What did Gayle King say on CBS This Morning?
CBS presenter Gayle King
‘Well I’m not trying to break news, but I did actually call them to see how they were feeling, and it’s true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too. The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation.
‘And I think what is still upsetting to them is the palace keep saying they want to work it out privately, but yet, they believe these false stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan, still.
‘No one in the Royal Family has talked to Meghan yet, at this particular time. And I think it’s frustrating for them to see that it’s a racial conversation about the Royal Family when all they wanted all along was for the royals to intervene and tell the Press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant.
‘And until you can acknowledge that, I think it’s going to be hard to move forward. But they both want to move forward with this and they both want healing in this family. At the end of the day, that is Harry’s family.’
‘The bullying thing was raised in 2018 and now there’s an ongoing investigation about bullying from Meghan Markle, when anyone who has worked with her will tell you exactly who she is.
‘You know, she’s really a very sweet, caring person. And as I say, Meghan has documents to back up everything that she said on Oprah’s interview. Everything.’
‘The family has to acknowledge that there are issues. Right now, no one has acknowledged, you know, Houston we have a problem here. That’s really all they want. They want a conversation, they both want a conversation.’
Prince Harry has spoken to his brother William and father Charles for the first time following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle’s friend Gayle King revealed today.
The CBS presenter, who attended Meghan’s baby shower in 2019, said she spoke to the Sussexes and the couple told her that Harry had talked to the Duke of Cambridge and Prince of Wales over the weekend.
But she said the conversations were ‘not productive’ and the Sussexes were keen for the ‘royals to intervene and tell the Press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant’.
Ms King, 66, who is also close friends with Oprah, failed to give any examples of the stories she was referring to, but added that Meghan has ‘documents to back up everything that she said on Oprah’s interview’.
If Ms King is correct about the details of the chat, William and Charles are likely to be appalled at it being leaked to a US media personality – with royal experts pointing out that senior royals are unlikely to want to talk to the Sussexes if they just pass on information to a friend who then reveals it in the American media.
She told CBS This Morning: ‘Well I’m not trying to break news, but I did actually call them to see how they were feeling, and it’s true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too. The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation.
‘And I think what is still upsetting to them is the palace keep saying they want to work it out privately, but yet, they believe these false stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan, still. No one in the Royal Family has talked to Meghan yet, at this particular time. And I think it’s frustrating for them to see that it’s a racial conversation about the Royal Family when all they wanted all along was for the royals to intervene and tell the Press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant.
‘And until you can acknowledge that, I think it’s going to be hard to move forward. But they both want to move forward with this and they both want healing in this family. At the end of the day, that is Harry’s family.’
Last Thursday, Prince William appeared furious as he defended the Royal Family while alongside his wife Kate, saying it was ‘very much not a racist family’ while on a trip to a school in East London and said ominously of Harry: ‘I haven’t spoken to him yet but I will do.’
Meanwhile Buckingham Palace has instructed an external law firm to assist with its investigation into bullying allegations made against Harry and Meghan, with lawyers for the couple denying any wrongdoing.
Ms King’s comments came on the same day that Harry’s grandfather Prince Philip, 99, was reunited with the Queen at Windsor Castle after leaving King Edward VII’s Hospital in London after a 28 day-stay for treatment.
During their discussion over the weekend, once-inseparable William and Harry could have discussed the unveiling of a statue for their mother Princess Diana which is scheduled for Kensington Palace in July.
The brothers are set to meet face-to-face at the event in London for the first time since the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey last March, which was Harry and Meghan’s last event as senior royals.
CBS has been at the centre of the Oprah interview, after This Morning showed a number of preview clips before the chat itself went out on the channel on March 7 and was then broadcast in Britain on ITV the following night.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson, whose new book Prince Philip’s Century is published next month, told MailOnline today: ‘The Royal Family do not like providing a running commentary on the their personal lives and personal relationships.
Meghan Markle’s friend Gayle King revealed on CBS This Morning that Prince Harry had spoken to William and Charles
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in conversation with Oprah Winfrey in an interview first aired on CBS on March 7
Prince William, Charles, Harry, Camilla, Kate and Meghan follow the Queen at Westminster Abbey on March 9, 2020
‘So it’s clearly not very helpful that every time there has been a development, in this case William talking to his brother, that it is immediately broadcast on Harry and Meghan’s adopted pet US network CBS via the host, Meghan’s friend Gayle King.
‘I really cannot see how there will be any progress in building bridges and rebuilding broken relationships if when Prince William, or the Queen or Prince Charles telephones, the conversations they have with Harry are passed on to CBS and then broadcast to the world. That’s not how the Royal Family works. There has to be trust and discretion.’
Ms King also said today: ‘The bullying thing was raised in 2018 and now there’s an ongoing investigation about bullying from Meghan Markle, when anyone who has worked with her will tell you exactly who she is.
‘You know, she’s really a very sweet, caring person. And as I say, Meghan has documents to back up everything that she said on Oprah’s interview. Everything.’
Ms King also said: ‘The family has to acknowledge that there are issues. Right now, no one has acknowledged, you know, Houston we have a problem here. That’s really all they want. They want a conversation, they both want a conversation.
MailOnline’s owner Associated Newspapers has complained to CBS for doctoring headlines and taking them out of context during a section of the Oprah interview designed to illustrate racist coverage of Meghan by the Press.
Reacting to the comments by Ms King, royal biographer Angela Levin added: ‘That’s why it’s not a good idea to pass on any information to them including details about alleged bullying because it will be passed on to a friend and reach social media in the blink of an eye. Their sense of entitlement is extraordinary. They can’t bear to be out of the spotlight.’
She continued: ‘The fact that Harry and Meghan say the talk with William was ‘unproductive’ makes me believe that Harry and Meghan aren’t interested in compromising or working hard to mend the rift. Otherwise they wouldn’t use such a negative, unpleasant word.’
ITV royal correspondent Chris Ship added: ‘Clearly, Gayle King would not have shared these comments with millions of viewers without Meghan’s permission, so this marks a significant new approach.
‘Private family dissuasions will now be made public if Meghan wants it out there. She has plenty of people who can do it for her.’
And Daily Mail diary editor Richard Eden tweeted: ‘This is extraordinary. Are we going to have a running commentary for years to come from Harry and Meghan’s friends on their relations with the Royal Family? If so, the royals will be wary of speaking to them.’
It comes as Buckingham Palace instructed an external law firm to assist with its investigation into bullying allegations made against the Duchess.
Royal aides announced earlier this month that past and present employees of Meghan and Harry would be invited to speak in confidence about their experiences, after it was alleged she drove out two personal assistants and staff were ‘humiliated’ on several occasions.
Now it is understood an outside legal company will help Buckingham Palace’s human resources team as it examines the circumstance of the allegations, first reported by the Times newspaper.
According to other reports, the Sussexes are not expected to be asked to contribute to the review, but the duchess has written to the palace asking for any documents, emails or texts relating to the allegations against her.
Lawyers for the duchess have denied the bullying allegations. Harry was also accused of bullying, with the Times reporting earlier this month that a member of staff told a colleague the couple were ‘outrageous bullies’.
When the bullying allegations were first made, Buckingham Palace said in a statement it was ‘very concerned’ about them, and stressed the Royal Household ‘does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace’.
It added: ‘Accordingly, our HR team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article. Members of staff involved at the time, including those who have left the Household, will be invited to participate to see if lessons can be learned.’
The investigation was launched after the Times reported that Jason Knauf, the Sussexes’ then communications secretary, made a bullying complaint in October 2018 in an apparent attempt to force Buckingham Palace to protect staff.
A source told the newspaper that Harry begged his senior aide not to take the matter further, but it also reported that lawyers for the duke and duchess deny the meeting took place and that Harry would not have interfered with staff matters.
Mr Knauf reportedly sent an email outlining the duchess’s alleged actions to Simon Case, the Duke of Cambridge’s then private secretary and now the cabinet secretary, after conversations with Samantha Carruthers, the head of human resources.
Prince Philip waves as he arrives back at Windsor Castle today after leaving King Edward VII’s Hospital in London
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit School 21 in Stratford, East London, on March 11 after schools reopen in England
Gayle King, who is close friends with Oprah and Meghan, revealed on CBS This Morning that Harry had spoken to William
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘Our commitment to look into the circumstances around allegations from former staff of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is being taken forward but we will not be providing a public commentary on it.’
A spokesman for the Sussexes declined to comment. Soon after the bullying allegations were made, the monarchy was left reeling after Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah, in which they made a string of allegations, including accusing a member of the royal family of making a racist comment about their son Archie.
Last Friday, the Daily Mail reported that the rift between William and Harry was so deep that the brothers had not even been in touch to discuss the unveiling of their mother’s statue this summer.
The event is being organised by a steering committee, including Princess Diana’s sister and one of her closest friends.
But the ‘sad truth’ is that the once inseparable brothers haven’t personally talked about it for months, despite the unveiling being scheduled for July, a source said.
The Mail revealed in January that William and Harry both intended to be at the long-awaited event on July 1, which would have been Diana’s 60th birthday.
That is still the case despite the deep anguish and anger caused by Harry and Meghan’s explosive Oprah Winfrey interview.
However, the California-based prince may be somewhat dependent on when his wife, who is pregnant with their second child, gives birth, as well as international travel restrictions due to Covid.
One source said: ‘It’s a very sad situation but the relationship is so strained that they haven’t even been able to pick up the phone to discuss matters. That’s the sad truth.’
The brothers announced in 2017, ahead of the 20th anniversary of their mother’s tragic death in a Paris car crash, that they planned to install a statue in her memory in the gardens of Kensington Palace, her London home.
They set up the Diana, Princess of Wales, statue committee to privately raise funds for the monument. Its chairman is Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, a trusted friend and former private secretary to the princes.
Key members include Diana’s sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, as well as Julia Samuel, a close friend of Diana, and godmother to Prince George.
The brothers selected artist Ian Rank-Broadley, whose portrait of the Queen appears on all UK coins, to create the statue and hoped to unveil it before the end of 2017.
But their disintegrating relationship, following the formal dismantling of their joint household and charitable foundation, and Harry’s decision to move out of Kensington Palace to Windsor with Meghan, 39, delayed the plans.
Prince Charles visits Skipton House in London last Tuesday to meet NHS and MoD staff involved in the vaccine rollout
The Queen with Harry and Meghan at the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace in June 2018
Last August Kensington Palace said the statue would be unveiled in the Sunken Garden this year.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle DITCH the Sussex Royal monogram on their stationery: New Archewell logo is revealed on letter sent by the Duchess to a London school she visited last year
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have replaced their Sussex Royal monogram on their stationery with their Archewell logo.
The Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex , 39,were met with criticism last year after they continued to use their official cypher, which features their initials H and M intertwined with a crown on top, after stepping back from royal duty.
However the pair have started using the logo for their new foundation Archewell on recent letters instead, including for a note penned by the Duchess to a London school she visited last year and shared for International Women’s Day.
Robert Clack School in London shared a letter penned by Meghan, which features the Archewell logo as the masthead
The changes comes after the couple were told they could not continue with ‘the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service’ and gave an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey about their time in the royal family .
Last week, the Duchess wrote a heartfelt letter to the students of the Robert Clack Upper School, urging them to ‘learn about the trailblazing women who came before us.’
The Duke and Duchess faced criticism last year as they continued to use their royal monogram despite having stepped back from public duty
In a note which was shared on Twitter by the organisation, Meghan said she looked back on her visit to the Dagenham school with ‘such fond memories’, writing: ‘I think of you all frequently, especially recognising how difficult it’s been for students and families during the past year.’
‘This International Women’s Day, in collaboration with the work of our non-profit organisation, Archewell Foundation, we are encouraging everybody to participate in real acts of compassion for the women in their lives and their community.
‘One suggestion we have is to take a moment to learn about the trailblazing women who came before us.’
Sources insist that has never been in doubt despite the Sussexes’s acrimonious decision to quit as working royals and move to the US last year.
But there is immense sadness that the project in memory of their mother has not yet managed to bring the brothers closer.
In the interview with Oprah, Harry, 36, said: ‘The relationship is ‘space’ at the moment. Time heals all things, hopefully.’
Sources wonder if Harry and William will get to see each other to resolve their differences before the unveiling.
One said: ‘Everyone knows this is really important to both of the dukes. It’s only hoped bridges can be built before the day.’
Meanwhile a poll last week found public opinion of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is the worst it has ever been.
In Oprah’s interview, Harry and Meghan made bombshell allegations of racist attitudes in the Royal Family. Meghan also claimed a lack of support left her feeling suicidal.
But the YouGov poll suggests it did not go down well with the public – with attitudes towards Harry now being more negative than positive for the first time.
The mid-week survey of 1,664 Britons shows 45 per cent have a positive opinion of Harry but 48 per cent regard him negatively, giving a net score of -3, a drop of 15 points on the week before.
Only 31 per cent have a positive opinion of Meghan, while 58 per cent view her negatively, giving her a net rating of -27, a drop from -14.
But William and Kate had net ratings of +60 and +57 respectively, a slight drop from last week. Most 18 to 24-year-olds approved of Meghan (55 per cent) and Harry (59 per cent).
But 83 per cent of people aged over 65 thought negatively of Meghan and 69 per cent disliked Harry.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Edinburgh has been reunited with the Queen today after leaving hospital following a month-long stay receiving treatment.
Philip, 99, is said to be in good spirits after spending 28 nights as an in-patient – his longest ever stay.
He was initially receiving care for an infection then underwent heart surgery for a pre-existing condition.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: ‘The Duke of Edinburgh has today been discharged from King Edward VII’s Hospital and has returned to Windsor Castle, following treatment for an infection and a successful procedure for a pre-existing condition.
‘His Royal Highness wishes to thank all the medical staff who looked after him at both King Edward VII’s Hospital and St Bartholomew’s Hospital, and everyone who has sent their good wishes.’
Philip was pushed in a wheelchair to a waiting car when he left the private hospital in London this morning, after first being admitted on February 16.
The duke was partially obscured by a screen erected at the rear of the hospital but a man appeared to help him into the chauffeur-driven saloon.
Wearing a white shirt and yellow jumper, Philip turned to look at the large media presence outside King Edward VII’s as the car pulled away, and he was driven to Windsor.
He was initially taken to King Edward VII’s Hospital by car a month ago after feeling unwell at Windsor.
But two weeks later was moved to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City of London by ambulance where he had a successful procedure on a pre-existing heart condition on March 3, just three months before his 100th birthday.
A few days later he was transferred back to King Edward’s to recuperate and to continue his treatment. Throughout his time in hospital the royal family continued with their official duties.
Philip was visited just once on February 20 by his eldest son, the Prince of Wales, who made a 200-mile round trip from his Gloucestershire home and stayed for around 30 minutes.
But the Earl of Wessex revealed he had been speaking to his father by phone and when the duke was into his second week of treatment Edward said Philip was ‘looking forward to getting out’ and the family were keeping their ‘fingers crossed’.
Concern had been heightened for the duke because of his advanced age and amid troubled times for the royals.
The monarchy was plunged into crisis while Philip was in hospital following the shocking allegations of racism made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their interview with Oprah. Harry and Meghan faced calls to postpone the interview because Philip was unwell.
MailOnline and Daily Mail owner Associated Newspapers complains to CBS and ITV over ‘seriously inaccurate and misleading’ montage of newspaper headlines from Oprah interview
The owner of MailOnline and the Daily Mail has complained to CBS for doctoring headlines and taking them out of context during the Oprah interview.
Associated Newspapers said a section of the programme designed to illustrate racist coverage of Meghan by the British press was ‘seriously inaccurate and misleading’.
CBS invited viewers to believe that a montage of cuttings were all headlines that had appeared in British newspapers – but some had been edited or even manufactured using sentences selectively plucked from the article.
Many were not even articles from the UK media but from foreign newspapers, including US tabloids.
In a letter sent to Viacom CBS last Friday, Associated Newspapers’ legal director Elizabeth Hartley demanded the montage be removed from the broadcast.
WHAT THEY SHOWED: The mocked-up headline purported to be from this website is reduced to a single quote and appeared as a commentator discussed ‘undeniable racist overtones’ in media coverage
IN REAL LIFE: The story – which was on the front of that day’s Mail On Sunday – was a story exposing the suspension of the girlfriend of the UKIP leader for using the racist phrase that appeared in the headline. Producers removed all that context
Many were not even articles from the UK media but from foreign newspapers, including US tabloids such as Star magazine
She said one of the most ‘egregious’ examples was an article that appeared in the programme with the headline: ‘Meghan’s seed will taint our Royal Family’.
The actual headline that appeared on MailOnline made clear the article was about the suspension of a UKIP party member for making racist comments about Meghan.
But it was so drastically trimmed back for the Oprah interview that this was not obvious.
Ms Hartley said: ‘It is a thoroughly dishonest misrepresentation of a newspaper headline and article which was the opposite of racist. No one viewing the programme would have understood this from the montage.’
She also pointed to another supposed headline that appeared in the montage that was not a genuine headline at all.
The broadcast had mocked-up a MailOnline headline to read: ‘Rich and exotic DNA, Miss Markle’s mother is a dread-locked African American lady from the wrong side of the tracks…’
This was not the headline that appeared on Rachel Johnson’s comment piece in 2016, but was instead a sentence lifted from the article and paraded as a headline.
WHAT THEY SHOWED: The producers plucked a line from the article about ‘rich and exotic DNA’ and wrote it in a large typeface where the headline would normally be
IN REAL LIFE: The text the show featured appeared in a column by the Prime Minister’s sister Rachel Johnson. This is how it actually appeared online. The line of text that the show made appear to be the headline was in fact taken from the middle of paragraph three of the 11-paragraph piece
Ms Hartley said that, in context, ‘it is clear that Rachel Johnson’s intention was not to racially abuse the duchess’ but rather to ‘praise the duchess’s genetics, looks, social conscience and humanitarian efforts’.
She added: ‘While Ms Johnson has since accepted that the phrasing was regrettable, it is plainly misleading to present this sentence out of context, disguised as a headline, and as an example of racist online abuse.’
It was exposed earlier this week how the CBS broadcast, watched by 17million in the US and 11million in the UK via ITV, also doctored UK media websites.
One even altered the words on the Daily Telegraph’s website into American English.
The same newspaper later reported that 11 of the 30 headlines shown during the montage were from US or Australian outlets.
WHAT THEY SHOWED: The headline read ‘BBC comedy portrays Meghan Markle as ”trailer trash” American who threatens to knife Kate Middleton’. But the character was actually meant to be the opposite of what Meghan was really like
IN REAL LIFE: The article as it appeared on the Telegraph’s website – with Defence spelled the English way, not how the Americans mocked it up – makes it clear that the comedienne portraying Meghan as ‘trailer trash’ was doing so as it was ‘finding humour’ in a ‘ridiculous’ idea
Ms Hartley stressed that Associated Newspapers ‘unquestionably supports freedom of speech and the First Amendment’ but said the montage section of the programme went against CBS’ own commitment to journalistic integrity.
She said: ‘In conclusion, the programme in its current form, does not comply with the ViacomCBS editorial policies or align with its stated values. In terms of both accuracy and integrity, the programme is clearly compromised by the inclusion of this misleading montage.
‘Accordingly, I should be grateful for your urgent confirmation that the offending content will be removed from the programme currently being made available to the public.
‘We also understand that a further broadcast is being planned tonight. The montage should therefore be deleted prior to that broadcast.’
CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Harpo productions, Oprah Winfrey’s company, said: ‘Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, shared in the interview their personal story. We stand by the broadcast in its entirety.’
WHAT THEY SHOWED: Oprah’s team reduced this Telegraph article to a headline suggesting the Duchess ‘doesn’t speak our language’. As they mocked up the Telegraph’s website, they spelled
IN REAL LIFE: The piece – an opinion column – has the subdeck that explains it is critiquing the Duchess’s ‘earnest gushing’ which the writer finds to be ‘like nails down a blackboard’
WHAT THEY SHOWED: The interview flashed up a Guardian headline apparently referring neutrally to Danny Baker talking about comparing Archie to ‘a chimp’
IN REAL LIFE? No such headline is immediately available on the Guardian’s website. This, from the aftermath of Baker’s sacking, is their story about him talking about his Tweet and apologising for it