she was on the verge of suicide but was refused help
Meghan spoke about how lonely she felt after joining the Royal Family and the loss of her freedom. “When I joined that family, that was the last time until we came here that I saw my passport, my driver’s licence, my keys, all that gets turned over,” she said.
She said her mental health got so bad that she “didn’t want to be alive any more”.
“I went to the institution and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help, said I had never felt that way before and need to go somewhere, and I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
She said she went to “one of the most senior people” within the institution and then to the palace human resources department. “Nothing was ever done,” she added.
4. Meghan spoke to one of Diana’s friends
Princess Diana’s name came up many times throughout the interview – with similarities drawn between their experiences of being in the Royal Family.
“I didn’t even know who to turn to,” said Meghan, of the time when she was struggling. “One of the people I reached out to who’s continued to be a friend and confidante was one of my husband’s mom’s best friends.
“Because it’s like who else could understand what it’s actually like on the inside?”
5. Harry feels ‘let down’ by Charles
Oprah asked Harry about his relationships with his family and especially with his father, the Prince of Wales, and brother, the Duke of Cambridge.
At one point after stepping back as senior royals, Harry said Charles “stopped taking my calls”.
“I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like and Archie’s his grandson.
“But at the same time, of course I will always love him but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship.”
On William, Harry said he loved him to bits and they have been through hell together. “But we were on different paths.”
6. But the couple’s relationship with the Queen is good
Harry said he has a “really good” relationship with his grandmother and he has spoken to her more in the past year – including video calls with Archie – than he has for many years.
“She’s my colonel-in-chief, right? She always will be.”
Meghan also praised the Queen and said she gave her some beautiful jewellery for the couple’s first joint engagement together as well as sharing a blanket with her to keep warm while travelling together.
7. Harry ‘cut off financially’
In the first quarter of 2020, Harry said his family “literally cut me off financially”.
He said the Netflix and Spotify deals that he and Meghan have struck to make shows and podcasts were never part of the plan but “I had to afford security for us”.
“But I’ve got what my mum left me and without that we wouldn’t have been able to do this.”
The couple reveal that, after they were cut off, American billionaire and media mogul Tyler Perry provided Harry and Meghan with a home and security last year when they moved from Canada to southern California.
8. The truth behind a photograph
Meghan said that the evening after she told Harry that she was feeling suicidal, they had to attend an official event at the Royal Albert Hall.
Meghan spoke about a photo that has haunted her because of what it reminded her of.
She said a friend had commented how great the couple looked but she added: “That picture, if you zoom in, what I see is how tightly his knuckles are gripped around mine,” she told Oprah, as she became emotional.
“We are smiling and doing our job but we’re both just trying to hold on. “Every time those lights went down in that royal box, I was just weeping.”
9. Meghan ‘didn’t do any research’ on the Royal Family
Talking about the first time she met the Queen, Meghan said she was surprised to learn she had to curtsy.
She said she thought it was just “part of the fanfare” and didn’t happen inside the Royal Family
She described having to quickly practise curtsying before an impromptu lunch with the Queen. “I said: ‘It’s your grandmother,” said Meghan. “He said: ‘It’s the Queen.'”
Meghan added that she hadn’t done any research on the family before joining – and insisted she had never looked up her husband online while they were dating.
10. They exchanged vows three days before their wedding
Millions of people watched Harry and Meghan tie the knot at Windsor Castle in 2018. That ceremony was when they were legally married – but the couple revealed they also exchanged vows in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury three days before.
Meghan said: “We called the archbishop and we just said, ‘look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us… just the two of us in our backyard’.”
11. Archie’s favourite phrase is ‘drive safe’
Harry spoke about Archie, and the joy he gets from taking him out on bike rides. The interview included a clip of the toddler playing on the beach with his parents.
The couple joked that his favourite word for the past few weeks has been “hydrate”, and Harry said whenever anyone leaves the house, Archie tells them “drive safe”.
12. And… it’s a girl
The couple confirm they’re expecting a baby girl in the summer.
Harry said it was “amazing”, adding: “What more can you ask for?” – but said they would be done after baby number two arrives.
Towards the end of the interview, Oprah asked if Meghan had got her happy ending with Prince Harry after all. “Greater than any fairytale that you’ve ever read,” she said.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[48]
BBCMEGHAN AND HARRY INTERVIEW:RACISM CLAIMS, DUKE ”LED DOWN” BY DAD, AND DUCHESS ON KATE9 MARCH
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56316659
SEE FOR THE FULL TEXT, NOTE 47
[49]
2. Kate ‘made Meghan cry’ – not the other way around
BBCMEGHAN AND HARRY INTERVIEW:RACISM CLAIMS, DUKE ”LED DOWN” BY DAD, AND DUCHESS ON KATE9 MARCH
[52] ‘ And I . . . and I remember so often people within The Firm would say, ‘Well, you can’t do this because it’ll look like that. You can’t’. So, even, ‘Can I go and have lunch with my friends?’ ‘No, no, no, you’re oversaturated, you’re every-where, it would be best for you to not go out to lunch with your friends’. I go, ‘Well, I haven’t . . . I haven’t left the house in months’.”
[54] ”Oprah: So the institution is never a person. Or is it a series of people?
Meghan: No, it’s a person.
Oprah: It’s a person.
Meghan: It’s several people. But I went to one of the most senior people just to . . . to get help. And that — you know, I share this, because there’s so many people who are afraid to voice that they need help. And I know, personally, how hard it is to not just voice it, but when you voice it, to be told no.
Oprah: Whoo.
Meghan: And so, I went to human resources, and I said, ‘I just really — I need help’. Because in my old job, there was a union, and they would protect me. And I remember this conversation like it was yesterday, because they said, ‘My heart goes out to you, because I see how bad it is, but there’s nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution’.”
”Oprah: And I know that’s a loaded question, but . . .
Meghan: But I can give you an honest answer. In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time . . . so we have in tandem the conversation of ‘He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.
Oprah: What?
Meghan: And . . .
Oprah: Who . . . who is having that conversation with you? What?
Meghan: So . . .
Oprah: There is a conversation . . . hold on. Hold up. Hold up. Stop right now.
Meghan: There were . . . there were several conversations about it.
Oprah: There’s a conversation with you . . ?
Meghan: With Harry.
Oprah: About how dark your baby is going to be?
Meghan: Potentially, and what that would mean or look like.
Oprah: Whoo. And you’re not going to tell me who had the conversation?
Meghan: I think that would be very damaging to them.
Oprah: OK. So, how . . . how does one have that meeting?
There were conversations …about no security, no title… and how dark his skin might be when he’s born.
”Oprah: Well, what is particularly striking is what Meghan shared with us earlier, is that no one wants to admit that there’s anything about race or that race has played a role in the trolling and the vitriol, and yet Meghan shared with us that there was a conversation with you about Archie’s skin tone.
Harry: Mm-hmm.
Oprah: What was that conversation?
Harry: That conversation I’m never going to share, but at the time . . . at the time, it was awkward. I was a bit shocked.
Oprah: Can you . . . can you tell us what the question was?
Harry: No. I don’t . . . I’m not comfortable with sharing that.
Oprah: OK.
Harry: But that was . . . that was right at the beginning, right?
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family.
Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service. The honorary military appointments and Royal patronages held by The Duke and Duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty, before being redistributed among working members of The Royal Family.
While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family.
Notes to editors:
Following The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step away last year as working members of The Royal Family, a 12-month review was agreed.
A decision has now been made after conversations between The Duke of Sussex and Members of The Royal Family.
The military, Commonwealth and Charitable associations which will revert to The Queen are:
The Royal Marines, RAF Honington, Royal Navy Small Ships and Diving.
The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, The Rugby Football Union, The Rugby Football League, The Royal National Theatre and The Association of Commonwealth Universities.
IT was the most sensational royal interview since Diana’s Panorama bombshell 26 years ago.
Speaking to Oprah Winfrey in California, Harry and Meghan blasted “racist” Britain, the Royal Family and the Press, while highlighting Meghan’s mental health struggles. Here, we reveal the full astonishing transcript…
OPRAH: We can’t hug, everybody is double- masked and has face shields. You look lovely. Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl?
Meghan: We do this time. I’ll wait for my husband to join us and we can share that with you.
Oprah: That would be really great. Before we get into to it, I just want to make clear to everybody that, even though we’re neighbours, I’m down the road, you’re up the road, we’re using a friend’s place. There has not been an agreement, you don’t know what I’m going to ask, there is no subject that’s off limits and you are not getting paid for this interview.
Meghan: All of that’s correct.
Oprah: I remember sitting in the chapel — thanks for inviting me, by the way. I so recall this sense of magic. I never experienced anything like it. When you came through that door, you seemed like you were floating down the aisle. Were you even inside your body at that time?
Meghan: I’ve thought about this a lot. It was like having an out-of- body experience I was very present for. The night before, I slept through the night entirely, which is a bit of a miracle, and then woke up and started listening to Going To The Chapel, to make it fun and light and remind ourselves this was our day. We were both aware in advance of that this wasn’t our day, this was the day planned for the world.
Oprah: Everybody who gets married knows you’re really marrying the family. But you weren’t just marrying a family, you were marrying a 1,200-year-old institution, you’re marrying the monarchy. What did you think it was going to be like?
Meghan: I would say I went into it naively because I didn’t grow up knowing much about the Royal Family. It wasn’t part of something that was part of conversation at home. It wasn’t something that we followed. My mum even said to me a couple of months ago, ‘Did Diana ever do an interview?’ Now I can say. ‘Yes, a very famous one’, but my mum doesn’t know that.
Oprah: But you were aware of the royals and, if you were going to marry into the royals, you’d do research about what that would mean?
Meghan: I didn’t do any research about what that would mean.
Oprah: You didn’t do any research?
Meghan: No. I didn’t feel any need to, because everything I needed to know he was sharing with me. Everything we thought I needed to know, he was telling me.
Oprah: So, you didn’t have a conversation with yourself, or talk to your friends about what it would be like to marry a prince, who is Harry, who you had fallen in love with . . . you didn’t give it a lot of thought?
Meghan: No. We thought a lot about what we thought it might be. I didn’t fully understand what the job was: What does it mean to be a working royal? What do you do? What does that mean? He and I were very aligned on our cause- driven work, that was part of our initial connection. But there was no way to understand what the day-to- day was going to be like, and it’s so different because I didn’t romanticise any element of it. But I think, as Americans especially, what you do know about the royals is what you read in fairytales, and you think is what you know about the royals. It’s easy to have an image that is so far from reality, and that’s what was so tricky over those past few years, when the perception and the reality are two different things and you’re being judged on the perception but you’re living the reality of it. There’s a complete misalignment and there’s no way to explain that to people.
Oprah: With every family things get serious when you’re brought in to meet the grandmother or the mother. The grandmother is the matriarch and, in your situation it’s the Queen.’
Meghan: She was one of the first people I met. The real Queen.
Oprah: What was that like? Were you worried about making the right impression?
Meghan: There wasn’t a huge formality the first time I met Her Majesty The Queen. We were going for lunch at Royal Lodge, which is where some other members of the family live, specifically Andrew and Fergie, and Eugenie and Beatrice would spend a lot of time there. Eugenie and I had known each other before I knew Harry, so that was comfortable and it turned out the Queen was finishing a church service in Windsor and so she was going to be at the house. Harry and I were in the car and he says, ‘OK, well my grandmother is there, you’re going to meet her’. (I said) ‘OK, great’. I loved my grandmother, I used to take care of my grandmother. (He said) ‘Do you know how to curtsey?’ ‘What?’ ‘Do you know how to curtsey?’ I thought genuinely that’s what happens outside, that was part of the fanfare. I didn’t think that’s what happens inside. I go, ‘But it’s your grandmother’. He goes, ‘It’s the Queen!’
Oprah: Wow!
Meghan: And that was really the first moment the penny dropped?
Oprah: Did you Google how to curtsey?
Meghan: No, we were in the car. Deeply, to show respect, I learned it very quickly right in front of the house. We practised and walked in.
Oprah: Harry practised?
Meghan: Yeah, and Fergie ran out and said, ‘Are you ready? Do you know how to curtsey? Oh, my goodness, you guys’. I practised very quickly and went in, and apparently I did a very deep curtsey, and we just sat there and we chatted and it was lovely and easy and I think, thank God, I hadn’t known a lot about the family. Thank God, I hadn’t researched. I would have been so in my head about all of it.
Oprah: (What) you’re sharing with us is that you were no more nervous as a regular person who goes to meet somebody’s grandmother.
Meghan: I had confused the idea. I grew up in LA, you see celebrities all the time. This is not the same but it’s very easy, especially as an American, to go, ‘These are famous people’. This is a completely different ball game.
(Cut to them and Oprah at their house)
Oprah: What are you feeling here (their home)? What’s the word?
Meghan: Peace.
Oprah: Peace?
Meghan: Yeah.
(Oprah narrates) The day after our interview, I stopped over to Harry and Meghan’s new home.
Meghan: Hi, Guy (dog).
Oprah: Hi, Guy.
Meghan: Yeah, Guy’s been — Guy’s been through everything with me.
Oprah: Yeah, from the beginning, from the very first date, yeah?
Meghan: If Guy, I mean, I had him in Canada. I got him from a kill shelter in Kentucky.
Oprah: Yeah?
(In Harry and Meghan’s hen coop)
Meghan: Hi, girls!
(Oprah narrates) We put on wellies to feed the hens Meghan and Harry recently rescued from a factory farm. ‘I love your little designer house here. Archie’s chick inn. Oh, how cute is that.’
Harry: She’s always wanted chickens.
Meghan: Well, you know, I just love rescuing.
Oprah: So, this is a part of your new life? What are you most excited about?
Meghan: Whoop! You’re OK . . .
Oprah: What are you most excited about in the new life? What are you most excited about? Here, chick, chick, chick, chick.
Meghan: I think just being able to live authentically.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: Right? Like this kind of stuff. It’s so, it’s so basic, but it’s really fulfilling. Just getting back down to basics. I was thinking about it — even at our wedding, you know, three days before our wedding, we got married . . .
Oprah: Ah!
Meghan: No one knows that. But we called the Archbishop, and we just said, ‘Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us’. So, like, the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and that was the piece that . . .
Harry: Just the three of us.
Oprah: Really?
Harry: Just the three of us.
Meghan: Just the three of us.
(Back to Oprah)
Oprah: You know, the wedding was the most perfect picture, you know, anybody’s ever seen. But through that picture that we were all seeing, behind the scenes, obviously, there was a lot of drama going on. And soon after your marriage, the tabloids started offering stories that painted a not-so-flattering picture of you in your new world. There were rumours about you being ‘Hurricane Meghan’.
Meghan: I hadn’t heard that.
Oprah: OK.
Oprah: So, there were rumours about you being Hurricane Meghan, for the departure of several high-profile palace staff members. And there was also a story — did you hear this one? — about you making Kate Middleton cry?
Meghan: This I heard about.
Oprah: You heard about that. OK.
Meghan: This was . . . that was . . . that was a turning point.
Oprah: That was a turning point?
Meghan: Yeah.
Kate made me cry days before wedding, but I got blamed… that was hard.
(Oprah narrates) Six months after Harry and Meghan’s wedding, headlines began to swirl about a rift between Meghan and her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. It was reported that Meghan had left Kate “in tears” over the bride-to-be’s “strict demands” over flower-girl dresses.
Meghan: The narrative with Kate — which didn’t happen — was really, really difficult and something that . . . I think that’s when everything changed, really.
Oprah: You say the narrative with Kate, it didn’t happen. So, specifically, did you make Kate cry?
Meghan: No.
Oprah: So, where did that come from?
Meghan: (Sighs)
Oprah: Was there a situation where she might have cried? Or she could have cried?
Meghan: No, no. The reverse happened. And I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding. And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers and a note, apologising. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it. What was shocking was . . . what was that, six, seven months after our wedding?
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: That the reverse of that would be out in the world.
Oprah: The story came out six, seven months after it actually happened?
Meghan: Yeah.
Oprah: So, when you say . . .
Meghan: I would have never wanted that to come out about her ever, even though it had happened. I protected that from ever being out in the world.
Oprah: So, when you say the reverse happened, explain to us what you mean by that.
Meghan: A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining — yes, the issue was correct — about flower-girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings. And I thought, in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding, that it didn’t make sense to not be just doing whatever everyone else was doing, which was trying to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot.
Oprah: This was a really big story at the time, that you made Kate cry. Now you’re saying you didn’t make Kate cry, Kate made you cry. So, we all want to know, what would make you cry? What . . . what were you going through? You were going through all of the anxiety that brides go through putting their wedding together and going through all of the issues with your father: Was he coming? Was he not coming?
Meghan: Mmm.
Oprah: And there was a confrontation over the . . . the dresses?
Meghan: It wasn’t a confrontation, and I actually don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that, because she apologised.
Oprah: OK.
Meghan: And I’ve forgiven her.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn’t do but that happened to me. And the people who were part of our wedding going to our comms team and saying, ‘I know this didn’t happen.’ I don’t have to tell them what actually happened.
Oprah: OK.
Meghan: But I can at least go on the record and say she didn’t make her cry. And they were all told the same . . .
Oprah: So, all the time the stories were out that you had made Kate cry . . . you knew all along, and people around you knew that that wasn’t true?
Meghan: Everyone in the institution knew it wasn’t true.
Oprah: So, why didn’t somebody just say that?
Meghan: That’s a good question.
Oprah: Hmm.
Meghan: I’m not sharing that piece about Kate in any way to be disparaging to her. I think it’s really important for people to understand the truth.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: But also I think, a lot of it, that was fed into by the media. And I would hope that she would have wanted that corrected, and maybe in the same way that the Palace wouldn’t let anybody else.
Oprah: Yeah.
Meghan: Negate it, they wouldn’t let her, because she’s a good person. And I think so much of what I have seen play out is this idea of polarity, where if you love me, you don’t have to hate her. And if you love her, you don’t need to hate me.
Oprah: Mm-hmm. You know, there were several stories that compared headlines written about you to those written about Kate.
Meghan: Mmm.
Oprah: Since you don’t read things, let me tell you what was said.
Meghan: OK.
Oprah: There were stories where Kate was being praised for holding her baby bump.
Meghan: Oh, gosh, have I done it since we’ve been sitting down?
Oprah: Yes, you’ve been doing it the whole time.
Meghan: Probably. OK.
Oprah: Kate was praised for cradling her baby bump, and the headline about you doing the same thing said, ‘Meghan can’t keep hands off her baby bump for pride or vanity’.
Meghan: What does it have to do with pride or vanity?
Oprah: Well, I’m just — I’m just telling you about the stories, OK?
Meghan: OK, I hear you.
Oprah: Then there was a whole online piece about this: ‘Kate eating avocados to help with morning sickness’.
Meghan: (Laughs) I heard — OK, I heard about the avocado one.
Oprah: But you were eating avocados . . .
Meghan: And fuelling murder, apparently.
Oprah: Wolfing down a fruit linked to water shortages, illegal deforestation and environmental devastation. There was, seems . . . there seems to be . . . there was a . . .
Meghan: That’s a really loaded piece of toast. (Laughter) I mean . . . you have to laugh at a certain point, because it’s just ridiculous.
Oprah: That’s good: ‘That’s a loaded piece of toast.’ It’s about deforestation and . . .
Meghan: Oh, man!
Oprah: Oh, wow! So, do you think there was a standard for Kate in general and a separate one for you? And if so, why?
Meghan: I don’t know why. I can see now what layers were at play. Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: And, again, they really seemed to want a narrative of a hero and a villain.
Oprah: Yeah. You came in as the first mixed-race person to marry into the family, and did that concern you in being able to fit in?
Meghan: Mmm.
Oprah: And did that concern you in being able to fit in? Did you think about that at all?
Meghan: I thought about it because they made me think about it.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: Right? But at the same time now, upon reflection, thank God all of those things were true. Thank God I had that life experience. Thank god I had known the value of working. My first job was when I was 13, at a frozen yoghurt shop called Humphrey Yogart.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: I’ve always worked. I’ve always valued independence. I’ve always been outspoken, especially about women’s rights. I mean, that’s the sad irony of the last four years . . . is I’ve advocated for so long for women to use their voice, and then I was silent.
Oprah: Were you silent? Or were you silenced?
Meghan: The latter.
Oprah: So, how does that work? Were you told by the comms people, or the, I don’t know, the institution? Were you told to keep silent? How were you told to handle tabloids or gossip? Were you . . . were you told to say nothing?
Meghan: Everyone from . . . everyone in my world was given very clear directive, from the moment the world knew Harry and I were dating, to always say, ‘No comment’. That’s my friends, my mom and dad.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: And we did.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: I did anything they told me to do — of course I did, because it was also through the lens of, ‘And we’ll protect you’. So, even as things started to roll out in the media that I didn’t see — but my friends would call me and say, ‘Meg, this is really bad’ — because I didn’t see it, I’d go, ‘Don’t worry. I’m being protected’.
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: I believed that. And I think that was . . . that was really hard to reconcile because it was only . . . it was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to under-stand that not only was I not being protected, but they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family but they weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.
Oprah: So, are you saying you did not feel supported by the powers that be, be that The Firm, the monar-chy, all of them?
Meghan: It’s hard for people to distinguish the two because there’s . . . it’s a family business, right?
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: So, there’s the family, and then there’s the people that are running the institution. Those are two separate things. And it’s important to be able to compartmentalise that, because the Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me. I mean, we had one of our first joint engagements together. She asked me to join her, and I . . .
Oprah: Was this on the train?
Meghan: Yeah, on the train.
Oprah: Yeah.
Meghan: We had breakfast together that morning, and she’d given me a beautiful gift, and I just really loved being in her company. And I remember we were in the car . . .
Oprah: Can you share what the gift was? Or . . .
Meghan: Yes. She gave me beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace. And we were in the car going between engagements, and she has a blanket that sits across her knees for warmth. And it was chilly, and she was like, ‘Meghan, come on’ and put it over my knees as well.
Oprah: Oh, nice.
Meghan: Right. Just moments of . . . and it made me think of my grand-mother, where she’s always been warm and inviting and . . . and really welcoming.
Oprah: So, OK, so she made you feel welcomed?
Meghan: Yes.
Oprah: Did you feel welcomed by everyone? It seemed like you and Kate . . . at the Wimbledon game where you were going to watch a friend play tennis . . .
Meghan: (Laughs)
Oprah: Was it what it looked like? You are two sisters-in-law out there in the world, getting to know each other. Was she helping you, embracing you into the family, helping you adjust?
Meghan: I think everyone welcomed me.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: And, yeah, when you say, ‘Was it what it looked like?’, my under-standing and my experience of the past four years is it’s nothing like what it looks like. It’s nothing like what it looks like. And I . . . and I remember so often people within The Firm would say, ‘Well, you can’t do this because it’ll look like that. You can’t’. So, even, ‘Can I go and have lunch with my friends?’ ‘No, no, no, you’re oversaturated, you’re every-where, it would be best for you to not go out to lunch with your friends’. I go, ‘Well, I haven’t . . . I haven’t left the house in months’.
I mean, there was a day that one of the members of the family, she came over, and she said, ‘Why don’t you just lay low for a little while, because you are everywhere right now’. And I said, ‘I’ve left the house twice in four months. I’m everywhere, but I am nowhere’. And from that standpoint, I continued to say to people, ‘I know there’s an obsession with how things look, but has anyone talked about how it feels? Because right now, I could not feel lonelier’.
Oprah: Hmm. You were feeling lonely, even though your prince . . . you’re in love, you’re with him.
Meghan: I’m not lonely . . . I wasn’t lonely with him.
Oprah: Yeah.
Meghan: There were moments that he had to work or he had to go away, there’s moments in the middle of the night. And so, there was very little that I was allowed to do.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: And so, yeah, of course that breeds loneliness when you’ve come from such a full life or when you’ve come from freedom. I think the easiest way that now people can understand it is what we’ve all gone through in lockdown.
Oprah: Yeah, well, everybody can certainly relate now.
(Cuts to footage of interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby in South Africa in October, 2019)
Meghan: . . . asked if I’m OK, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.
Bradby: And the answer is, would it be fair to say, ‘Not really OK’, as in it’s really been a struggle?
Meghan: Yes.
(Back to Oprah)
Oprah: Well, I would have to say, in South Africa, when the reporter stopped and asked, ‘Are you OK . . ?’
Meghan: Mmm.
Oprah: And, whooo, we all felt that. Why did that question strike such a nerve? What was going on with you, internally at that time?
Meghan: That was the last day of the tour. You know, those tours are . . . I’m sure they have beautiful pictures and it looks vibrant, and all of that is true. It’s also really exhausting. So, I was fried, and I think it just hit me so hard because we were making it look like every-thing was fine. I can understand why people were really surprised to see that there was pain there.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: Because we were doing our job. Our job was to be on and to smile. And so, when he asked me that, I guess I had felt that it had never occurred to anyone that I, that I wasn’t OK, and that I had really been suffering. And I had known for a long time and had been asking the institution for help for quite a long time.
Oprah: Help for what?
Meghan: After we had gotten back from our Australia tour — which was about a year before that — and we talked about when things really started to turn, when I knew we weren’t being protected. And it was during that part of my pregnancy, especially, that I started to understand what our continued reality was going to look like.
Oprah: What kind of protection did you want that you feel you didn’t receive?
Meghan: I mean, they would go on the record and negate the most ridiculous story for anyone, right? I’m talking about things that are super-artificial and inconsequential. But the narrative about, you know, making Kate cry, I think was the beginning of a real character assassination. And they knew it wasn’t true. And I thought, well, if they’re not going to kill things like that, then what are we going to do?
It had never occurred to anyone that I wasn’t OK…I was really suffering, and asked for help.
Meghan: Separate from that, and what was happening behind closed doors was, you know, we knew I was pregnant. We now know it’s Archie, and it was a boy. We didn’t know any of that at the time. We can just talk about it as Archie now. And that was when they were saying they didn’t want him to be a prince or a princess — not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from protocol — and that he wasn’t going to receive security.
Oprah: What?
Meghan: It was really hard.
Oprah: What do you mean?
Meghan: He wasn’t going to receive security. This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy, where I’m going, ‘Hold on a second’.
Oprah: That your son — and Harry, Prince Harry’s son was not going to receive security?
Meghan: That’s right, I know.
Oprah: How . . . but how does that work?
Meghan: How does that work? It’s like, ‘No, no, no. Look, because if he’s not going to be a prince, it’s like, OK, well, he needs to be safe, so we’re not saying don’t make him a prince or a princess — whatever it’s going to be . . . ‘But if you’re saying the title is what’s going to affect their protec-tion, we haven’t created this monster machine around us in terms of clickbait and tabloid fodder. You’ve allowed that to happen, which means our son needs to be safe’.
Oprah: So, how do they explain to you that your son, the grandson, the great-grandson of the Queen . . .
Meghan: Mm-hmm.
Oprah: . . . is not going to have . . . he wasn’t going to be a prince? How did they tell you that? And what reasons did they give? And then say, ‘And so, therefore, you’re not . . . you don’t need protection’.
Meghan: There’s no explanation.
Oprah: Hmm.
Meghan: There’s no version. I mean, that’s the other piece of that . . .
Oprah: Who tells you that?
Meghan: I heard a lot of it through Harry and then other parts of it through conversations with . . .
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: . . . family members. And it was a decision that they felt was appropriate. And I thought, well . . .
Oprah: Was the title . . . was him being called a prince, Archie being called a prince, was that important to you?
Meghan: If it meant he was going to be safe, then, of course. All the grandeur surrounding this stuff is an attachment that I don’t personally have, right? I’ve been a waitress, an actress, a princess, a duchess. I’ve always just still been Meghan, right? So, for me, I’m clear on who I am, independent of all that stuff. And the most important title I will ever have is Mom. I know that.
Meghan: But the idea of our son not being safe, and also the idea of the first member of colour in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be . . . You know, the other piece of that conversation is, there’s a convention — I forget if it was George V or George VI convention — that when you’re the grandchild of the monarch, so when Harry’s dad becomes king, automatically Archie and our next baby would become prince or princess, or whatever they were going to be.
Oprah: So, for you, it’s about protection and safety, not so much as what the . . . what the title means to the world.
Meghan: That’s a huge piece of it, but, I mean, but . . .
Oprah: . . . and that having the title gives you the safety and protection?
Meghan: Yeah, but also it’s not their right to take it away.
Oprah: Yeah.
Meghan: Right? And so, I think even with that convention I’m talking about, while I was pregnant, they said they want to change the convention for Archie.
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: Well, why?
Oprah: Did you get an answer?
Meghan: No.
Oprah: You still don’t have an answer?
Meghan: No.
Oprah: You know, we had heard — the world, those of us out here reading the things or hearing the things — that it was you and Harry who didn’t want Archie to have a prince title. So, you’re telling me that is not true?
Meghan: No, and it’s not our decision to make, right?
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: . . . even though I have a lot of clarity on what comes with the titles, good and bad — and from my experience, a lot of pain.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: I, again, wouldn’t wish pain on my child, but that is their birthright to then make a choice about.
Oprah: OK, so it feels to me like things started to change when you and Harry decided that you were not going to take the picture that had been a part of the tradition for years and . . .
Meghan: We weren’t asked to take a picture. That’s also part of the spin, that was really damaging. I thought, ‘Can you just tell them the truth? Can you say to the world you’re not giving him a title, and we want to keep him safe, and that if he’s not a prince, then it’s not part of the tradition? Just tell people, and then they’ll understand?’
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: But they wouldn’t do that.
Oprah: But you were . . . you both, obviously, were aware that had been a part of the tradition? And there was a . . . was there a specific reason why you didn’t want to be a part of that tradition? I think many people interpreted that as you were both saying, ‘We’re going to do things our way. We’re going to do things a different way’.
Meghan: That’s not it at all. I mean, I think what was really hard . . . so, picture, now that you know what was going on behind the scenes, right? There was a lot of fear surrounding it. I was very scared of having to offer up our baby, knowing that they weren’t going to be kept safe.
Oprah: You certainly must have had some conversations with Harry about it and have your own suspicions as to why they didn’t want to make Archie a prince. What are . . . what are those thoughts? Why do you think that is? Do you think it’s because of his race?
Meghan: (Sighs)
Oprah: And I know that’s a loaded question, but . . .
Meghan: But I can give you an honest answer. In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time . . . so we have in tandem the conversation of ‘He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.
Oprah: What?
Meghan: And . . .
Oprah: Who . . . who is having that conversation with you? What?
Meghan: So . . .
Oprah: There is a conversation . . . hold on. Hold up. Hold up. Stop right now.
Meghan: There were . . . there were several conversations about it.
Oprah: There’s a conversation with you . . ?
Meghan: With Harry.
Oprah: About how dark your baby is going to be?
Meghan: Potentially, and what that would mean or look like.
Oprah: Whoo. And you’re not going to tell me who had the conversation?
Meghan: I think that would be very damaging to them.
Oprah: OK. So, how . . . how does one have that meeting?
There were conversations …about no security, no title… and how dark his skin might be when he’s born.
Meghan: That was relayed to me from Harry. Those were conversations that family had with him. And I think . . .
Oprah: Whoa.
Meghan: It was really hard to be able to see those as compartmentalised conversations.
Oprah: Because they were concerned that if he were too brown, that that would be a problem? Are you saying that?
Meghan: I wasn’t able to follow up with why, but that — if that’s the assumption you’re making, I think that feels like a pretty safe one, which was really hard to understand, right? Especially when — look, I — the Commonwealth is a huge part of the monarchy, and I lived in Canada, which is a Commonwealth country, for seven years. But it wasn’t until Harry and I were together that we started to travel through the Commonwealth, I would say 60 per cent, 70 per cent of which is people of colour, right?
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: And growing up as a woman of colour, as a little girl of colour, I know how important representation is. I know how you want to see someone who looks like you in certain positions.
Oprah: Obviously.
Meghan: Even Archie. Like, we read these books, and now he’s been — there’s one line in one that goes, ‘If you can see it, you can be it’. And he goes, ‘You can be it!’ And I think about that so often, especially in the context of these young girls, but even grown women and men who, when I would meet them in our time in the Commonwealth, how much it meant to them to be able to see someone who looks like them . . .
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: . . . in this position. And I could never understand how it wouldn’t be seen as an added benefit . . .
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: . . . and a reflection of the world today. At all times, but especially right now, to go — ‘how inclusive is that, that you can see someone who looks like you in this family, much less one who’s born into it?’
(Oprah narrates) When Meghan joined the Royal Family in 2018, she became the target of unrelenting, pervasive attacks. Racist abuse online aimed at Meghan Markle. There were undeniable racist overtones. This stands apart from the kind of coverage we’ve seen of any other royal.
There was constant criticism, blatant sexist and racist remarks by British tabloids and internet trolls. We have seen the racism towards her play out in real time. Referring to her as ‘straight outta Compton’. The daily onslaught of vitriol and condemnation from the UK Press became overwhelming and, in Meghan’s words, ‘almost unsurvivable’. (Back to Oprah)
Oprah: You’d said in a podcast that it became ‘almost unsurvivable’, and that struck me, because it sounds like you were in some kind of mental trouble. What was actually going on? ‘Almost unsurvivable’ sounds like there was a breaking point.
Meghan: Yeah, there was. I just didn’t see a solution. I would sit up at night, and I was just, like, I don’t understand how all of this is being churned out. And, again, I wasn’t seeing it, but it’s almost worse when you feel it through the expression of my mom or my friends, or them calling me crying, just, like, ‘Meg, they’re not protecting you’. And I realised that it was all happening just because I was breathing.
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: And, look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry, especially, because I know how much loss he’s suffered. But I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. And I . . . I just didn’t . . . I just didn’t want to be alive any more. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember — I remember how he just cradled me. And I was — I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that, ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere’. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution. And I called . . .
Oprah: So the institution is never a person. Or is it a series of people?
Meghan: No, it’s a person.
Oprah: It’s a person.
Meghan: It’s several people. But I went to one of the most senior people just to . . . to get help. And that — you know, I share this, because there’s so many people who are afraid to voice that they need help. And I know, personally, how hard it is to not just voice it, but when you voice it, to be told no.
Oprah: Whoo.
Meghan: And so, I went to human resources, and I said, ‘I just really — I need help’. Because in my old job, there was a union, and they would protect me. And I remember this conversation like it was yesterday, because they said, ‘My heart goes out to you, because I see how bad it is, but there’s nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution’.
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: This wasn’t a choice. This was emails and begging for help, saying very specifically, ‘I am concerned for my mental welfare’. And people going, ‘Oh, yes, yes, it’s disproportionately terrible what we see out there to anyone else’. But nothing was ever done, so we had to find a solution.
Oprah: Wow! ‘I don’t want to be alive any more,’ that’s . . .
Meghan: I thought it would have solved everything for everyone, right?
Oprah: So, were you thinking of harming yourself? Were you having suicidal thoughts?
Meghan: Yes. This was very, very clear.
Oprah: Wow.
Meghan: Very clear and very scary. And, you know, I didn’t know who to even turn to in that. And one of the people that I reached out to, who’s continued to be a friend and confidant, was one of my husband’s mom’s best friends, one of Diana’s best friends. Because it’s, like, who else could understand what’s . . .what it’s actually like on the inside?
Oprah: Did you ever think about going to a hospital? Or is that possible, that you can check yourself in some place?
Meghan: No, that’s what I was asking to do.
Oprah: Yeah.
Meghan: You can’t just do that. I couldn’t, you know, call an Uber to the palace.
Oprah: Yeah.
Meghan: You couldn’t just go. You couldn’t. I mean, you have to understand, as well, when I joined that family, that was the last time, until we came here, that I saw my passport, my driver’s licence, my keys. All that gets turned over. I didn’t see any of that any more.
Oprah: Well, the way you’re describing this, it . . . it’s like you were trapped and couldn’t get help, even though you’re on the verge of suicide. That’s what you are describing. That’s what I’m hearing.
Meghan: Yes.
Oprah: And that would be an accurate interpretation, yes?
Meghan: That’s the truth.
Oprah: That’s the truth.
Meghan: You know, and if you think about . . . it was one of the things that . . . it stills haunts me is this photograph that someone had sent me. We had to go to an official event. We had to go to this event at the Royal Albert Hall, and a friend said, ‘I know you don’t look at pictures, but, oh, my God, you guys look so great . . .’
Oprah: Yeah.
Meghan: . . . and sent it to me. And I zoomed in, and what I saw was the truth of what that moment was, because right before we had to leave for that, I had just had that conversation with Harry that morning, and it was the next day that I talked to the institution.
Oprah: You had the conversation ‘I don’t want to be alive any more’?
Meghan: Yeah.
Oprah: Whoo.
Meghan: No, and it was . . . it wasn’t even, ‘I don’t want to’.
Oprah: And then, you . . ?
Meghan: It was like, ‘These are the thoughts that I’m having in the middle of the night that are very clear . . .’
Oprah: Yes, clarification.
Meghan: ‘. . . and I’m scared, because this is very real. This isn’t some abstract idea. This is methodical, and this is not who I am’. But we had to go to this event, and I remember him saying, ‘I don’t think you can go’. And I said, ‘I can’t be left alone’.
Oprah: Because you were afraid of what you might do to yourself?
Meghan: And we went, and that . . .
Oprah: I’m so sorry to hear that.
Meghan: . . . and that picture, if you zoom in, what I see is how tightly his knuckles are gripped around mine. You can see the whites of our knuckles, because we are smiling and doing our job, but we’re both just trying to hold on. And every time that those lights went down in that Royal Box, I was just weeping, and he was gripping my hand.
Oprah: Wow.
Meghan: And then, it was, ‘OK, intermission’s coming, the lights are about to come on, everyone’s looking at us again’, and you have to just be on again.
Oprah: Yeah.
Meghan: And that’s, I think, so important for people to remember is you have no idea what’s going on for someone behind closed doors. You have no idea. Even the people that smile the biggest smiles and shine the brightest lights, it seems, to have compassion for what’s actually potentially going on.
Oprah: I know. The public is looking at you. And to think that you, earlier in the day, had said to Harry that you didn’t want to be alive any more.
Meghan: Yeah. And just hours before, just sitting on the . . . the steps in our cottage . . .
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: . . . just sitting there and then going, ‘ok, well, go upstairs and put your make-up bag in your sink and try to pull yourself together’.
Oprah: Nobody should have to go through that.
Meghan: And, you know, Harry and I are working on this mental health series for Apple, and we — yes, so — we, we, we hear a lot of these stories. Nobody should have to go through that. It takes so much courage to admit that you need help.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: It takes so much courage to voice that. And as I said, I was ashamed. I’m supposed to be stronger than that.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: I don’t want to put more on my husband’s shoulders. He’s carrying the weight of the world. I don’t want to bring that to him. I bring solutions. To admit that you need help, to admit how dark of a place you’re in.
Oprah: You’ve said some pretty shocking things here, revealing . . .
Meghan: I wasn’t planning to say anything shocking.
Oprah: OK.
Meghan: I’m just telling you what’s happened.
Oprah: OK.
Meghan: I’m sorry if it’s shocked you! It’s been a lot.
Oprah: I’m a little shocked.
Meghan: It’s been a lot.
Oprah: How do you feel about the palace hearing you speak your truth today? Are you afraid of a backlash or their reaction?
Meghan: I mean, I think I’m not going to live my life in fear. You know, I think so much of it is said with an understanding of just truth.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: But I think, to answer your question, I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time, we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: That at a certain point, you’re going to go, ‘But, you guys, someone just tell the truth’. And if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean, I’ve lost . . . there’s a lot that’s been lost already.
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: And I grieve a lot. I mean, I’ve lost my father. I lost a baby. I nearly lost my name. I mean, there’s the loss of identity. But I’m still standing, and my hope for people in the takeaway from this is to know that there’s another side.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: To know that life is worth living.
Oprah: OK. I’m so glad you see that now. We are going to take a break, y’all, and Harry’s going to join us.
Meghan: (Laughter)
(Ads and back to Oprah)
Oprah: So, hi.
Harry: Hello.
Oprah: Thanks for joining us.
Harry: Thanks for having me.
Oprah: You’ve been watching on the side, yeah?
Harry: Some of it.
Oprah: Yes. I want to say, first of all, let’s say congratulations . . .
Harry: Thank you.
Oprah: . . . for the new addition to your family. Meghan said she wanted to wait until you were here to tell us, is it a boy or is it a girl?
Meghan: You can tell her.
Harry: No, go for it.
Meghan: No, no.
Harry: It’s a girl.
Oprah: (Squeals)
Meghan: It’s a girl.
Harry: Yes!
Oprah: You’re going to have a daughter. Wow.
Meghan: It’s a girl.
Oprah: When you realised that and saw it on the ultrasound, what . . . what . . . what was your first thought?
Harry: Amazing. Just grateful, like any — to have any child, any one or any two would have been amazing. But to have a boy and then a girl, you know, what more can you ask for? But now, you know, now we — we’ve got our family. We’ve got, you know, the four of us and our two dogs, and it’s great.
Oprah: Done. Done? Two is it?
Harry: Done.
Meghan: Two is it.
Oprah: Two is it.
Meghan: Two is it.
Oprah: And when’s the baby due?
Meghan: In summertime.
Oprah: This summertime?
Meghan: Yeah.
Oprah: So, you all have been living in sunny California now for . . .
Meghan: Since March.
Oprah: Since March, OK.
(Oprah narrates) In late 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan left the UK And moved to Canada. The couple says they chose Canada, a commonwealth of Britain, with the intention of continuing to serve the Queen. After their move, Harry and Meghan say security normally provided by the Royal Family was cut off. By March 2020, just days before the Covid lockdown began, Meghan, Harry and Archie relocated to Los Angeles, where media mogul Tyler Perry offered them his home as a temporary refuge. He also provided security.
Three months later they bought their own home and settled in the Santa Barbara area. Last spring, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex created their own foundation and media content company called Archewell.
Oprah: And so you stayed at Tyler Perry’s house for several months.
Harry: Three months, I believe.
Meghan: Yeah, because we didn’t have a plan. We needed . . . we needed a house and he offered security as well, so it gave us breathing room to try to figure out what we are going to do.
Harry: The biggest concern was that while we were in Canada, in someone else’s house, I then got told at short notice security was going to be removed. By this point, courtesy of the Daily Mail, the world knew exact . . . our exact location. So suddenly it dawned on me, ‘Hang on a second. The borders could be closed. We’re going to have our security removed. Who knows how long lockdown’s going to be? The world knows where we are. It’s not safe. It’s not secure’.
Meghan: Well, and also . . .
Harry: We probably need to get out of here.
Oprah: So, what security did you have at the time that was going to be removed?
Harry: We had our UK security.
Oprah: So you got word from overseas?
Harry: Yeah.
Oprah: That ‘we’re taking away your security’. Why were they doing that?
Harry: Their justification is a change in status, of which I pushed back and said, ‘Well, is there a change of threat or risk?’ And after many weeks of waiting, eventually I got the confirmation that no, the risk and threat hasn’t changed but due to our change of status, (by) which we would no longer be official working members of the Royal Family, they’re obviously . . . what we proposed was sort of part-time, or at least as much as we could do without being fully consumed because of, I think, what most of you guys have covered already.
Meghan: We actually didn’t talk about that. It’s been so spun in the wrong direction, as though we quit, we walked away, we . . . all the conversations of the two years before we finally announced it.
(Oprah narrates) In January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan announced they would step back as senior members of the Royal Family. The swiftness with which they’ve taken this decision, only 18 months after they got married, has taken everyone by surprise, from the Queen all the way down.
The bombshell news sparked a worldwide media frenzy dubbed ‘Megxit’ by the British Press. Many reporters and viral posts blamed Meghan for the decision. In an official statement, Queen Elizabeth said: ‘Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.’ (Back to Oprah)
Oprah: OK, let me ask the question.
Meghan: Yeah?
Oprah: So, over a year ago, you shocked the world. You announced you were stepping back as senior members of the Royal Family. And then the media reported that you had ‘blindsided’ the Queen, your grandmother. So here’s a time to set the record straight. What was the tipping point that made you decide you had to leave?
Harry: Yeah, it was desperate. I went to all the places which I thought I should go to, to ask for help. We both did.
Meghan: Mm-hmm.
Harry: Separately and together.
Oprah: So you left because you were asking for help and couldn’t get it?
Harry: Yeah, basically. But we never left.
Meghan: We never left the family and we only wanted to have the same type of role that exists, right? There’s senior members of the family and then there are non-senior members. And we said, specifically, ‘We’re stepping back from senior roles to be just like several . . .’ I mean, I can think of so many right now who are all . . . they’re royal highnesses, prince or princess, duke or duchess . . . who earn a living, live on palace grounds, can support the Queen if and when called upon. So we weren’t reinventing the wheel here. We were saying, ‘OK, if this isn’t working for everyone, we’re in a lot of pain, you can’t provide us with the help we need, we can just take a step back. We can do it in a Commonwealth country’. We suggested New Zealand, South Africa . . .
Harry: Take a breath.
Meghan: Canada.
Oprah: Yeah. And you wanted to take a breath from what specifically? Let’s be clear.
Harry: From this . . . this constant barrage. My biggest concern was history repeating itself and I’ve said that before on numerous occasions, very publicly. And what I was seeing was history repeating itself. But more, perhaps. Or definitely far more dangerous because then you add race in and you add social media in. And when I’m talking about history repeating itself, I’m talking about my . . . my mother.
Harry: When you can see something happening in the same kind of way, anybody would ask for help, ask the system of which you are a part of — especially when you know there’s a relationship there — that they could help and share some truth or call . . . call the dogs off, whatever you want to call it. So to receive no help at all and to be told continuously, ‘This is how it is. This is just how it is. We’ve all been through it’ . . . and I think the biggest turning point for me was the . . . and it didn’t take very long. It was actually right at the beginning . . . was, OK, this union . . . us, me, being . . . having a girlfriend was going to be a thing. Of course it was. But I . . . I never expected, or I never thought . . .
Oprah: Because she was mixed race?
Harry: No, just . . . just the two of us to start with. I hadn’t really thought about the mixed-race piece because I thought, well . . . well, firstly, you know, I’ve spent many years doing the work and doing my own learning. But my upbringing in the system, of which I was brought up in and what I’ve been exposed to, it wasn’t . . . I wasn’t aware of it to start with. But, my god, it doesn’t take very long to suddenly become aware of it.
Oprah: Yeah, because you said you really weren’t aware of unconscious bias and all that that represents . . .
Harry: No.
Oprah: Until you met Meghan.
Harry: Yeah. You know, as sad as it is to say, it takes living in her shoes — in this instance, for a day, or those first eight days — to see where it was going to go and how far they were going to take it.
Oprah: And get away with it?
Harry: And get away with it and be so blatant about it. That’s the bit that shocked me. This is . . . we’re talking about the UK Press here, right? And this . . . the UK is my home. That is . . . that is where I was brought up. So yes, I’ve got my own relationship that goes back a long way with the media. I asked for calm from the British tabloids — once as a boyfriend, once as a husband and once as a father.
Oprah: So when I ask the question, ‘Why did you leave?’ the simplest answer is . . ?
Harry: Lack of support and lack of understanding.
Oprah: So, I want clarity. Was the move about getting away from the UK Press? Because the Press, as you know, is everywhere. Or was the move because you weren’t getting enough support from The Firm?
Harry: It was both.
Oprah: Both.
Harry: Yeah.
Oprah: Did you blindside the Queen?
Harry: No. I’ve never blindsided my grandmother. I have too much respect for her.
Oprah: So where did that story come from?
Harry: I hazard a guess that it probably could have come from within the institution.
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: So, I remember when you talked to her several times about this over . . .
Harry: Two years.
Meghan: Two years. But even the night before, days before, with the statement coming out, I remember that conversation.
Oprah: So, how do you know she wasn’t blindsided? Because the way it was presented through the Press is that suddenly you made this announcement. She didn’t know it was coming.
Harry: No, I . . . when we were in Canada, I had three conversations with my grandmother and two conversations with my father and — before he stopped taking my calls — and he said, ‘Can you put this all in writing what your plan is?’
Oprah: Your father asked you to put it in writing.
Prince Harry: Yeah. He asked me to put it in writing and I put all the specifics in there, even the fact that we were planning on putting the announcement out on January 7.
Oprah: So you just said that your dad stopped taking your calls. Why did he stop taking your calls?
Harry: Because I took matters in . . . by that point, I took matters into my own hands. It was like, ‘I need to do this for my family. This is not a surprise to anybody. It’s really sad that it’s gotten to this point but I’ve got to do something for my own mental health, my wife’s and for Archie’s as well’. Because I could see where this was headed.
Meghan: To have sat back and not said that for so long, it just feels really . . .
Oprah: To have been silenced all this time.
Meghan: Yeah.
Harry: Been three and a half, four years. Or longer, actually.
Meghan: We were saying . . . gosh, it must have been years ago we were sitting in Nottingham (Nottingham Cottage, where Harry lived as a bachelor and when first married) . . . I was sitting in Nottingham Cottage and The Little Mermaid came on. Now, who watches . . . who as an adult really watches The Little Mermaid? But it came on and I was like, ‘Well, I’m just here all the time, so I may as well watch this’. And I went, ‘Oh, my god! She falls in love with the prince and because of that, she has to lose her voice’.
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: But by the end, she gets her voice back.
Oprah: Gets her voice back.
Meghan: Yeah.
Oprah: And this is what happened here? You feel like you got your voice back?
Meghan: Yeah.
Oprah: So, you . . . you’re stepping back out of frustration and you just need to get out. And, you know, you heard Meghan share with us all . . .
Harry: Mm-hmm.
Oprah: The moment that she came to you, had the courage enough to say out loud . . .
Harry: Mm-hmm.
My father said: Can you put your plan in writing? Then he stopped taking my calls. I’d taken matters into my own hands.
Oprah: ‘I don’t want to live any more.’
Harry: Mm-hmm.
Oprah: And you didn’t know what to do?
Harry: I had no idea what to do. I wasn’t . . . I wasn’t prepared for that. I went . . . I went to a very dark place as well. But I . . . I wanted to be there for her and . . .
Meghan: Also, we didn’t leave right that minute, right?
Harry: I was terrified.
Meghan: We still . . . that’s almost a year after.
Oprah: So then did you tell other people in the family, ‘I have to get help for her. We need help for her’?
Harry: No. That’s just not a conversation that would be had.
Oprah: Why?
Harry: I guess I was ashamed of admitting it to them.
Oprah: Oh.
Harry: And I don’t know whether . . . I don’t know whether they’ve had the same . . . whether they’ve had the same feelings or thoughts. I have no idea. And it’s a very trapping environment that a lot of them are stuck in.
Oprah: You were ashamed of admitting that Meghan needed help?
Harry: Yeah.
Oprah: Mmm.
Harry: I didn’t have anyone to turn to.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Harry: You know, we’ve got some very close friends that . . . that have been with us through this whole process but for the family, they very much have this mentality of, ‘This is just how it is. This is how it’s meant to be. You can’t change it. We’ve all been through it’.
Oprah: ‘We’ve all been through the pressure. We’ve all been through being exploited’?
Harry: Yes. But what was different for me was the race element, because now it wasn’t just about her, but it is about what she represents. And therefore it wasn’t just affecting my wife. It was affecting so many other people as well. And that’s . . . that was the trigger for me to really engage in those conversations with Palace . . . senior Palace staff and with my family to say, ‘Guys, this is not going to end well’.
Oprah: And when you say ‘end well’, what did you mean?
Harry: For anyone it’s not going to end well. Because the way that I saw it was there was a way of doing things but for us — for this union and the specifics around her race — there was an opportunity, many opportunities, for my family to show some public support.
Oprah: Mmm.
Harry: And I guess one of the most telling parts — and the saddest parts, I guess — was over 70 Members of Parliament, female Members of Parliament, both Conservative and Labour — came out and called out the . . . the colonial undertones of articles and headlines written about
Meghan. Yet no one from my family ever said anything over those three years. And that . . . that hurts. But I also am acutely aware of where my family stand and how scared they are of the tabloids turning on them.
Oprah: Turning on them for what? They’re the Royal Family.
Harry: Yes, but it’s . . . there is this invisible . . . what’s termed or referred to as the ‘invisible contract’ behind closed doors between the institution and the tabloids, the UK tabloids.
Oprah: How so?
Harry: Well, it is . . . to simplify it, it’s a case of if you . . . if you as a family member are willing to wine, dine and give full access to these reporters, then you will get better press.
Oprah: What do you care about better press if you’re royal?
Harry: I think everyone needs to have some compassion for . . . for them in that situation, right? There is a level of control by fear that has existed for generations. I mean, generations.
Oprah: But who’s controlling whom? It’s the institution. From our point of view, just the public. It’s . . .
Harry: Yeah but the institution survives based on that, on that perception. So actually, if you don’t . . .
Oprah: So you’re saying there’s this relationship that Meghan was speaking of . . . it’s like, symbiotic. One lives or thrives because the other exists.
Meghan: Mmm.
Oprah: That’s what you’re saying.
Harry: That’s the . . . that’s the idea.
Meghan: Well, see, I think there’s a reason that these tabloids have holiday parties at the Palace. They’re hosted by the Palace, the tabloids are. You know, there is a construct that’s at play there. And because from the beginning of our relationship, they were so attacking and inciting so much racism, really, it changed our . . . the risk level, because it went . . . it wasn’t just catty gossip. It was bringing out a part of people that was racist in how it was charged. And that changed the threat. That changed the level of death threats. That changed everything.
Oprah: So, tell me this: You said a moment ago, it hurts that your family has never acknowledged the role that racism played in here. Did you think she was well received in the beginning?
Harry: Yes. Far better than I expected. (Laughter) But, you know, my grandmother has been amazing throughout. You know, my father, my brother, Kate and . . . and all the rest of the family, they were, they were really welcoming. But it really changed after the Australia tour, after our South Pacific tour.
Meghan: That’s when we announced we were pregnant with Archie. That was our first tour.
Harry: But it was also . . . it was also the first time that the family got to see how incredible she is at the job. And that brought back memories.
Oprah: I’m thinking, because I watch The Crown OK? I watch The Crown. Do you all watch The Crown?
Meghan: (Laughs)
Harry:: I’ve watched some of it. You’ve watched some of it?
Meghan: I’ve watched some of it.
Oprah: But there’s this . . . I think it was the fourth season, actually, where there is an Australian tour. So, is that what you’re talking about? It brought back memories of that? The Australian tour.
Harry: Yeah.
Oprah: Where your father and your mother went there, and your mother was bedazzling. So, are you saying that there were hints of jealousy?
Harry: Look, I just wish that we would all learn from the past. But to see the . . . to see how effortless it was for Meghan to come into the family so quickly in Australia and across New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, and just be able to connect with people in such a . . .
Oprah: But . . .
Harry: I know, I know, I know, I know. But it’s . . .
Oprah: Why, I mean, why wouldn’t everybody love that? Isn’t that what you want? You want her to come into the family and to, as the Queen said at one point, the way that Meghan had basically, not her words, been assimilated into the family.
Harry: Yeah, I think, you know, as we talked about, she was very much welcomed into the family, not just by the family, but by the world.
Oprah: Yeah.
Harry: Certainly by the Commonwealth. I mean, here you have one of the greatest assets to the Commonwealth that the family could have ever wished for.
Oprah: I just can’t . . . I’m kind of going back to this. So, then, you’re in Canada because you had stepped back. Your Firm says you’re no longer going to have protection. So, did you ask for that? Because did you want . . . were you trying to have it both ways? You wanted to step back but also keep your foot in royal business, it seems.
Harry: It’s interesting that you talk about it being, you know, ‘Have it both ways’ on the . . . on the security element. I never thought that I would have my security removed, because I was born into this position. I inherited the risk. So that was a shock to me. That was what completely changed the whole plan.
Oprah: So, that you as Prince Harry are going to have your security removed.
Meghan: Yeah. And I even . . . and I even wrote letters to his family saying, ‘Please, it’s very clear the protection of me or Archie is not a priority. I accept that. That is fine. Please keep my husband safe. I see the death threats. I see the racist propaganda. Please keep him safe. Please don’t pull his security and announce to the world when he and we are most vulnerable’. And they said it’s just not possible.
Oprah: Mm-hmm. I think what we really have got to clear up here is because one of the stories that continues to live, either through rumours or social media, out in the world, is that you, Meghan, are the one who manipulated, calculated, and are responsible for this Megxit.
Meghan: Oh, my gosh. It’s amazing how they can use Meg for everything.
Oprah: Yes. There are even stories that you knew all along that this was going to happen. You went through the whole process, and it was all intentional to build your brand.
Meghan: Can you imagine how little sense that makes? I left my career, my life. I left everything because I love him, right? And our plan was to do this for ever.
Harry: Yes.
Meghan: Our plan . . . for me, I mean, I wrote letters to his family when I got there, saying, ‘I am dedicated to this. I’m here for you. Use me as you’d like’. There was no guidance, as well, right? There were certain things that you couldn’t do. But, you know, unlike what you see in the movies, there’s no class on how to . . . how to speak, how to cross your legs, how to be royal. There’s none of that training. That might exist for other members of the family. That was not something that was offered to me.
Oprah: So, nobody tells you anything?
Meghan: No.
Oprah: Nobody prepares you?
Meghan: Nobody even . . .
Harry: There’s . . .
Meghan: Sorry, but even down to, like, the National Anthem. No one thought to say, ‘Oh, you’re American. You’re not going to know that’. That’s me late at night, Googling how . . . what’s the National . . . I’ve got to learn this. I don’t want to embarrass them. I need to learn these 30 hymns for church. All of this is televised. We were doing the training behind the scenes, because I just wanted to make them proud.
Oprah: OK, but here’s the question: Do you think you would have left or ever stepped back were it not for Meghan?
Meghan: Hm.
Harry: No. The answer to your question is no.
Oprah: You would not have?
Harry: I wouldn’t have . . . I wouldn’t have been able to, because I myself was trapped as well. I didn’t see a way out.
Oprah: She felt trapped, you were trapped?
Harry: Yeah, I didn’t see a way out.
Oprah: But you’d this life, your whole life. This has been your life your whole life.
Harry: Yeah, but, you know, I was trapped, but I didn’t know I was trapped.
Oprah: Mmm.
Harry: But the moment that I met Meg, and then our worlds sort of collided in the most amazing of ways, and then to see how . . .
Oprah: Please explain how you, Prince Harry, raised in a palace and a life of privilege — literally, a Prince . . . how you were trapped.
Harry: Trapped within the system, like the rest of my family are. My father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave. And I have huge compassion for that.
Oprah: Well, OK, so the impression of the world — maybe it’s a false impression — is that, for all these years before Meghan, you were living your life as a royal, Prince Harry . . . the beloved Prince Harry and that you were enjoying that life. We didn’t get the impression that you were feeling trapped in that life.
Harry: Enjoying the life because there were photographs of me smiling while I was shaking hands and meeting people? Like, I’m sure you guys have covered some of that. That’s . . . that’s a part of the job. That’s a part of the role. That’s what’s expected. No matter who you are in the family, no matter what’s going on in your personal life, no matter what’s just happened, if the bikes roll up and the car rolls up, you’ve got to get dressed, you got to get in there. You wipe your tears away, shake off whatever you’re thinking about and you got to be on your A-game.
Oprah: Mm-hmm. What would you think your mum would say about this stepping back, this decision to step back from the Royal Family? How would she feel about this moment?
Harry: I think she would feel very angry with how this has panned out, and very sad. But, ultimately, she’d . . . all she’d . . . all she’d ever want is for us to be happy.
Oprah: You wanted freedom from . . . from that life? You wanted freedom to make your own money. You wanted freedom to make deals with Netflix and Spotify. But you also wanted to serve the Queen?
Harry: Yeah, we didn’t want to . . . we didn’t want to give up, or we didn’t want to turn our backs on the associations and the people that we . . . that we’ve been supporting.
Meghan: But also, Oprah, it exists.
Harry: Yeah, it exists. But, also, the Netflix and the Spotify, they’re all . . . that was never part of the plan.
Meghan: Yeah.
Oprah: Because you didn’t have a plan?
Meghan: We didn’t have a plan.
Harry: We didn’t have a plan. That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford . . . afford security for us.
Oprah: Wait. Hold . . . hold up. Wait a minute. Your family cut you off?
Harry: Yeah, in the first half, the first quarter of 2020. But I’ve got what my mum left me, and, without that, we would not have been able to do this.
Oprah: OK.
Harry: So, you know, touching back on what you asked me, what my mum would think of this, I think she saw it coming. And I certainly felt her presence throughout this whole process. And, you know, for me, I’m . . . I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side. Because I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like for her going through this process by herself all those years ago, because it’s been unbelievably tough for the two of us, but at least we had each other.
Oprah: What’s your relationship like now with your family?
Harry: I’ve spoken more to my grandmother in the last year than I have done for many, many years.
Oprah: Do you all have Zoom calls?
Harry: We did a couple of Zoom calls with Archie.
Meghan: Sometimes, yes, so they can see Archie.
Oprah: Yeah.
Harry: My grandmother and I have a really good relationship . . .
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Harry: . . . And an understanding. And I have a deep respect for her. She’s my Colonel-In-Chief, right? She always will be.
Oprah: Your relationship with your father? Is he taking your calls now?
Harry: Yeah. Yeah, he is. There’s a lot to work through there, you know? I feel really let down, because he’s been through something similar. He knows what pain feels like, and this is . . . and Archie’s his grandson. And . . . but, at the same time, you know, I, of course I will always . . . I will always love him, but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened. And . . . and I will continue to . . . to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship. And, but they only know what they know, and that’s the thing. I’ve tried to . . .
Meghan: Or what they’re told.
Harry: Or what they’re told. And I’ve tried to educate them through the process that I have been educated.
Oprah: Because is it like being in a big royal bubble?
Harry: Yeah.
Oprah: Yeah. And your brother? Relationship? Much has been said about that.
Harry: Yeah, and much will continue to be said about that. You know, as I’ve said before, I love William to bits. He’s my brother. We’ve been through hell together. I mean, we have a shared experience. But we . . . you know, we’re on . . . we’re on different paths.
Oprah: Well, what is particularly striking is what Meghan shared with us earlier, is that no one wants to admit that there’s anything about race or that race has played a role in the trolling and the vitriol, and yet Meghan shared with us that there was a conversation with you about Archie’s skin tone.
Harry: Mm-hmm.
Oprah: What was that conversation?
Harry: That conversation I’m never going to share, but at the time . . . at the time, it was awkward. I was a bit shocked.
Oprah: Can you . . . can you tell us what the question was?
Harry: No. I don’t . . . I’m not comfortable with sharing that.
Oprah: OK.
Harry: But that was . . . that was right at the beginning, right?
Oprah: Like, what will the baby look like?
Harry: Yeah, what will the kids look like?
Oprah: What will the kids look like?
Harry: But that was right at the beginning, when she wasn’t going to get security, when members of my family were suggesting that she carries on acting, because there was not enough money to pay for her, and all this sort of stuff. Like, there was some real obvious signs before we even got married that this was going to be really hard.
Oprah: So, in conclusion, if you’d had the support, you’d still be there?
Harry: Without question.
Meghan: Yeah.
Harry: I’m sad that . . . that what’s happened has happened, but I know, and I’m comfortable in knowing, that we did everything that we could to make it work. And we did everything on the exit process the way that . . . the way that it should have been done.
Meghan: With as much respect.
Harry: With as much respect.
Meghan: And, oh, my God, we just did everything we could to . . . to protect them.
Oprah: So, what do you say to the people who say you came here, you made these multimillion-dollar deals and that you’re just money-grabbing royals?
Harry: First off, this was never the intention.
Oprah: Mm-hmm.
Meghan: Yeah.
Harry: And we’re certainly not complaining. We . . . our life is great now. We’ve got a beautiful house. We’ve got a beautiful . . . I’ve got a beautiful family. And the dogs . . . the dogs are really happy. But at the time, during Covid, the suggestion by a friend was, ‘What about streamers?’
Meghan: Yeah, we genuinely hadn’t thought about that before.
Harry: We hadn’t thought about it. So there were all sorts of different options. And, look, from my perspective, all I needed was enough money to be able to pay for security to keep my family safe.
Oprah: Mm. How will you use Archewell as a means of speaking to things that are important to you in the world?
Meghan: I think in creating . . . I mean, life is about storytelling, right? About the stories we tell ourselves, the stories we’re told, what we buy into. And . . . and for us to be able to have storytelling through a truthful lens, that hopefully is uplifting, is going to be great knowing how many people that can land with. And being able to give a voice to a lot of people that are under-represented and aren’t really heard.
Oprah: Any regrets?
Meghan: This morning, I woke up earlier than H and saw a note from someone on our team in the UK saying the Duke of Edinburgh had gone to the hospital.
Oprah: Yeah.
Meghan: But I just picked up the phone and I called the Queen just to check in.
Oprah: You check in?
Meghan: Just like, I would . . . you know . . . that’s what we do. It’s like, being able to default to not having to every moment go, ‘Is that appropriate?’
Oprah: Yeah.
Harry: For so many in my family, what they do is . . . there’s a level of control in it, right? Because they’re fearful of what the papers are going to say about them.
Oprah: Yeah.
Harry: Whereas with us, it was just, like, just be . . . just be yourself. Just be genuine. Just be authentic. Just go and do what it is. If you get it wrong, you get it wrong. If you get it right, you get it right.
(Oprah narrates) On February 19, 2021, Buckingham palace released a statement announcing it was agreed that Prince Harry and Meghan would not return as working members of the Royal Family. Harry and Meghan’s royal patronages and Prince Harry’s honorary military titles would be returned to the Queen. The Queen’s statement was released after our interview took place. (Back to Oprah)
Oprah: Your exit agreement with the Royal Family, it’s . . . that is coming up at the end of this month.
Harry: The decision is, I think. Yeah, I mean, the decision — what, as of last week, or whatever it was — is that they will be removing everything.
Oprah: Are you hurt by that decision?
Harry: I am hurt. But at the same time I completely respect my grandmother’s decision. I would still love for us to be able to continue to support those associations, albeit without the title or the role.
Oprah: Could you be as satisfied now, doing this through your own organisation, Archewell?
Meghan: Well, we . . . this is what we’re doing, right? We’re still doing it. We’re still going to always do the work. But I also think it’s important for you or everyone to know this decision that was made about patronages and all of that was before anyone knew that we were sitting down with you.
Harry: Yeah.
Meghan: I think that it’s . . . I can only imagine . . .
Oprah: I heard a story that you’re getting punished now. Those were being taken away because you did sit down with me.
Meghan: Yeah, but that was . . . those letters, those conversations, that was . . . that was finalised before anyone even knew that we were going to sit down. So that’s just not true.
Oprah: All right, tell me this. Harry, what delights you now in your everyday experience and the things that you actually cherish in your life here with Archie and Meghan?
Harry: This year has been crazy for everybody. But to have outdoor space where I can go for walks with Archie, and we can go for walks as a family and with the dogs, and we can go on hikes — we’ll go down to the beach, which is so close — all of these things are just . . . I guess, the highlight for me is sticking him on the back of the bicycle in his little baby seat and taking him on these bike rides, which is something I was never able to do when I was young. I can see him on the back and he’s got his arms out and he’s like, ‘Whoo!’ chatting, chatting, chatting, going, ‘Palm tree! House!’ and all this sort of stuff. And I do . . . I think to myself . . .
In some ways it’s just the beginning. Greater than any fairytale you’ve ever read…
Oprah: What’s his new favourite word? What’s his favourite word now?
Meghan: Oh my gosh, he’s on a roll. In the past couple weeks it has been hydrate, which is just hysterical.
Harry: But also, whenever everyone leaves the house, he’s like, ‘Drive safe’.
Meghan: ‘Drive safe’.
(Oprah laughs)
Harry: Which is really . . .
Meghan: He’s not even two yet!
Oprah: You said that your brother was trapped. You said that you love your brother and always will love your brother. You didn’t tell me what the relationship is now, though.
Harry: The relationship is space at the moment. And, you know, time heals all things, hopefully.
Oprah: Any regrets?
Harry: No. I mean . . . no, I think we’ve done . . . I’m really proud of us, you know? I’m so proud of . . . I’m so proud of my wife. Like, she safely delivered Archie during a period of time which was so cruel and so mean. And every single day, I was coming back from work, from London, I was coming back to my wife crying while breastfeeding Archie. That’s coming from someone who wasn’t reading anything. And as she touched on earlier, if she had read anything, she wouldn’t be here now. So we did what we had to do — and now we’ve got another little one on the way.
Meghan: I have one. My regret is believing them when they said I would be protected. I believed that. And I regret believing that because I think, ‘had I really seen that that wasn’t happening, I would have been able to do more’. But I think I wasn’t supposed to see it. I wasn’t supposed to know. And . . . and now, because we’re actually on the other side, we’ve actually not just survived but are thriving. You know, this . . . I mean, this is miracles. I . . . yeah, I think that all of those things that I was hoping for have happened . . . and this is in some ways just the beginning for us. You know, we’ve been through a lot. It’s felt like a lifetime. (Laughs.) A lifetime.
Oprah: So, your story with the prince does have a happy ending?
Meghan: It does.
Harry: Yeah.
Meghan: Yeah. (Laughs.) It really did.
Oprah: It has a happy ending because you made it so.
Meghan: Yeah, greater than any fairytale you’ve ever read.
Oprah: Greater than any fairytale.
Meghan: Yeah, yeah.
Oprah: What you’ve described here today — being trapped and not even being aware of it and all the things that had transpired, and then she comes into your life and then you’re doing therapy — do you think in some way she saved you?
Harry: Yeah. Without question. There was . . . there was a bigger purpose. There was other forces at play, I think, throughout this whole process. I’m the last person to think, ‘Ooh!’ You know? But it’s undeniable when these things have happened, where the overlap is. So yeah, she did. Without question she saved me.
Meghan: And I would . . . I would . . . I mean, I think that’s lovely. I would disagree. I think he saved all of us, right? He ultimately called it and was like, ‘We’ve got to find a way for us, for Archie’. And you made a decision that saved . . . certainly saved my life and saved all of us. But, you know, you need to want to be saved.
Oprah: Well, thank you for sharing your love story. We can’t wait for the big day some time this summer.
Meghan: Yes, indeed.
Oprah: Sometime this summer.
Meghan: Yeah.
Oprah: Thank you both for trusting me to share your story.
[45] [45] ”Oprah: And I know that’s a loaded question, but . . .
Meghan: But I can give you an honest answer. In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time . . . so we have in tandem the conversation of ‘He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.
Oprah: What?
Meghan: And . . .
Oprah: Who . . . who is having that conversation with you? What?
Meghan: So . . .
Oprah: There is a conversation . . . hold on. Hold up. Hold up. Stop right now.
Meghan: There were . . . there were several conversations about it.
Oprah: There’s a conversation with you . . ?
Meghan: With Harry.
Oprah: About how dark your baby is going to be?
Meghan: Potentially, and what that would mean or look like.
Oprah: Whoo. And you’re not going to tell me who had the conversation?
Meghan: I think that would be very damaging to them.
Oprah: OK. So, how . . . how does one have that meeting?
There were conversations …about no security, no title… and how dark his skin might be when he’s born.
Meghan: That was relayed to me from Harry. Those were conversations that family had with him. And I think . . .
Oprah: Whoa.”
THE SUN
MEGHAN MARKLE OPRAH INTERVIEW: READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPTOF DUCHESS AND PRINCE HARRY’S BOMBSHELL CONFESSIONS
On 8 January, they confirmed plans to raise their son, Archie, overseas, free from the constraints of palace life and a media the prince felt was hounding his wife much as it once did his late mother.
What was originally planned as a soft Megxit – keeping the HRH titles, but working towards becoming self-supporting – became a hard one when Buckingham Palace ruled out the option of being half in and half out of royal life. The Sussexes moved to Los Angeles, near Meghan’s mother; shortly afterwards, Harry’s father, Prince Charles, fell ill with coronavirus back home. By summer the prince was rumoured to be struggling to adjust to his new life, although Meghan’s recent revelation that she had a miscarriage in July sheds new light on what was evidently a sad time for the couple.
“You can see from Meghan’s reactions in discussions that have been posted online that she’s really happy to be back in the US,” says Victoria Murphy, royal correspondent for Town & Country magazine and the author of Sixty Glorious Years: Queen Elizabeth II. “If you imagine what they might have hoped to achieve when they decided to go their own way, I’d say they have ticked a lot of those boxes.”
Yet their ongoing relationship with the Firm remains a work in progress. “Harry’s relationship to the crown is not going to lessen over time; if anything it will be closer when he is the son, rather than grandson of the monarch,” says Murphy. “So everything they do publicly will always be discussed in the context of the royal family.” And there have been awkward moments; the palace’s refusal to let Harry send a wreath for laying at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day looked petty, given he has served in combat. Drafting the Queen’s annual Christmas message may also be a challenge, although Murphy points out the monarch usually glosses over personal difficulties. Meanwhile, the latest series of The Crown, which portrays the young Harry and William as little boys swimming in a dysfunctional goldfish bowl, seems likely only to increase millennial sympathy for the Sussexes. Who would want that life for their own child?
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved from the home they were staying in on Vancouver Island and are now settled in the U.S., the source says. They are in Los Angeles — Meghan’s hometown. They have been living in a secluded compound and haven’t ventured out amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A representative for the couple had no comment.
Although the couple and their 10-month-old son Archie had been living in Canada since announcing they were stepping back from their royal roles in January, sources told PEOPLE that they had been making plans to spend time in L.A.
Meghan, 38, has a big support system in L.A., including her mother Doria Ragland, who works as a social worker and yoga instructor, and several friends who visited the couple on Vancouver Island.
A person in their circle previously told PEOPLE that they were “looking at houses in L.A.”
“Harry is looking straight ahead at his future with his family,” another source said. “They will be spending time in California…He’s not looking back.”
Charles was last with his sons William and Harry in public on March 9 at the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey. The event marked Harry and wife Meghan Markle’s last official royal event in the U.K. before they officially step down as senior working royals on March 31.
“These are uncertain times. And now, more than ever, we need each other. We need each other for truth, for support, and to feel less alone during a time that can honestly feel quite scary,” they wrote on Instagram last week. “There are so many around the world who need support right now, who are working tirelessly to respond to this crisis behind the scenes, on the frontline, or at home. Our willingness, as a people, to step up in the face of what we are all experiencing with COVID-19 is awe-inspiring. This moment is as true a testament there is to the human spirit.”
On Monday, they paid tribute to healthcare workers in a post, saying: “Around the world, the response from people in every walk of life, to protect and look out for their communities has been inspiring. None more so than the brave and dedicated healthcare workers on the frontline, risking their own well-being to care for the sick and fight COVID-19. Wherever you are in the world, we are all incredibly grateful.”
Meghan’s first post-royal gig was announced on Thursday. The Duchess of Sussex has provided the narration for the upcoming Disneynature documentary, Elephant, streaming on April 3 on Disney+.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[33]
”The Sussexes are reportedly happier than ever now that they’ve settled into their new Montecito home with their son, Archie, and feel like they’ve become an even stronger couple during the past several months, Prince Harry is “thriving,” per Us Weekly, and has “grown in confidence…Harry isn’t looking back.”
It’s been exactly one year since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their intention to step down as senior royals, and over the past 12 months, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to California, purchased their first home together, signed a huge Netflix deal and launched their nonprofit, Archewell.
The Sussexes are reportedly happier than ever now that they’ve settled into their new Montecito home with their son, Archie, and feel like they’ve become an even stronger couple during the past several months, Prince Harry is “thriving,” per Us Weekly, and has “grown in confidence…Harry isn’t looking back.”
While Prince Harry and Meghan’s move was dubbed “Megxit” by a number of media outlets, that term seems to be a major misnomer, as it was actually Prince Harry who was the main force behind the final move, according to a new report in Vanity Fair. Meghan was “simply the catalyst,” as it “came to the point where [Prince Harry] wanted a different way of life.”
Prince Harry and Meghan’s announcement last year came as a shock to many, though, and the royal family was reportedly taken aback by the Sussexes’ decision to release a statement before the details of the exit deal had been finalized. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had actually been carefully working on the plan for months, per Vanity Fair, and only had to make their announcement in such a way because the news had been leaked to the press.
The royals weren’t thrilled with the way the whole situation unfolded, and the already tense relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry only worsened, as the Duke of Cambridge was reportedly so angry with his brother that he refused to join Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth for lunch prior to the now-infamous Sandringham Summit.
Over the past several months, however, the brothers have been working to repair their relationship, and though they haven’t been able to see each other in-person in nearly a year due to the COVID-19 crisis, they’ve been talking more regularly, and are hoping to reunite in the U.K. in the next few months, in time for Prince Philip’s milestone 100th birthday celebration in June, as well as for the unveiling of a statue in Princess Diana’s honor in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace over the summer. Prince William and Kate Middleton are also reportedly planning on making a big trip to the Sussexes’ side of the pond, as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are hoping to travel to Santa Barbara to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new home before the end of the year.
Prince Harry and Meghan were devastated by the loss, but according to People, remained “hopeful that they would get pregnant again.” The Duke and Duchess are “overjoyed” that it happened so quickly, as they always wanted to give their son, Archie, a sibling that’s close in age.
The Sussexes are “super excited” that Archie will have sibling, as they’ve long planned on having two children. Archie turns two in May, and while Prince Harry and Meghan haven’t disclosed any details, a royal source told Us Weekly that Meghan is due in late spring.
If true, that means that Archie will be approximately two years older than his little sibling, which is just about the same age gap as Prince Harry and Prince William.
Prince Harry and Meghan are delighted by the pregnancy, though they were understandably both nervous after the miscarriage they experienced last year. “It took them a while before they could fully relax and enjoy this pregnancy,” per People, but now they’ve been able to take it all in.
While the Sussexes have remained quiet about the pregnancy since their big reveal, eager royal watchers might get a bit more info on the royal baby soon, as Prince Harry and Meghan are sitting down for a special interview with Oprah Winfrey that’s set to air March 7, and per Oprah’s pal Gayle King, “nothing is off-limits.”
END OF THE ARTICLE
[35]
”Oprah: So, hi.
Harry: Hello.
Oprah: Thanks for joining us.
Harry: Thanks for having me.
Oprah: You’ve been watching on the side, yeah?
Harry: Some of it.
Oprah: Yes. I want to say, first of all, let’s say congratulations . . .
Harry: Thank you.
Oprah: . . . for the new addition to your family. Meghan said she wanted to wait until you were here to tell us, is it a boy or is it a girl?
Meghan: You can tell her.
Harry: No, go for it.
Meghan: No, no.
Harry: It’s a girl.
Oprah: (Squeals)
Meghan: It’s a girl.
Harry: Yes!
Oprah: You’re going to have a daughter. Wow.
Meghan: It’s a girl.”
OPRAH WINFREY MEETS PRINCE HARRY AND HIS WIFE MEGHAN
A source close to the duchess confirmed to the BBC that the duchess is currently in good health and the couple wanted to talk about what happened in July, having come to appreciate how common miscarriage is.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “It’s a deeply personal matter we would not comment on.”
The duchess and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, moved to California to live away from the media spotlight, after stepping back as senior royals in January.
Their first child, Archie, was born on 6 May 2019.
The duchess began her article by describing a “sharp cramp” she felt while looking after Archie.
“I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right,” she wrote.
“Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears.
“Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal.”
AN ANALYSIS BY JONNY DEMOND
ROYAL CORRESPONDENT
Meghan made it clear from the first event that she spoke at as Harry’s bride-to-be that she wanted women’s voices and women’s experiences to be heard more clearly.
Now she has written of her loss, and her heartbreak. She has set it in the context of a year of breathtaking turbulence. And she has made a plea for tolerance and compassion.
She weaves in the struggles of so many with Covid-19, the battles over truth and lies in our divided age, the killing of black Americans by the police.
And on an experience that so many women have lived through, she has made her grief a way of bringing miscarriage closer to the everyday conversation.
The duchess continued: “Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.
“In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage.
“Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.
“Some have bravely shared their stories; they have opened the door, knowing that when one person speaks truth, it gives license for all of us to do the same.”
The duchess also referenced a TV interview in which she was asked by a journalist if she was ok, during her tour of South Africa last year.
She said she was asked the question during a time in which she was “trying to keep a brave face in the very public eye”.
“I answered him honestly, not knowing that what I said would resonate with so many – new moms and older ones, and anyone who had, in their own way, been silently suffering,” she said.
The duchess is the second member of the Royal Family to open up about having a miscarriage.
The duchess’s miscarriage happened at a time when she was involved in legal action against the Mail on Sunday over the publication of a letter she wrote to her father. Last month she was granted a postponement of her privacy trial until autumn next year.
‘Breaking down stigma’
An estimated one in four pregnancies ends in a miscarriage, according to the charity Tommy’s.
Tommy’s midwife Sophie King said talking about baby loss in pregnancy is “a real taboo in society” so “mothers like Meghan sharing their stories is a vital step in breaking down that stigma and shame”.
She said the duchess’s “honesty and openness” sends a “powerful message to anyone who loses a baby: this may feel incredibly lonely, but you are not alone”.
Clea Harmer, chief executive of stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands, said it was a “sad reality” there was a stigma surrounding pregnancy loss and baby death, which “leaves many parents feeling isolated”.
“The isolation we have all felt this year has made it even more difficult for parents whose baby has died during the Covid-19 pandemic and has brought back painful emotions for all those who have lost precious loved ones,” she said.
Dr Christine Ekechi, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said it was “important” that any stigma or shame surrounding this issue was removed.
“Sadly, early miscarriages are very common and they can be a devastating loss for parents and their families,” she said.
And Alice Weeden, from charity the Miscarriage Association, told the BBC: “When somebody, particularly in the public eye, talks about it openly, it’s helpful for other people to know that they are not alone.”
END
FOLLOWING [THE SAME LINK]
MISCARRIAGE: A DEEP AND LASTING IMPACT ON PARENTS
BY SMITHA MUNDASAD, BBC HEALTH REPORTER
By Smitha Mundasad, BBC health reporter
There are around 250,000 miscarriages every year in the UK alone, the majority occurring within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
It is a shockingly common experience, often dealt with privately at home or swiftly in hospitals.
Many parents carry their grief silently and can feel society expects them to “get back to normal life” too soon.
But charities and scientists say much more needs to be done to acknowledge the longer-term effects of pregnancy loss.
Research suggests that one in six women go on to have symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
For some, nightmares and flashbacks continue for many months while anxiety and depression are also common afterwards.
Partners report suffering too, with one in 12 facing similar issues.
Pregnancy experts in the UK say it is vital that women and partners are offered psychological support, alongside physical help, yet this kind of care is often under-resourced.
Often, it is not known why miscarriages occur – whether in the first or second trimester of pregnancy, and many pregnancy losses cannot be prevented.
Usually, something goes wrong with the development of the foetus in the womb.
Warning signs can include bleeding and/or cramping pain in the lower tummy.
Duchess writes about her grief and pain in losing a baby, and addresses the stigma of miscarriage
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed her grief after suffering a miscarriage, in an article that speaks to loss and the importance of asking about others’ welfare in times of pandemic and polarisation.
Meghan shared the devastation that she and Prince Harry felt after she lost a baby in July and was admitted to hospital.
Writing in the New York Times, she described the moment, as she was changing the couple’s son Archie’s nappy at their home in Los Angeles, that she “dropped to the floor” in pain.
“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child that I was losing my second,” she wrote. “Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal.”Advertisement
She added that “watching her husband’s heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine”, she realised that the only way to begin to heal “is to first ask: ‘Are you OK.’”
Addressing the stigma surrounding miscarriage, Meghan continued: “Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.”
In the pain of their loss, the couple had discovered that “in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage,” she wrote. “Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.”
Those who had bravely shared their stories had given licence for others to do the same. It was important to ask other women how they were doing. “In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing,” she wrote.
She referred to her TV interview in South Africa, given when she was “exhausted” and breastfeeding and “trying to keep a brave face” in the public eye. The ITN journalist Tom Bradby asked if she was OK, and she answered him honestly, she recalled. “‘Thank you for asking,’ I said, ‘Not many people have asked if I’m OK.’”
Her off-the cuff remark, she said, “seemed to give people permission to speak their truth”. But it was not her answering honestly “that helped me most, it was the question itself”.
In the New York Times article, headlined “The Losses We Share – Perhaps the path to healing begins with three simple words: Are You OK?” she wrote that loss and pain had plagued many in 2020.
She referenced those whose loved ones had died from Covid-19. She also addressed the deaths of Breonna Taylor, a Louisville hospital worker, and George Floyd, both killed by police officers.
The world had become polarised – over facts, over science, “over whether an election has been lost or won”, she wrote. “That polarization, coupled with the social isolation required to fight this pandemic, has left us feeling more alone than ever.”
At Thanksgiving, with the pandemic separating many from their loved ones, “alone, sick, scared, divided and perhaps struggling to find something, anything, to be grateful for,” she wrote, “let us commit to asking others: ‘Are you OK?’”
The new normal, with masks concealing faces, was forcing people to look into each other’s eyes “sometimes filled with warmth, other times with tears”, she added. “For the first time, in a long time, as human beings, we are really seeing one another. Are we OK? We will be.”
Buckingham Palace made no comment, saying it was a deeply personal matter for the couple. Sources said there was understandable sadness in the royal family.
Responding to Meghan’s article, Dr Christine Ekechi, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said miscarriage remained a taboo subject.
She said: “Sadly, early miscarriages are very common and they can be a devastating loss for parents and their families. Up to one in five women may experience a miscarriage in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
“In many circumstances, the reason for the miscarriage is unknown. We are improving our understanding of why miscarriages occur and who may be at risk, but the topic is still largely under-researched and the care for women and their partners under-resourced.
“Currently, many miscarriages cannot be prevented, however. A warning sign of miscarriage occurring may be bleeding and/or pain in early pregnancy. Pregnant women are advised to seek medical advice if they have any of these symptoms.
“Miscarriage remains a taboo subject, despite how common it is. It is important that we remove any stigma or shame surrounding this issue and adequately support families during this time.”
Zara Tindall, the daughter of the princess royal, and married to the former England rugby captain Mike Tindall, lost two babies to miscarriage before giving birth to the couple’s second daughter, Lena.
The first miscarriage occurred after the couple had publicly announced the pregnancy. She said she received so many letters saying “‘we’ve been through the same thing,’, which was incredible, it just showed how often it does happen,” she said in 2018. She also spoke about the effect on fathers, who felt helpless, saying “it’s hard for those guys, too”. It was a “horrible road”.
The Countess of Wessex spoke of her sadness at losing an unborn baby after having an ectopic pregnancy and collapsing at home in 2001. She and Prince Edward went on to have a daughter and a son.
At the time, Sophie, who required hospital treatment, said: “I’m obviously very sad – but it was just not meant to be. But there will be other chances.” Edward said at the time losing the baby in such a way “was about the most painful thing anyone can undergo”. END OF THE ARTICLE
The trailer on the Spotify’s website features the duke and duchess promoting the deal, with Harry saying: “That’s what this project is all about, to bring forward different perspectives and voices that perhaps you haven’t heard before and find our common ground.”
About the first podcast episode, Meghan said: “We’re talking to some amazing people, they’re going to share their memories that have really helped shape this past year which has been, as we know, a difficult one for everyone.”
Prince Harry said: “So many people have been through so much pain this year, experiencing loss, a huge amount of uncertainty, but it feels worth acknowledging that 2020 has connected us in ways we could have never imagined, through endless acts of compassion and kindness.”
END OF ARTICLE ” They added that Netflix’s “unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action.” Netflix currently houses more than 200 million global subscribers.” THE OBSERVERHARRY AND MEGHAN’S BIG HOLLYOOD DEALSHELPED THEN WEATHER THE FAMILY CHAOS https://observer.com/2021/03/prince-harry-meghan-markle-netflix-spotify-deals-value-salary/
Speaking with Oprah Winfrey in a tell-all interview Sunday night on CBS, Prince Harry revealed that the royal family “literally cut me off financially” after he and Meghan Markle stepped away from royal duties. The Prince said the pair were cut off in the first quarter of 2020 shortly after publicly announcing that they would no longer be active working royals. Harry cited the money left to him by his late mother, Princess Diana, as a huge help at this time in their lives.
“Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to do this,” he said of the family’s move to California.
But the pair have been shrewd about planning their future amid a tumultuous split from the royal family and the financial stability that comes with it. In September, six months after their split from the House of Windsor, the duo signed a multiyear deal with Netflix to produce documentaries, series, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming.
“Our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope,” the couple said in a statement at the time of the announcement, per the New York Times. “As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us.” They added that Netflix’s “unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action.” Netflix currently houses more than 200 million global subscribers.
Though it remains unconfirmed, estimates and reports peg the value of the deal at north of $100 million.
We’re incredibly proud they have chosen Netflix as their creative home and are excited about telling stories with them that can help build resilience and increase understanding for audiences everywhere,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-chief executive and chief content officer, said in a September statement.
In December, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also entered a partnership with Spotify through their production company, Archewell Audio. The pair will host and produce podcasts in a deal estimated to be worth around $25 million. Harry and Meghan hope to promote “different perspectives” and feature interviews with “amazing people.” Their first episode, a 2020 holiday special, arrived on the service Dec. 29 and featured famous guest appearances from Sir Elton John, James Corden, tennis champion Naomi Osaka, author Deepak Chopra, spoken word performer George the Poet, filmmaker Tyler Perry, and British activist Christina Adane.
In a recent appearance for Spotify’s Stream On event, the couple stated that they are “using podcasts to drive powerful conversations that inspire, challenge and educate.”
One of the first projects under the pair’s Netflix deal will be an animated series focused on inspiring women, which is reportedly already in development. But, a future in streaming was not a considered possibility at the time of the couple’s split from Windsor
“This was never the intention,” Harry told Winfrey during the couple’s Sunday night interview. “We’re certainly not complaining, our life is great now, we’ve got a beautiful house, I’ve got a beautiful family. The dogs are really happy. At the time during Covid, the suggestion by a friend was ‘what about streamers?’ and we hadn’t thought about it. There were all sorts of different options and from my perspective, I just needed enough money to pay for security to keep my family safe.”
“Life is about storytelling,” added Markle. “For us to be able to have storytelling through a truthful lens that is hopefully uplifting is going to be great, knowing how many people that can land with and be able to give a voice to a lot of people that are underrepresented and aren’t really heard.”
[12] ”Brighton councillors will debate stripping Harry and Meghan of their Sussex titles after thousands signed a petition branding them ‘morally wrong’ and ‘disrespectful’.
The petition claims Sussex residents should not have to refer to the royal couple as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as the titles are ‘entirely non-democratic’ and a ‘symbol of oppression by the wealthy elite’. ”
Petition started by Brighton resident Charles Ross brands titles ‘morally wrong’
It has been signed by 3,800 people and will be discussed by council this week
Sussexes have only visited the county once in 2018 but drew huge crowds
Brighton councillors will debate stripping Harry and Meghan of their Sussex titles after thousands signed a petition branding them ‘morally wrong’ and ‘disrespectful’.
The petition claims Sussex residents should not have to refer to the royal couple as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as the titles are ‘entirely non-democratic’ and a ‘symbol of oppression by the wealthy elite’.
Campaigner Charles Ross has accumulated more than 3,800 signatures, which means Brighton and Hove City councillors will have to discuss the motion on Thursday
But the council cannot strip the couple of their titles, which are given by the Queen, so the petition calls on officials to stop calling them the Sussexes in council documents.
The petition reads: ‘We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to reject the usage of the titles ‘Duke of Sussex’ and ‘Duchess of Sussex’ by the individuals Henry (‘Harry’) Windsor and Rachel Meghan Markle as morally wrong and disrespectful to the county of East Sussex.
As residents of Brighton and Hove we call on Brighton and Hove Council to not refer to these individuals by such titles which we believe to be entirely non democratic and symbolic of the oppression of the general public by the wealthy elite.
‘Neither will Brighton Council invite or entertain these individuals nor afford them any hospitality or courtesies above and beyond that of an ordinary member of the public.’
The couple were well received on a visit to Sussex last October as they were greeted by huge crowds of well-wishers, with Hove MP Peter Kyle praising them at the time for reflecting Brighton’s diversity and calling them ‘a great example’.
The petition has been rubbished by royal commentator Robert Jobson, who told the Express: ‘It’s a bit unfair on them – they were there recently and massive crowds turned out.
The Cambridges don’t live in Cambridge, Prince Charles doesn’t live in Wales…
‘The titles are just ancient titles that are dished out by the Queen at marriage.’
Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills, founder of the British Monarchists Society, slammed the campaigners’ views, telling the Mirror: ‘We are utterly dismayed that said petition has been signed by so many.
‘This certainly highlights that Brighton and Hove is a hotbed of Republican dissidents and is now proven to be so.
‘Such a petition shows utter disdain and contempt for The Crown, not to mention copious amounts of disrespect to, and for, the Royal family.’
When Mr Ross’s petition campaign launched in September, some residents were not entirely convinced.
Hove resident Liv Seabrook called the petition ‘a waste of council time’ and said it was ‘patently absurd’ to suggest the council could remove royal titles.
Ms Seabrook said: ‘Our city has serious social problems and the council is going to waste time on the sentiment of a disgruntled citizen with nothing better to do than come up with a useless petition.
‘There are financial aspects of the monarchy that can usefully be discussed. I for one can confidently say I have never felt the slightest bit oppressed by the fact that we now have as part of our Royal Family, a Duke and Duchess of Sussex.’
Brighton and Hove City Council said it would not comment until the matter has been discussed by councillors.
END OF THE ARTICLE
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””This certainly highlights that Brighton and Hove is a hotbed of Republican dissidents and is now proven to be so.”
Brighton and Hove City Council will discuss removing the titles from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after a republican’s petition on its website garnered thousands of signatures
A council is set to debate stripping Harry and Meghan of their royal titles on Thursday after a petition launched by a republican attracted thousands of signatures.
Campaigner Charles Ross started the petition against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the Brighton and Hove City Council website in July and it has been signed by more than 3,700 people.
The Queen gave Harry and Meghan the title when they married, and would be the one to strip them of it if she chose to.
So the request is unlikely to be backed by the council, who don’t have the power to remove their titles, and will be seen as a waste of time.
Mr Ross wrote: “We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to reject the usage of the titles “Duke of Sussex” and “Duchess of Sussex” by the individuals Henry (“Harry”) Windsor and Rachel Meghan Markle as morally wrong and disrespectful to the county of East Sussex.
As residents of Brighton and Hove we call on Brighton and Hove Council to not refer to these individuals by such titles which we believe to be entirely non democratic and symbolic of the oppression of the general public by the wealthy elite.
“Neither will Brighton Council invite or entertain these individuals nor afford them any hospitality or courtesies above and beyond that of an ordinary member of the public.”
Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills, founder of the British Monarchists Society, said he was appalled by the petition.
“We are utterly dismayed that said petition has been signed by so many.
This certainly highlights that Brighton and Hove is a hotbed of Republican dissidents and is now proven to be so.
“Such a petition shows utter disdain and contempt for The Crown, not to mention copious amounts of disrespect to, and for, the Royal family which undertakes thousands of engagements per year on behalf of the nation, in right of Her Majesty as The Crown.
“This petition wreaks of republican drivel and lacks any real substance and intelligent reasoning. It truly seems to be an erratic and emotional outburst of self-loathing directed at two popular members of the Royal family.
“Next will be the ‘off with their heads’ scenarios and further republican sentiments which will not just culminate in petitions, but another campaign funded by socialist republicans.
“The petition also states that it is the wish of the petitioner that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex not be afforded an invitation to visit, be entertained or extended any courtesies beyond that of an ordinary member of the public.
“Like it or not, the Duke and Duchess are an extension of The Queen, the Head of State of this nation, of which Brighton and Hove are a part.
“To deny the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is to deny representatives of the Monarch and by extension The Crown – this is dangerous territory to navigate for the county of East Sussex collectively. Is Mr. Ross openly condoning and outlining the incitement of a second English civil war?
“These republican petitions may seem small, and the greater population may not take notice now, but such movements are dangerous and treasonous in the eyes of The Crown and a greater portion of the British population. Such movements seek to overthrow our system of governance and operations, warning signs that the greater British population can not ignore.
“This nation is and will remain a monarchy until the people collective say otherwise, regardless of small pockets of republican extremists such as in Brighton and Hove.
“Brighton itself has a very good and especially historic relationship with The Crown, from George IV to William IV, even to Queen Victoria whom sold the Royal Pavilion to the city. There is much to celebrate about the Royal ties and history of Brighton to The Crown. Despite all the good associated with the monarchy and the current members of the Royal family, such as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“Brighton and Hove should not pander to minority treachery and should not further entertain such a petition as proposed.
“It would truly be a shame for Brighton to be known as the first openly hostile city towards the Royal family, which would certainly see a possible boycott of business activity and tourism related visits occurring in this royally historic seaside destination.
“Such consideration of this disgusting petition is nothing short of a slap in the face of the many decades of which Her Majesty has served the good and loyal people of Brighton and Hove. I am sure that any respectful person within Brighton and Hove would refuse this petition and anything of the sort.”
Many Sussex residents were outraged at the petition, and one person tweeted: “Seriously!!! Mr Ross get a f****n life.
I live in Brighton and you don’t speak for me.”
Another said: “What a joke people need to get a grip.”
Others called the petition an “embarrassment” and slammed it as “a waste of time”, with one person suggesting “the guy starting the petition needs to grow up”.
END OF ARTICLE
[14]
William, Duke of Cambridge
The eldest son of Prince Charles and his first wife Princess Diana, Prince William is second in line to the throne.
His wife Catherine is currently the Duchess of Cambridge but will become queen consort and go by the title of Queen Catherine if William becomes king.
”’Although I am not a British national, yet I take the liberty to write you about your debating the petition of stripping Prince Harry and his wife Ms Meghan Markle from the royal titles ”Duke and Duchess of Sussex”, which were given to them by Queen Elisabeth at the occasion of their wedding. [1]Shortly said:I think this petition is an outrage, a sign of disrespect against the Queen and especially Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle and I urgently request to you NOT to grant this nonsense petition;”” COUNCIL WILL DEBATE STRIPPING MEGHAN MARKLE, PRINCEHARRY, OF SUSSEX TITLES/SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST MEGHANMARKLE CONTINUED/LETTER TO BRIGHTON CITY COUNCIL ASTRID ESSED20 DECEMBER 2019 https://www.astridessed.nl/council-will-debate-stripping-meghan-markle-prince-harry-of-sussex-titles-smear-campaign-against-meghan-markle-continued-letter-to-brighton-city-council/
[16]
”To my delight I received an answer of the Council within a short time with the announcement that it was not in their power to decide about the matter and that they voted to simply ”note” the petition
See their answer here ”Dear Astrid Essed,
Many thanks for your email. While we are obliged to debate any petition with more than 1,250 signatures at Full Council, the issue raised is a matter for the Crown rather than local authorities. We do not have the power to remove titles and, therefore, the council voted to simply ‘note’ the petition. No further action is being taken.
Best regards,
Richard Watson | Customer Feedback Officer | Performance, Improvements and Programmes | Brighton & Hove City Council”
Since he was young, Prince Harry has been very aware of the warmth that has been extended to him by members of the public. He feels lucky to have so many people supporting him and knows what a fortunate and privileged life he leads.
He is also aware that there is significant curiosity about his private life. He has never been comfortable with this, but he has tried to develop a thick skin about the level of media interest that comes with it. He has rarely taken formal action on the very regular publication of fictional stories that are written about him and he has worked hard to develop a professional relationship with the media, focused on his work and the issues he cares about.
But the past week has seen a line crossed. His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public – the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments. Some of it has been hidden from the public – the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life.
Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her. It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm. He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘this is all part of the game’. He strongly disagrees. This is not a game – it is her life and his.
He has asked for this statement to be issued in the hopes that those in the press who have been driving this story can pause and reflect before any further damage is done. He knows that it is unusual to issue a statement like this, but hopes that fair-minded people will understand why he has felt it necessary to speak publicly.
An ITV spokesperson said: “Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add.”
The channel confirmed to the BBC that his departure from the breakfast news show will take effect immediately but declined to say who would be replacing him on Wednesday.
In a tweet on Wednesday morning Morgan said that he had reflected on his opinion on the Oprah interview and still did not believe Meghan, adding that “freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on”.
“Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions,” he said.
Morgan’s departure followed an on-air clash with weather presenter Alex Beresford, who criticised his colleague on Tuesday for “continuing to trash” the duchess, prompting Morgan to walk off set. He returned within 10 minutes.
Mental health charity Mind, which is a partner with ITV on its Britain Get Talking campaign, also criticised Morgan, saying it was “disappointed” by the presenter’s comments.
What did Piers Morgan say?
On Monday’s programme, Morgan picked up on the duchess’s claim that her request to senior Buckingham Palace officials for help was rejected, after she told Oprah she had had suicidal thoughts.
“Who did you go to?” he said. “What did they say to you? I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report.
“The fact that she’s fired up this onslaught against our Royal Family I think is contemptible.”
He also referred to the duchess as the “Pinocchio Princess” in a tweet later that morning.
Following an outcry, he said on Tuesday’s episode that “I still have serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what” Meghan said, but that it was “not for me to question if she felt suicidal”.
He added: “My real concern was a disbelief frankly… that she went to a senior member of the Royal household and told them she was suicidal and was told she could not have any help because it would be a bad look for the family.”
What was the backlash?
A total of 41,015 complaints were made to media watchdog Ofcom by 14:00 GMT on Tuesday.
That is the second highest number of complaints in Ofcom’s 17-year history, behind the 44,500 submitted over several days about the racism row involving Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007.
“We have launched an investigation into Monday’s episode of Good Morning Britain under our harm and offence rules,” a spokesperson for the regulator said.
Meanwhile, on Monday evening Mind tweeted: “We were disappointed and concerned to see Piers Morgan’s comments on not believing Meghan’s experiences about suicidal thoughts today.
“It’s vital that when people reach out for support or share their experiences of ill mental health that they are treated with dignity, respect and empathy. We are in conversations with ITV about this at the moment.”
There is a culture war going on, and Piers Morgan’s job on Good Morning Britain has fallen victim to it.
That’s different from saying Morgan himself is a victim of it; in some ways he has been a beneficiary.
But when the public position of a star presenter and a broadcaster’s CEO are in sharp contrast, about such a sensitive subject, at a time of such heightened tensions, something has to give.
Tonight, it did.
This morning Carolyn McCall made it very clear that she believed Meghan Markle’s central claim about her mental health. She went further: ITV takes mental health very seriously.
It follows that the company must have expected Morgan to recant publicly, or apologise. He is unlikely to have been willing to do that. Therefore this was the moment to leave GMB.
END OF ARTICLE
[23]
[23]
”Oprah: You’d said in a podcast that it became ‘almost unsurvivable’, and that struck me, because it sounds like you were in some kind of mental trouble. What was actually going on? ‘Almost unsurvivable’ sounds like there was a breaking point.
Meghan: Yeah, there was. I just didn’t see a solution. I would sit up at night, and I was just, like, I don’t understand how all of this is being churned out. And, again, I wasn’t seeing it, but it’s almost worse when you feel it through the expression of my mom or my friends, or them calling me crying, just, like, ‘Meg, they’re not protecting you’. And I realised that it was all happening just because I was breathing.
Oprah: Mmm.
Meghan: And, look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry, especially, because I know how much loss he’s suffered. But I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. And I . . . I just didn’t . . . I just didn’t want to be alive any more. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember — I remember how he just cradled me. And I was — I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that, ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere’. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution. And I called . . . ”
Oprah: So the institution is never a person. Or is it a series of people?
Meghan: No, it’s a person.
Oprah: It’s a person.
Meghan: It’s several people. But I went to one of the most senior people just to . . . to get help. And that — you know, I share this, because there’s so many people who are afraid to voice that they need help. And I know, personally, how hard it is to not just voice it, but when you voice it, to be told no.
Oprah: Whoo.
Meghan: And so, I went to human resources, and I said, ‘I just really — I need help’. Because in my old job, there was a union, and they would protect me. And I remember this conversation like it was yesterday, because they said, ‘My heart goes out to you, because I see how bad it is, but there’s nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution’.
THE SUNMEGHAN MARKLE OPRAH INTERVIEW: READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF DUCHESS AND PRINCE HARRY’S BOMBSHELL CONFESSIONS8 MARCH 2021
On Monday’s programme, Morgan picked up on the duchess’s claim that her request to senior Buckingham Palace officials for help was rejected, after she told Oprah she had had suicidal thoughts.
“Who did you go to?” he said. “What did they say to you? I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report.
“The fact that she’s fired up this onslaught against our Royal Family I think is contemptible.”
He also referred to the duchess as the “Pinocchio Princess” in a tweet later that morning.
Following an outcry, he said on Tuesday’s episode that “I still have serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what” Meghan said, but that it was “not for me to question if she felt suicidal”.
He added: “My real concern was a disbelief frankly… that she went to a senior member of the Royal household and told them she was suicidal and was told she could not have any help because it would be a bad look for the family.”BBCPIERS MORGAN LEAVES ITV’S GOOD MORNINGBRITAIN AFTER ROW OVER MEGHAN REMARKS10 MARCH 2021 https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56334082
Piers Morgan first met Meghan Markle at a bar in Kensington in 2016.
At the time, the US actress was starring in legal drama Suits. She met Morgan while on a spring visit to the UK, as part of a trip that also included watching Wimbledon matches with her friend Serena Williams.
“We spent two hours in a pub, she had a couple of dirty martinis, I had a couple of pints, we got on brilliantly,” Morgan told Ryan Tubridy on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show.
“And then I put her in a cab, and it turned out to be a cab which took her to a party where she met Prince Harry. And the next night they had a solo dinner together, and that was the last I heard from Meghan Markle.
“She ghosted me, Ryan,” Morgan concluded. “Meghan Markle ghosted me.”
She might have gone quiet on Morgan, but it certainly wasn’t the last he and the rest of the world heard of Meghan.
Five years after those dirty martinis, she is the Duchess of Sussex, and her recent interview with Oprah Winfrey prompted so much anger from Morgan that it ultimately led to his exit from Good Morning Britain.
His departure has prompted a huge reaction from viewers and commentators, both positive and negative. But beyond those declaring their love or hatred for him, many have pointed out the far-reaching consequences of his exit.
It may be a symbolic and important gesture by a broadcaster concerned not to contradict its own message about mental health. But it will also mean the show loses its Rottweiler, who was widely praised for holding government ministers to account during the pandemic.
His absence will also almost certainly harm viewing figures. ITV shares fell nearly 5% on Wednesday, wiping almost £200m off its market value, following the announcement of Morgan’s departure.
At the point Morgan entered the world of breakfast television, ITV had been suffering poor viewing figures for several years. GMTV had been rebranded as Daybreak in 2010, but that was failing to match the ratings of its predecessor.
In 2014, ITV decided it was time for another change. Daybreak was scrapped, Good Morning Britain was launched, and Susanna Reid was poached from BBC Breakfast.
Morgan’s arrival the following year was disruptive, to put it mildly. He was combative and opinionated, a far cry from the usual warm, cuddly tone of breakfast television, and closer to the style of some morning programmes in the US.
Scepticism of woke culture was at the core of Morgan’s appeal, to the point where he wrote a book on the subject in 2020. While the rest of society grappled with issues of social progress, Morgan’s refusal to toe the politically correct line led to both backlash and praise.
His impact could be measured in a number of ways. First, there were the viewing figures, which increased dramatically. While BBC Breakfast held on to its crown, GMB improved its viewing share as people tuned in to hear Morgan’s take on the day’s events. As a result, ITV made more money from advertising.
You could also look at the column inches. The more outrageous Piers was, the more people would talk about him. The more news outlets wrote stories about him, the more clicks and ad revenue they got. By complaining so vocally, his critics were keeping him relevant, completing the cycle.
Those complaints from viewers and campaign groups were made both to Ofcom and ITV.
In 2019, an item about gender identity in which Morgan claimed he now “identifies as a penguin” prompted 1,000 complaints to the media regulator and outcry from charities and viewers. It sparked a petition, signed by more than 90,000 people, calling for his sacking. Proving his divisiveness, a counter petition was set up to keep him, and was signed by 72,000.
When a TV producer said on Twitter earlier this year that he would not work with Morgan again, the presenter responded by saying he would “rather employ a lobotomised Aardvark”. That led to an open letter to ITV accusing Morgan of bullying, signed by more than 1,000 industry workers.
And yet, Morgan has always considered himself to have liberal views. His CNN programme in the US was famous for his campaigning on gun control. And he claims “not to have a prejudiced bone in his body”, much to the incredulity of his opponents.
“The woke crowd loathe me, because the informed ones know I’m actually a liberal,” he wrote in his book, Wake Up, last year. “So on paper, I’m one of them. I’m therefore the enemy within.”
Morgan added that he considers himself a feminist and a supporter of gay rights, civil rights and transgender rights – “apart from the absurd new trend of limitless self-identification”.
But the damage his words have inflicted also cannot be ignored, such as his apparent dismissal of mental health issues. This is what ultimately led to his downfall after the Duchess of Sussex said she felt she “didn’t want to be alive any more”.
Morgan said he “didn’t believe a word” the duchess had said in the interview. He later attempted to clarify his comments, saying his disbelief referred specifically to her claim that her request for support was rejected by Buckingham Palace. But by then, the damage was done.
Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething spoke for many when he described Morgan’s comments as “wholly unacceptable, incredibly unkind and exactly where we should not be in public debate and discourse”.
“We’ve won lots of ground by talking and being more open about mental health challenges,” he said. “I think the comments and the tone of them would have set a number of people back.”
Morgan was also accused of missing the mark on the issues of racism raised by Meghan. He has always maintained the press’s coverage of her is motivated by her behaviour, not underlying racism.
“I’m sorry Piers, you don’t get to call out what is and isn’t racism against black people,” Trisha Goddard told him on Monday’s programme. “I’ll leave you to call out all the other stuff you want, but leave the racism stuff to us, eh?”
However, Morgan had also won over some of his previous critics in the past year, for his challenging interviews with government ministers. The absence of these exchanges will be a big loss to the show, as Kevin Maguire and Krishnan Guru-Murthy have pointed out.
Hiring a shock jock was always going to result in controversy. But could ITV have done more to rein him in?
Channel 4 historian and media commentator Maggie Brown said: “Piers Morgan needed a stronger editor or producer to just keep him in check while allowing him to be bombastic, mainstream and successful. Himself. This is a common pattern for much appreciated TV stars who go on to overstep the mark.”
And what might Morgan do next? Losing jobs has never stopped his career progression in the past.
After his exit from GMB, former politician George Galloway tweeted: “Dear Piers Morgan. You told me once ‘a sacking is an opportunity’. It turned out that way for me and I hope it will for you. In fact I’m sure it will.”
Morgan will not come cheap, but many would be keen to hire him all the same, particularly the soon-to-be-launched GB News. The channel’s chairman Andrew Neil said on Wednesday that he would be open to giving Morgan a job.
It is perhaps fitting that Morgan’s last ever appearance as a GMB presenter saw him finally get his six-year long wish.
“Good Morning Britain beat BBC Breakfast in the ratings yesterday for the first time,” Morgan pointed out when he received the viewing figures for Tuesday’s episode.
The level of scrutiny the Duchess of Sussex receives is devoid of human feeling. This vilification must end
Last month I nominated Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, as a hate figure for the nation in 2019: the person we all need to get us through a difficult time, like your cousin’s girlfriend who waxes her eyebrows and yammers on about yoga at the start of a fraught Christmas. As I then explained about a million times on Twitter, I was joking: I do not hate Meghan, or even consider her vaguely hateful. I could no more despise the woman than I could flick through the pages of a magazine and take against a salt-and-pepper male model with a watch on. She wasn’t the point; the point was that society quests ceaselessly for an enemy, and if you’re going to have one, at least let it be one who probably won’t care.
This was right in an ambient, premonitory way, but I was wrong to think it was funny. The poor woman is being vilified round the clock – this week for having the audacity to have a baby shower with her friends in New York. It has gone beyond the point of mattering what her personality is like, were anyone in any position to know: she would have to be so thoroughly bad to warrant this level of scrutiny, so devoid of human feeling, so malicious in every intention, that the media’s daily censure wouldn’t be enough. We’d have to paint her yellow and black like a bee.
She can’t leave the house, pregnant, without being accused of “flaunting” her bump. She can’t walk into a room without wild speculation about whether or not she breached a protocol, by people who have no idea what royal protocols are. If a friend comes to her defence and asks people to stop hounding her, then who does she think she is, having a friend like that? OK, so maybe it is George Clooney. Someone’s got to be his friend. He might be perfectly nice.
If she smiles for the cameras, then she’s luxuriating in the attention. “She’s being victimised, you say, George; you with your fancy hair and your coffee habits … then why is she smiling? Riddle me that.”
If she goes to New York, she’s pointedly “without Prince Harry”. But if she had taken Prince Harry, then you can guarantee that she would have been dragging her husband away from his duties, to partake of her frivolity, and what kind of princelet might she raise with priorities like that? If she has a baby shower, some journalist, who was most likely trained to dig into the affairs of the mighty and powerful, sets those investigative skills to pricing her gifts then translating dollars into pounds. We’re asking the big questions, here: who spends $379 (£290) on a crib? For their friend’s baby? And besides: ew, baby shower, that’s so American. But isn’t she, though? No, she’s English now, until she gives any sign that she considers herself English, whereupon she will be American again. Randomised disapproval has rendered her stateless.
If she does anything remotely normal, she besmirches the majesty of her office; if she looks at all grand, she’s got ideas above her station. The norms of the lowest-grade analysis – know thy place, woman, keep your eyes down – have permeated the rubric. Respectable news outlets find themselves wondering what the devil she thinks she’s doing, meeting her friends in an upscale hotel. People who in normal life are intensely relaxed about wealth inequality are suddenly exercised about the fact that a celebrity married a prince and now – miracle – has an expensive handbag.
We did this before, remember? Lost all sense of proportion around princessly deficiencies, and ended up chasing one into a pillar. This is not a mistake any nation should make twice.
Prince says he has been ‘a silent witness’ to Meghan’s private suffering for too long’
Prince Harry’s full statement on his family’s relationship with the media, issued on Tuesday night after his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, launched legal action against the Mail on Sunday over its decision to publish a private letter she had sent to her father.
As a couple, we believe in media freedom and objective, truthful reporting. We regard it as a cornerstone of democracy and in the current state of the world – on every level – we have never needed responsible media more.
Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son.
There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been. Because in today’s digital age, press fabrications are repurposed as truth across the globe. One day’s coverage is no longer tomorrow’s chip-paper.
Up to now, we have been unable to correct the continual misrepresentations – something that these select media outlets have been aware of and have therefore exploited on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.
It is for this reason we are taking legal action, a process that has been many months in the making. The positive coverage of the past week from these same publications exposes the double standards of this specific press pack that has vilified her almost daily for the past nine months; they have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she has not been visible while on maternity leave. She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day, just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour.
For these select media this is a game, and one that we have been unwilling to play from the start. I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in.
This particular legal action hinges on one incident in a long and disturbing pattern of behaviour by British tabloid media. The contents of a private letter were published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner to manipulate you, the reader, and further the divisive agenda of the media group in question. In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year.
There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level. We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this.
Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.
We thank you, the public, for your continued support. It is hugely appreciated. Although it may not seem like it, we really need it.
Prince compares wife’s treatment to Diana’s as proceedings over private letter are announced
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has taken the unusual decision to sue the publisher of the Mail on Sunday after the newspaper published a handwritten letter she had sent to her estranged father.
The decision came as Prince Harry launched an extraordinary and highly personal attack on the British tabloid press and its treatment of his wife, saying he could no longer be a “silent witness to her private suffering”.
Emphasising his respect for the importance of “objective, truthful reporting”, he accused parts of the media of “waging campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences” and compared the treatment of Meghan to coverage of his mother, Princess Diana.
The duke said his “deepest fear is history repeating itself”. He wrote: “There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level. We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this.
“Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one … I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person.
“I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
The statement, issued on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s official website on Tuesday, was published as Meghan moved to start proceedings in the high court over the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The Guardian reported this year that the Mail on Sunday was being threatened with legal action because the authors of letters retain ownership of the copyright even after the physical correspondence is in the possession of another individual. Pursuing legal action on this narrow basis also gives the royals a greater chance of success against DMG Media, formerly Associated Newspapers, which also owns the Daily Mail and MailOnline – both of which have run a substantial number of stories about Meghan.
The Mail on Sunday has run multiple embarrassing stories involving the duchess’s father, Thomas Markle, including staged paparazzi photographs of him visiting an internet cafe to read about his daughter’s engagement to the prince.
Other critical coverage of the couple has ranged from their use of private jets to their refusal to allow media coverage of the christening of their baby son Archie or name his godparents. They have also been criticised for the £2.4m cost to the public purse for renovations at their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage.
However, the royals have limited ability to stop the publication of such stories, prompting the decision to focus on the publication of Meghan’s letter to her father.
The photographs of the letter remain available on MailOnline. A spokesman for the newspaper stood by its reporting, setting up a potential court showdown: “The Mail on Sunday stands by the story it published and will be defending this case vigorously. Specifically, we categorically deny that the Duchess’s letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning.”
Meghan and Harry, who are on a 10-day tour of southern Africa, have employed the libel lawyers Schillings, using private funds to bring the case.
In his statement, Harry emphasised that he and Meghan believed in “media freedom and objective, truthful reporting” as a “cornerstone of democracy”.
“There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been.
“Because in today’s digital age, press fabrications are repurposed as truth across the globe. One day’s coverage is no longer tomorrow’s chip-paper.“I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in.”
The statement is unprecedented in the scale of its attack on the media, although it is far from the first time Harry has taken on the press.
Last week, it emerged he had complained to the BBC for broadcasting and publishing online an image from a neo-Nazi social media site that called him a “race traitor” and depicted the royal with a gun pointed at his head. Although the BBC internally and the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom rejected the complaint, ruling that the use of the image in a report about the activities of the group was in the public interest, the BBC did apologise for not warning the duke in advance.
His latest statement accused the British tabloid press of waging a “ruthless” campaign against Meghan that had “escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son”.
Harry, said the recent positive coverage of their African tour exposed “the double standards of this specific press pack that has vilified her almost daily for the past nine months; they have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she has not been visible while on maternity leave”.
“She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day, just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour.
“For these select media, this is a game and one we have been unwilling to play from the start.”
A legal spokesperson for Schillings said: “We have initiated legal proceedings against the Mail on Sunday, and its parent company Associated Newspapers, over the intrusive and unlawful publication of a private letter written by the Duchess of Sussex, which is part of a campaign by this media group to publish false and deliberately derogatory stories about her, as well as her husband.
“Given the refusal of Associated Newspapers to resolve this issue satisfactorily, we have issued proceedings to redress this breach of privacy, infringement of copyright and the aforementioned media agenda.”
While there was no official announcement about where the duchess was giving birth, it is believed it took place in Frogmore House – the couple’s cottage in Windsor, which was renovated for an estimated £3m ahead of their arrival.
After the birth, Harry appeared outside the cottage to speak to TV cameras and reveal the news.
Before then, only the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (still with us?) was entitled to the honour – that’s because King George V decided in 1917 to limit titles within the Royal Family.
As it stands, Prince Harry and Meghan’s children will not get those titles unless the Queen steps in.
What about other titles?
If the Queen doesn’t change the rules (see above), this is where it gets a little complicated.
You may remember on the morning of Prince Harry’s wedding he was given some titles from the Queen – Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel.The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter
When the Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, was offered royal titles for her children – Peter and Zara – she turned them down.
She wanted her children to have as normal lives as possible.
Zara Tindall has since told the Times: “My parents didn’t give us titles, so we’ve been able to have a slightly more normal upbringing. As soon as you’ve got a title, it’s very difficult to shed it.”
So Prince Harry and Meghan, who haven’t been afraid to break royal protocol, could choose to go the same route.
Could the baby become King or Queen one day?
Yes, in theory, although there are already six royals ahead in the queue.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s child is seventh in line for the throne – just behind the baby’s father in the order of succession.
The new arrival’s cousins, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are all in front in the pecking order.
Is the baby a US citizen?
Yes. As Meghan is still a US citizen, the royal baby is one as well.
Any American who has lived in the US for five years automatically passes on their citizenship to their offspring.
As her child has been born outside the US, Meghan will have to register the birth with the American embassy in London.
Prince Harry is obviously British, so the new royal would have dual citizenship.
Meghan is expected to apply for UK citizenship, but that process takes time – she needs to live in the UK for at least five years.
Once she is a UK citizen, the duchess could renounce her US citizenship, but her child would have to wait until he or she was at least 16.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[29][29]
BBCPRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN TO STEP BACK AS SENIOR ROYALS8 JANUARY 2020
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51040751
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced they will step back as “senior” royals and work to become financially independent.
In a statement, Prince Harry and Meghan also said they plan to split their time between the UK and North America.
The BBC understands no other royal – including the Queen or Prince William – was consulted before the statement and Buckingham Palace is “disappointed”.
Senior royals are understood to be “hurt” by the announcement.
In their unexpected statement on Wednesday, also posted on their Instagram page, the couple said they made the decision “after many months of reflection and internal discussions”.
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.”
They said they plan to balance their time between the UK and North America while “continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages”.
“This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.”
‘Major rift’
BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond said the fact palace officials said they were “disappointed” is “pretty strong”.
“I think it indicates a real strength of feeling in the palace tonight – maybe not so much about what has been done but about how it has been done – and the lack of consultation I think will sting.
“This is clearly a major rift between Harry and Meghan on one part, and the rest of the Royal Family on the other.”
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said discussions with the duke and duchess on their decision to step back were “at an early stage”, adding: “We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”
Over Christmas, the couple took a six-week break from royal duties to spend some time in Canada with their son, Archie, who was born in May.
After returning to the UK on Tuesday, Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, visited Canada’s High Commission in London to thank the country for hosting them and said the warmth and hospitality they received was “unbelievable”.
During the visit, Meghan said it was an “incredible time” to enjoy the “beauty of Canada”.
“To see Archie go ‘ah’ when you walk by, and just see how stunning it is – so it meant a lot to us.”
Former actress Meghan lived and worked in Toronto during her time starring in the popular US drama Suits, and she has several Canadian friends.
ANALYSIS BY JONNY DEMOND ROYAL CORRESPONDENT
Close up, it was painfully clear that there were great chunks of the job they simply could not stand.
Both of them appeared to come alive with the crowds. But Harry hated the cameras and was visibly bored by the ceremonial.
And though Meghan was often the consummate professional, at times her impatience with the everyday slog of the role sometimes broke through.
She said she didn’t want to become a voiceless figurehead; but when she raised her voice, she found criticism waiting for her.
They both made their feelings known in the 2019 interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby.
But beyond the detail, what was so shocking was how unhappy they both seemed. The sun-drenched wedding of the year before seemed like a dream; here were two people visibly struggling with their lives and positions.
There are far more questions than answers; what will their new role be? Where will they live, and who will pay for it? What relationship will they have with the rest of the Royal Family?
And there’s the institutional question. What does this mean for the Royal Family?
It comes just a few months after Prince Andrew stepped back from his duties. Some might see this as the slimmed-down monarchy that the 21st century needs.
But Harry and Meghan reached people that other royals didn’t.
They were part of the reinvention and refreshing of the institution. This was not the way anyone would have planned its future.
Former Buckingham Palace press officer Dickie Arbiter suggested the decision showed Prince Harry’s “heart ruling his head”.
He told the BBC the “massive press onslaught” when their son Archie was born may have played a part in the decision.
And he compared the move to Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936 in order to marry twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson.
“That is the only other precedent, but there’s been nothing like this in modern times,” Mr Arbiter said.
Asked how being a “part-time” member of the Royal Family might work, Mr Arbiter said he did not know.
“If they’re going to be based in the UK, it means they are going to be doing a lot of flying [with] a big carbon footprint,” he said, adding that this may “raise eyebrows”.
He also questioned how the couple would become financially independent.
“I mean, Harry is not a poor man, but to settle yourself in two different continents, to raise a family, to continue to do your work – how’s the work going to be funded?
“How is their security going to be funded?
“Because they’re still going to have to have security – who’s going to have to pay for this? Where’s the security coming from? Is the Metropolitan Police going to be providing it and if so whether there’s going to be any contribution in covering the security cost?”
Mr Arbiter also suggested questions would be raised over why £2.4m of taxpayer’s money was spent on renovating the couple’s home, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, if they will now be living elsewhere for some of the year.
BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond said the couple have “considerable savings”, including Harry’s inheritance from Princess Diana’s estate and the money Meghan earned as an actress.
But, asked about whether they might get jobs, he added: “There is a problem for members of the Royal Family – relatively senior ones, even if they say they’re no longer senior – getting jobs, because they are seen to monetise their brand and you run into a whole host of questions about conflict of interest”.
He added that we are now in “wait and see mode” as to whether this new model of being a royal can work – “or if this is really a staging post for them to leave the Royal Family”.
The Prince of Wales pays for the public duties of Harry, Meghan, William and Kate and some of their private costs, out of his Duchy of Cornwall income, which was £21.6m last year.
Accounts from Clarence House show this funding – in the year Meghan officially joined the Royal Family – stood at just over £5m, up 1.8% on 2017-18.
Royal author Penny Junor said she “can’t quite see how it’s going to work”, adding: “I don’t think it’s been properly thought through.”
“I think it’s extraordinary but also I think it’s rather sad,” she said. “They may not feel they are particularly loved but actually they are very much loved.”
In an ITV documentary last year, Meghan admitted motherhood was a “struggle” due to intense interest from newspapers.
Prince Harry also responded to reports of a rift between him and his brother William, the Duke of Cambridge, by saying they were on “different paths”.
In October, the duchess began legal action against the Mail on Sunday over a claim that it unlawfully published one of her private letters.
And the duke also began legal action against the owners of the Sun, the defunct News of the World, and the Daily Mirror, in relation to alleged phone-hacking.
Prince Harry also released a statement, saying: “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
The duke and duchess moved out of Kensington Palace, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge live, in 2018 to set up their family home in Windsor.
Then last summer, they split from the charity they shared with Prince William and Kate to set up their own charitable projects.
The couple’s announcement on Wednesday comes two months after the Duke of York withdrew from public life after a BBC interview about his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in August. END OF THE ARTICLE
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released a statement saying they intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family. Here’s that statement in full:
A personal message from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex:
“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution.
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.
“It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth and our patronages.
“This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.
“We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties.
“Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.”
Buckingham Palace responded with a statement saying:
“Discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage.
“We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”
The Duchess of Sussex has said friends advised her not to marry Prince Harry to avoid pressure from the media.
Meghan, 38, said she was told “you shouldn’t do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life”.
In an ITV documentary, she admitted motherhood was a “struggle” due to intense interest from newspapers.
Prince Harry also responded to reports of a rift between him and his brother William, Duke of Cambridge, by saying they were on “different paths”.
The duke, 35, said he and Prince William have “good days” and “bad days”.
He added: “We are brothers. We will always be brothers.
“We are certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him as I know he will always be there for me.”
‘You’ve got to thrive’
In the documentary, Meghan said adjusting to royal life had been “hard”, adding that she was not prepared for the intensity of the tabloid media scrutiny.
“When I first met my now-husband my friends were really happy because I was so happy,” she said.
“But my British friends said to me, ‘I’m sure he’s great but you shouldn’t do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life’.”
On whether she can cope, Meghan added: “In all honesty I have said for a long time to H – that is what I call him – it’s not enough to just survive something, that’s not the point of life. You have got to thrive.”
‘I’ll protect my family’
Prince Harry was asked if he worried whether his wife may face the same pressures as his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in 1997 in a car crash in Paris.
He said: “I will always protect my family, and now I have a family to protect.
“So everything that she [Diana] went through, and what happened to her, is incredibly important every single day, and that is not me being paranoid, that is just me not wanting a repeat of the past.”
The prince later described his mental health and the way he deals with the pressures of his life as a matter of “constant management”.
He said: “I thought I was out of the woods and then suddenly it all came back, and this is something that I have to manage.
“Part of this job is putting on a brave face but, for me and my wife, there is a lot of stuff that hurts, especially when the majority of it is untrue.”
The Africa tour was Prince Harry, Meghan and their baby son Archie’s first official royal tour as a family.
The duchess, who married Prince Harry at Windsor Castle in May 2018 and gave birth to their son Archie this year, spoke about her experiences as a new royal since her wedding day.
An average of 2.8 million people watched the ITV documentary, Meghan and Harry: An African journey, on Sunday night.
Media portrayal ‘a very unhappy story’
ANALYSIS BY JONNY DEMOND ROYAL CORRESPONDENT
Harry has learned to be diplomatic. But his words about his brother confirm that, perhaps unsurprisingly given the way his life has changed, they are not that close anymore. Of course, there will always be love. But things have changed.
Meghan is a superb communicator and her message was controlled, carefully thought out and brilliantly delivered. “I never thought it would be easy,” she said of tabloid newspaper coverage, “but I thought it would be fair”. She’s clearly horrified at her portrayal over the past few months. The British pride themselves on being fair and her use of that word stung.
“Has it been a struggle?” pressed Tom Bradby. “Yes,” said Meghan. Harry acknowledged that he still struggles with his mental health. The couple are feeling and talking about the pressure and Harry now sees the shadow of his mother in every camera, every headline. This was a very unhappy story.
Which is odd. Because they are much-loved and – with Harry’s energy and Meghan’s back story – continue to touch the parts that other royals don’t. But now there is a long, low rumble of discontent.
In a statement released at the beginning of this month, Prince Harry said his wife was the latest “victim” of a British tabloid press which “wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences”.
He said “knowingly false and malicious” reports and “continual misrepresentations” were made by “select media outlets”.
The duke and duchess are both bringing legal actions against the press, with Meghan suing the Mail on Sunday over a claim that it unlawfully published one of her private letters.
”In a statement, the Duke of Sussex said he and Meghan were forced to take action against “relentless propaganda”.
Prince Harry said: “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
BBC
MEGHAN SUES MAIL ON SUNDAY OVER PRIVATE LETTER
2 OCTOBER 2019
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49901047
The Duchess of Sussex has begun legal action against the Mail on Sunday over a claim that it unlawfully published one of her private letters.
In a statement, the Duke of Sussex said he and Meghan were forced to take action against “relentless propaganda”.
Prince Harry said: “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
A Mail on Sunday spokesman said the paper stood by the story it published and would defend the case “vigorously”.
Law firm Schillings, acting for the duchess, accused the paper of a campaign of false derogatory stories.
The firm has filed a High Court claim against the paper and its parent company over the alleged misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.
The claim comes after the Mail on Sunday published a handwritten letter from Meghan to her father, Thomas Markle, sent shortly after she and Prince Harry got married in 2018.
In a lengthy personal statement on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s official website, Prince Harry said the “painful” impact of intrusive media coverage had driven the couple to take action.
Referring to his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, the prince said his “deepest fear is history repeating itself”.
“I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person,” he said.
BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the statement was “remarkably outspoken” and “nothing less than a stinging attack on the British tabloid media”.
Former Daily Mirror editor and Guardian columnist Roy Greenslade said the duchess could win the legal action, but added Prince Harry had taken a risk by attacking the press for the actions of one newspaper.
“The press – particularly the tabloid press – is far less powerful now than it was during his mother’s era,” he told Radio 4’s Today programme.
“Is he taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut here? I think he may well find that this is counter-productive.”
ANALYSIS BY JONNY DEMOND ROYAL CORRESPONDENT
The language is clearly Harry’s: an unrestrained expression of anger and pain aimed at the British tabloid media.
Did any of his advisers urge restraint? We simply don’t know. Judging by the length and intensity of the statement, Harry would have been in no mood to listen to any such cautionary advice.
Is it fair to castigate the entire British tabloid media off the back of one dispute with one newspaper over one story, however painful? That is a matter of individual opinion and clearly Harry – supported one assumes by Meghan – believes that it is.
The timing certainly is curious. They are concluding a visit to Southern Africa which by wide consent (much of it expressed in the tabloid media) has been a considerable success. It has lifted their reputation after a series of mis-steps involving private jets and expensive property renovations.
Now they have chosen to take one of the most powerful newspaper groups in Britain to court and launched this stinging assault on an entire section of the British media.
British tabloids are not afraid of a fight. They may well feel provoked by the language in this statement. Was it wise? We shall see.
It is not the first time the royals have taken legal action against the press. In 2017, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were awarded £92,000 (100,000 euros) in damages after French magazine Closer printed topless pictures of the duchess in 2012.
A French court ruled the images had been an invasion of the couple’s privacy.
‘Lie after lie’
The new legal proceedings are being funded privately by the couple and any proceeds will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.
In his statement, Prince Harry said he and Meghan believed in “media freedom and objective, truthful reporting” as a “cornerstone of democracy”.
But he said his wife had become “one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son”.
Prince Harry said: “There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been.”
He said “positive” coverage of the couple’s current tour of Africa had exposed the “double standards” of “this specific press pack that has vilified her almost daily for the past nine months”.
“They have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she has not been visible while on maternity leave,” he said.
“She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day, just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour.”
‘It is bullying’
The duke said he had been a “silent witness to her private suffering for too long”.
“To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in,” he said.
He accused the paper of misleading readers when it published the private letter, by strategically omitting paragraphs, sentences and specific words “to mask the lies they had perpetrated for over a year”.
“Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level,” he said.
“We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this.”
The Mail on Sunday spokesperson said: “We categorically deny that the duchess’s letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning.”
END OF THE ARTICLE
[30] SEE NOTE 29
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