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The British media had varied takes on the tell-all-interview of Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle with Oprah Winfrey, which aired on CBS, Sunday night, 7 March, in the United States. It is the first time the couple are seen talking about severing ties with the Royal family.
The coverage of the interview ranges from newspaper commentators asking for investigations into the allegations Meghan has raised, one such being of racism by members of the Buckingham Palace, as well as coverage by tabloids who are heavily criticising the couple’s move.
Meghan alleged that senior aides ‘perpetuated falsehoods’ about her, a recurring claim that the aides leaked information to British media as part of a smear campaign, an allegation the Buckingham Palace has denied in the past.
The couple made claims that garnered international headlines and praise from several sections of the society, but not all were kind to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The Guardian’s front page had a photograph of the couple with the headline, “Royal Catch’... Broadcasters Bank On Harry and Meghan Ratings Boost”.
The Independent, a popular E-paper in the UK, published a commentary by Josh Marcus titled ‘We Should Be Ashamed: How People Are Reacting to Meghan and Harry’s Interview With Oprah’, noting the wave of relentless public scrutiny faced by the couple.
Another piece by Rachel Brodsky was headlined ‘Harry and Meghan Expose a Ruthless, Racist, Anti-Fairytale in Their Primetime Oprah Interview.’
Times UK, a daily newspaper, had a series of articles on the issue, with one commentary piece by Clare Foges titled, “Harry and Meghan must pay the price of their burnt bridges.”
The article in jest called the interview “the couple’s latest act of compassion towards family and nation,” referring to the couple’s foundation motto of changing the world “one act of compassion at a time.”
The print edition focused on the Queen who gave a speech hours before the interview was aired. The story is titled, “Queen highlights duty as Meghan speaks out.” The Daily Express UK had a similar headline for an article saying, “Queen: Duty And Family Unite Us.”
Tabloids in the media took on a harsher tone calling on experts to critique the couple. Daily Mail UK, the country’s highest circulating tabloid, had a headline which seemed to hammer the couple for choosing financial independence – “Back to basics' at their $14.5million mansion.”
Another story on the digital edition was titled, “Meghan makes sensational claim that Royals banned Archie from being a Prince because of concerns over how 'DARK' he would be and told her he would get no police protection but Harry refuses to reveal who made racist remark.”
The front page of the Daily Mail read, “As royals face fallout from Meghan and Harry’s bombshell interview, Queen tells Commonwealth what real service is. Duty Means Everything”.
UK Tabloid The Sun had several articles snubbing the American actress, one titled, “MEGXILE Meghan Markle may never return to Britain after angering Royal Family with bombshell Oprah interview”.
The tabloid coined ‘MEGXILE’, an adaptation of an earlier nickname British media put on her for leaving the Royal family, which was ‘MEGXIT’ – a play on the UK Brexit.
The article labelled the interview as “whingey teasers,” and had a contradictory approach to the concerns Meghan raised, having quotes from royal staff calling Prince Harry as “Meghan Markle’s hostage,” and claims that Palace staff have dubbed the conversation as “Moperah.”
In the tell-all interview with Oprah, Meghan, who is a bi-racial, described as to how the Royal family was concerned that her son Archie might be born with 'dark' skin tone. Meghan added that it was hard for her to understand why there were concerns within the royal family about her son’s skin tone.
Meghan describes feeling suicidal during her first pregnancy with Archie, and admitted to feeling lonely and not having the support she needed from the Royal family, whom she referred to as “The Firm”.
Meghan and Harry, who is Queen Elizabeth II's grandson, quit frontline royal duties in March last year and now live in California.
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