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We were talking about it all day, but it was only at 9pm on Monday that a massive UK audience got to see Oprah’s interview for the first time.
The moment when the Royal family it was exposed from within.
Harry and Meghan accuse the firm of being unsupportive, indifferent and, at worst, racist.
Watching parts of Meghan’s captivating and sometimes astonishing conversation with Oprah for the second time, I was left wondering if this newcomer was legitimately lifting the lid on the challenges the institution has yet to overcome to be truly modern.
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Meghan claims Archie’s skin color was discussed
Or was she a woman who had been made to feel like a stranger with bills to settle?
That’s one of the fascinating aspects of the impact of this interview, and the entire narrative around the Sussexes since they announced they wanted to step back. Even before the interview, many had opted for Team Sussex or Team Windsor.
I’ll be watching with interest to see if the interview in any way changes the scales of sympathy towards Harry and Meghan.
It will not be easy to win over some here in the UK, where ever since they announced that they wanted to be financially independent, there has been a sensitivity to slights or possible signs of disrespect towards the Queen.
No matter how sincere Meghan’s testimony is, there are those who view her decision to speak out as a step too far.
Meghan during her interview with Oprah. Image: CBS
But for Harry and Meghan, I’m not sure that really matters. Britain is not the only one and the end of everything. They see themselves as a global couple and this was designed to resonate with an international and primarily American audience.
Even with President Joe Biden saying how brave Meghan was to speak up, it seems to have had the desired effect.
It was Meghan who spoke the killer lines.
First by revealing that they had faced questions within the family about Archie’s skin color before he was born, but also making some troubling admissions about her own mental health, saying that she contemplated suicide because she felt unprotected and alone.
It is mainly those lines from Meghan that have led to the strongly worded newspaper headlines, words like “crisis” and “upheaval” and “emergency” a sign of the repercussions.
Those more serious accusations and the questions they raise are increasingly difficult for the monarchy not to answer. We need to separate the personal family dynamic from the family business.
It is one thing for them to fight as relatives, but what does this tell us about what is acceptable within one of the most powerful institutions in the UK?
You only need to look at the last year to see how influential the Royal Family has been during the pandemic, setting the right example in everything from locked up work to vaccination. What they represent matters.
These latest claims could undermine the work they have done in the diversity sphere or as cheerleaders promoting better mental health support.
Of course, this is Harry and Meghan’s word against theirs, but this time it seems that a silence worthy of the rest of the royal family is not enough to close this one.
