Everything You Need To Know About The Fallout From Prince Harry And Meghan Markle's Interview
It felt as though the entire world watched Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey. The March 2021 interview truly stunned viewers and was not to miss. The couple not only spoke about their lives in the United States and the challenges they faced from the British tabloids, but they also lobbed allegations against the "Firm" and the royal family.
What exactly is the "Firm" — the entity that Harry and Meghan spoke of? It is made up of senior royal family members, as to be expected, but is also made up of staffers, couriers, and the offices that oversee all things royal. Needless to say, the accusations of racism, Meghan's claim that she was denied mental health help, and the ongoing scrutiny they faced as a couple did not fall on deaf ears. The Firm heard the couple loud and clear, and things have been messy ever since.
So what have been the consequences of the interview? What royals have spoken out, who has stayed silent, and what does the sit-down mean for the relationship between the couple and the royals? Here's everything you need to know about the fallout from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview.
Prince William was reportedly "reeling" in the immediate aftermath of the interview
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the relationship between Prince William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, has reportedly been icy for quite some time. The two have appeared to be in a public feud for years, allegedly stemming from Harry's relationship with Meghan Markle. So it should come as no surprise that the Oprah Winfrey interview did not please William, who not only viewed the sit-down from the perspective of a brother, but as the future king of England.
According to The Sunday Times, William was "reeling" after the interview aired. "His head is all over the place on it," sources close to him shared. And it seemed like a couple days wasn't enough for him to cool off, either. As noted by The New York Times, days after the interview aired, William was asked at a public event what he thought of the interview and the allegations of racism that Meghan launched. He said they're "very much not a racist family," adding that he had every intention of speaking to his brother about the interview. What we wouldn't give to listen in on that phone call.
Prince Charles avoided speaking about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview
Perhaps one of the biggest stand-out moments from the interview was when Prince Harry spoke about his father, Prince Charles. Not only did Harry reveal that his father had cut him off financially, but that he had stopped taking his son's phone calls all together. There certainly seemed to be some brooding tension there, and Charles later showed that he had no intention of talking about it.
As noted by CNN, Charles completely avoided questions about the interview in his first public appearance after the sit-down, despite the uproar that the allegations had caused in Great Britain and beyond. Things were a little dicey at this point in time, too, as the palace had not released any kind of statement about the interview or the accusations that it delivered. A journalist at Charles' public engagement asked, "Sir, what did you think of the interview?" Charles did not respond, and he carried on with his appearance.
Given that so many pointed allegations were made against him, it is slightly surprising that Charles has remained silent.
The royal family reportedly wasn't pleased after Gayle King followed up with Harry and Meghan
Where there's Oprah Winfrey, there's Gayle King. The two of them are truly the dynamic duo that we all want to replicate with our best friend, so it really doesn't come as a shock that King got involved in the line of questioning after her BFF's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aired. To make matters a little bit more complicated, King is a friend of Harry and Meghan's, so when she came out in support of the couple, some people may have been less than happy. Shortly after the interview, King said on CBS This Morning that she had called Harry and Meghan to "see how they were feeling."
"Harry has talked to his brother, and he had talked to his father too. The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive," King revealed, and as you probably guessed, the royals were allegedly not happy about the comment. A royal source told the Daily Mail that "none of the households — the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — will be giving a running commentary on private conversations."
Did the Firm made a "jab" at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?
The palace has come under fire before for not releasing a public statement in the wake of tragedy or news before. It took five days for them to release a statement about Princess Diana's death, and people drew parallels to that delayed response in the wake of the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle interview. After a lot of public pressure, the palace finally released a statement about the interview two days after it aired, and while it acknowledged the pain that the couple had endured at the hands of the Firm and the press, it also included a little jab — blink and you'll miss it, but it's there.
As noted by People, the 61-word statement that was released on behalf of Queen Elizabeth said that the couple and their son would "always be much loved family members," but concluded with the following: "Some recollections may vary." This seems to point to Meghan's claims that she was denied help for her mental health and that certain royals had discussed the color of her son's skin. A royal insider told People that the phrasing of that last sentiment in the statement was an "underlying jab" at the couple, intended to show disagreement within the family about the claims. Yikes.
The queen reportedly won't help Prince Harry and Prince William fix their relationship
The queen of England is embedded in all our lives at this point — it's almost easy to think of her as an institution rather than a person. But as noted by The Sunday Times, the interview that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave placed pressure on Queen Elizabeth. But while she would reportedly planned to speak to Harry and Meghan in the aftermath, she apparently would not be facilitating conversations to mend the rift between them and other family members, most specifically Prince William.
"She's a very alert and on-the-ball 94-year-old but she is 94," a source close to the palace told The Times. "She's going to be speaking to Harry but there is a recognition that it isn't going to be her brokering a peace between William and Harry."
So how does everyone around the queen feel about the schism between brothers? In one word, disappointed. "It's a sad state of affairs, because William and Harry could have been so brilliant," a royal insider told People. "To think of what they could have achieved together is almost heartbreaking."
Behind closed doors, Prince William is reportedly saying that his brother's comments were "way off"
During the sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry told her that he had been "trapped" in the royal system and that Meghan Markle gave him a ticket out. "My father and my brother are trapped. They don't get to leave, and I have huge compassion for that," he said, as noted by People. As you might have guessed, Prince William was reportedly furious over the sentiment.
A close friend of both William and Harry's told The Sunday Times that William found the comment to be "way off the mark" and that the sentiment of being trapped is not one that he shares with his younger brother. "He has a path set for him and he's completely accepting of his role. He is very much his grandmother's grandson in that respect of duty and service," the source shared. But it doesn't end there. A royal insider told Us Weekly, "William does not support Harry giving up on the family and running away and absolutely does not support speaking out against the crown." The inside source added that "there may be no path for a mended relationship between the brothers."
Prince William was said to have gotten "very angry" over allegations made against his wife
The U.K. tabloids always seemed to try to pit Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton against each other, fabricating competition and negativity between them. One of the biggest stories that came out about the them was that Meghan had allegedly made Kate cry regarding wedding details. The palace never denied the story at the time it was released, so when Meghan sat down with Oprah Winfrey, she set the record straight: Kate had made Meghan cry, not the other way around, as had been previously reported.
As noted by People, a source shared that the exchange regarding wedding details left both women in tears, but given the stress that the interview caused and the blame pitted on his wife, Prince William reportedly flew off the handle. "William is very protective of Kate and can get very angry," Penny Junor, a royal biographer, told People. "For Meghan to name Kate in a negative light is worse than being attacked himself." We honestly can't see these four being friendly with each other anytime soon.
The palace's initial response reportedly wasn't as successful as the Firm had hoped
The palace has always maintained a standard — don't publicly engage with criticism, allegations, or attacks. It's allowed the royal family to exist above the fray, but given that the interview from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle launched criticism within the family itself, things were not nearly as easy to avoid. After the palace released their statement, much of which was in support of Harry and Meghan and acknowledged the suffering that they had endured at the hands of the Firm, many thought that tensions would be assuaged. They were wrong. As noted by The Times, the palace's "good intentions got them nowhere."
"There's a clear threat that if you challenge [Harry and Meghan's] narrative, they'll release more [allegations]," a palace source shared. And things would only get more complicated. Shortly before the interview, allegations of bullying on the part of the Sussexes made their way into the press, and one palace source said that things could get ugly before they get better. "A lot could come out in the wash that hasn't been told," they said.
Kate Middleton was allegedly "mortified" about what Meghan Markle revealed
Weddings are stressful, and when your wedding happens to be watched by billions of people, the pressure is on. It's no big surprise that this pressure led to a rift between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton that allegedly resulted in Kate making Meghan cry. This was what Meghan told Oprah Winfrey about in their interview, and, according to Page Six, Kate was "mortified" that Meghan made such a claim against her.
To boil it all down, it was reported that Meghan had made Kate cry over wedding details, but Meghan flipped the script during the interview with Oprah, saying that it happened the other way around and that the palace never corrected the report. Royal author Katie Nicholl told OK! magazine (via Page Six) that the revelation threw Kate for a loop, as she "has never wanted any suggestion of a rift with Meghan to come out in the press."
"Kate is so discreet and respects her personal life. You never hear about her falling out with anyone because she is very careful with how she treats others," Nicholl said. "Kate felt [the incident] was all sorted, so to have it brought up again was mortifying.” Talk about tension.
It's not believed that Prince William will make amends with Harry anytime soon
It certainly seems like Prince William is in no rush to mend things with Prince Harry. The two were allegedly already at odds, and the interview that Harry gave to Oprah has reportedly further estranged them. As noted by The Sunday Times, Harry finished the interview by saying that he loves his brother "to bits," that they've "been through hell together," and that time would bring them back together. "The relationship is 'space' at the moment, and time heals all things, hopefully," he said. But as The Times asserted, "Harry would be wise not to set his stopwatch." Yikes.
William has reportedly become much closer to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, and given his future as the king of England, his relationship with his brother may continue to dwindle. So the world will absolutely be watching when the brothers potentially face one another for the first time after the interview — presumably during the summer of 2021, when celebrations like Prince Philip's 100th birthday and the commemoration of Princess Diana's 60th birthday are poised to take place. Time will tell if their bond will heal.
Prince Philip was not made aware of the full extent of the interview
Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband, is 99. Given his age, it should come as no surprise that he's had health setbacks, and while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview went on the air, Philip was being treated in the hospital. As such, he was reportedly kept away from the news in order to protect his own well-being. Royal expert Katie Nicholl told 9Honey that royal family members had been keeping Philip from the news, noting, "The family are very keen that he's not aware of the full extent of the interview."
According to Vanity Fair, the relationship between Philip and Harry was already on thin ice, and Philip reportedly felt that the advice he had been giving to Harry was falling on "deaf ears." Ingrid Seward, the author of Prince Philip Revealed, said that Philip "harbored doubts" about Meghan, and while he initially tried to be welcoming, he saw Harry's decision to marry Meghan as an insult to his royal duties. As such, "efforts were made to protect [Prince Philip] from the full force of the fallout," and it's not hard to understand why.
Some royal sources shared that the Firm saw the interview as "treasonous"
Even before it was confirmed, there always seemed to be distance between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and the rest of the royal family. While unconfirmed for some time, that tension and separation always seemed to be there, and given the allegations that Harry and Meghan lobbed at the royal family, it certainly seems that the tension won't be eradicated any time soon. Especially, when you take into consideratio, that some of the closest aides to Queen Elizabeth described Harry and Meghan's interview as "verging on treasonous." Yes, you read that correctly.
As reported by The Sunday Times, another close source to the queen said that the interview was "an incredible act of disloyalty" and serves as "manna from heaven" for opposition. To make matters worse, more palace sources questioned the motives behind the interview and what Harry and Meghan were trying to accomplish. "The question nobody seems able to answer is what are the Sussexes trying to achieve with this?" the source said. "We don't know what they want. If you think the Queen is great, then why are you trying to trash everything she and the family stands for?"
The interview's fallout reached the realms of politics, and U.K. leaders had to walk carefully
You know that things are bad when politicians get involved, and given the waves that the interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made, even U.K. politicians had to tread lightly. As noted by The New York Times, Great Britain's prime minister, Boris Johnson, was asked twice about the interview, and both times he declined to comment. Of course, things got very interesting when President Joe Biden shared his thoughts on the interview via his press secretary, expressing that he admired Meghan for her courage to share her struggles with issues involving mental health. Johnson finally did address the interview, to an extent, during a news conference at his residence in Downing Street.
"I have always had the highest admiration for the queen and the unifying role she plays in our country and across the Commonwealth," he said. "As for all other matters to do with the royal family, I have spent a long time now not commenting on royal family matters, and I don't intend to depart from that." Looks like we'll never really get his true thoughts on the matter.
Palace workers have come forward, claiming to be fearful to be in their place of work
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview has reportedly had some consequences for palace staff. Senior royal sources told The Sunday Times that the way in which Harry and Meghan described the Firm and the palace at large created "a culture of fear" throughout the staff and that people are now walking on eggshells in order to keep the peace.
"There are people, including young women in the households, who are now feeling nervous and afraid about going out on [royal] engagements because of what might happen due to what has been said," the sources shared. "Staff are fearful of attacks on social media and what bomb might land next."
As for the status of Harry and Meghan within the palace, things have reportedly gone downhill. "Harry was worshipped by most people in the household," the source told The Times. "Now most people are horrified by him."