Royal experts today blasted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as ‘self-indulgent and selfish’ and said the Queen would be ‘absolutely devastated’ by their interview.
Commentators have been giving their views following the bombshell two-hour chat Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave to Oprah Winfrey, shown on CBS.
The interview saw Meghan make of a series of astonishing claims, including that conversations were held about how dark the skin colour of their son might be.
The Duchess also confessed she had suicidal thoughts at the height of her crisis in the monarchy and asked the palace to seek professional help for her.
During their televised chat, which will also air on ITV tonight, Meghan also claimed that the Duchess of Cambridge made her cry ahead of her wedding.
Among those giving their views were Angela Levin, author of Harry: Conversations with the Prince, Robert Jobson, who wrote Diana: Closely Guarded Secret.
Russell Myers, Daily Mirror royal editor and a commentator on ITV’s Lorraine editor, also gave his views on a Facebook live event hosted by True Royalty TV.
This is the verdict of the three royal experts:
ROBERT JOBSON
Robert Jobson
This was a performance from beginning to the end. Self-indulgent and selfish. They have disrespected to our country.
They have both made some very serious allegations and know they Monarchy can’t fight back. The entire interview did not respect the Queen. They have attacking the institution of the monarchy. It is not showbiz. This is a gross insult to the British people.
They have thrown a big hand grenade into the Royal Family and the monarchy.
They have accused the Royal Family of being racist, but they have not said who. That is cowardice. You cannot make that slur. They are saying the British Press are racist. Where is the evidence?
It is just appalling that they have been allowed to say those things without singling out who it was. They should never have raised this.
So much of what she said is astonishing and I am not sure I believe it.
They have said duty does not mean anything and that they were not able to leave and if they had the option to leave, they would.
The Queen has been devoted to service. It is just outrageous.
He is saying they are trapped and basically saying Prince Charles does not want to be King. That is just wrong. You cannot say that. They have become slightly deluded.
The only winner here is Oprah Winfrey.
RUSSELL MYERS
Russell Myers
That was the most extraordinary piece of television I have ever watched. The number of bombshells were extraordinary.
They will come a cropper, but there are elements of what they said that need to be taken seriously. Meghan was a young, vulnerable woman and what she said she went through is distressing and there are questions that need to be answered.
On the backdrop of a global pandemic their lack of awareness is breath-taking.
They have just bought a £10million home. There is no correlations to their experience of most normal people who were watching. They will be absolutely staggered.
When the Queen wakes up reads what has been said she will be absolutely devastated.
They have slammed almost every single member of the Royal Family.
They have said duty does not mean anything and that they were not able to leave and if they had the option to leave, they would.
The Queen has been devoted to service. It is just outrageous.
ANGELA LEVIN
Angela Levin
I was just so absorbed by all the attacks. It was quite astonishing.
Meghan made it sound as if she was in prison. That was her narrative. She said there was no one there for her, but Harry was by her side. One of the Queen’s most trusted assistants was given to her. It is hard to say there was no one.
People care about the Queen and the Royal Family and to her someone come in and smash the lot of them, and they are so forceful in their comments, that it made me feel very easy.
She says they were furious about losing their security, but they were out of the country.
It is distressing to hear her say she was suicidal and traumatic that she asked for help. Prince Harry sought help after his mother died. I can hardly believe that Harry did not help. That is a catastrophic thing to say.
I am sure in a few years’ time Harry will very much regret doing this interview. They have no emotional intelligence.
The Palace will say the minimum. It is too much to take on.
Other commentators gave their views elsewhere.
KJ MATTHEWS
Entertainment journalist based in Los Angeles, speaking on BBC Breakfast.
I’m still processing all that I heard. I expected to hear some revelations, but i never imagined I would hear that many revelations.
KJ Matthews
I mean there were so many bombshells, I don’t know which one to focus on. Surprising, shocking, it really didn’t go over well here in terms of the monarchy and the image that we had of them.
It really made us look somewhat differently at the monarchy, but when it comes to Prince Harry and Meghan, we feel much more sympathetic to them now. I think we have a better understanding of just why they felt they had to cut ties with the British Royal Family.
And I think some people here really feel sorry for her, especially the issue about her feeling suicidal. The fact that she brought up the possibility that they were talking about the skin colour of her unborn son.
I think that in a million years we would have never thought she was experiencing that, and so it will be hard, I think, for us to change now from what we’ve heard and see the monarchy in a positive light.
I think that from the moment that she was engaged to Prince Harry, we all thought very flattering things about the British monarchy, we were happy to see her introduced and welcomed into the family.
But now with all these allegations and these bombshells, it’s just hard to see them in the same way. I do believe their image has been tarnished and from what I’m even seeing on social media, especially here in America, I haven’t seen one sympathetic viewpoint siding with the Royal Family.
‘I’m hearing now Oprah will appear live on the CBS Morning Show to reveal and show clips of the interview that we have not seen, so there’s even more. There could be more bombshells that we see. It’s just the gift that keeps on giving, and it’s quite shocking. So I will be surprised to see what else she can drop on us.’
CHRIS SHIP
Chris Ship
ITV’s royal correspondent spoke on Good Morning Britain about Meghan Markle’s claim that someone in the Royal Family had ‘concerns’ about ‘how dark’ Archie’s skin would be before he was born because she is mixed-race and Harry is white.
Mr Ship said:
I should be clear here. Now I have been told it is not Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, or the Queen.
We are left with two family members.
You are left with either his father Prince Charles, or his brother Prince William, or their wives.
They have protected the Queen throughout this.
They have Zoom calls with the Queen, but equally, they are being very critical of the organisation of which she is the head of. Therefore you ARE criticising the Queen.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview Oprah Winfrey has been shown on CBS in the US