Duke of Cambridge defends monarchy after accusations from Harry and Meghan
The Duke of Cambridge has defended the monarchy against accusations of racism made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, saying: “We’re very much not a racist family.”
Prince William said he had not yet spoken to his brother since Harry and Meghan launched their attack on the family and institution in an interview with Oprah Winfrey broadcast in the US on Sunday.
Continue reading...Monarch criticised for treating claims by Meghan and Harry as private family matter
The Queen missed a crucial opportunity to publicly acknowledge and condemn racism in her response to the allegations made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, equality campaigners have said.
Casting the issue as a “private” family matter meant there was “no public accountability” from a public institution and the head of state and Commonwealth, they said.
Continue reading...Analysis: revelations may be used in member state debates about becoming republics, say experts
In the 1980s, it was the question of apartheid-era South Africa that threatened to drive a wedge through the Commonwealth.
But while some credit the Queen then with a heroic role behind the scenes – dramatised with more than a dollop of artistic licence in season four of The Crown – in 2021 the threat comes from a row over alleged racism within the royal family itself.
Continue reading...Some papers focus on the mild challenge to the Sussexes in palace statement, while others look at the privacy line, or claim support to strip couple of titles
The newspaper front pages have feasted on the royal crisis for a second day with several splashes focusing on the Queen’s “recollections may vary” reaction to the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ suggestions of palace racism.
The Telegraph goes with “Issue of race concerning, but recollections may vary, says Queen”, while the Times splash handles the crisis carefully, with a headline reading: “Queen says racism claim will be handled in private”.
Continue reading... Queen says ‘issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning’ but adds they will be dealt with privately
The Queen has sought to draw a line under damaging racism claims made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, saying that issues will be dealt with “privately” by the royal family.
The monarch expressed her “concern” over allegations of racism and her sadness on learning exactly how challenging the couple had found life as working royals, though she said some recollections of events differed.
Continue reading...Downing Street refuses to be drawn into judgment on Meghan’s claims of racism or state of mental health
Downing Street has refused to distance itself from a minister’s claim that Prince Harry is “blowing up his family” – but declined to comment after confirming the prime minister had watched the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Boris Johnson’s spokesman said he had watched the two-hour interview but said he had no further comment to make.
Continue reading...Live coverage of the fallout from revelations by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as ITV prepares to air interview in UK
Novelist Nadifa Mohamed gives her view on the treatment of the Duchess of Sussex by the royal family.
Related: As Meghan has learned, the monarchy is still built on breeding, ancestry and caste | Nadifa Mohamed
The photographer Misan Harriman has released a new picture of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as he congratulated them on their news that they are expecting a baby girl.
“What wonderful news to celebrate on International Women’s Day! Congratulations my friends, and welcome to the girldad club H” he tweeted, alongside a black and white photo of the couple with their son, Archie.
What wonderful news to celebrate on International Women’s Day! Congratulations my friends, and welcome to the #girldad club H ❤️#internationalwomensday #womenshistorymonth #remoteshoot #shotonipad #shotbymisan #itsagirl pic.twitter.com/OONzZrBBYK
Continue reading...Oprah Winfrey said on Monday Harry stressed ‘it was not his grandmother or grandfather who were part of those conversations’
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were not behind comments about the colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s child, according to Oprah Winfrey, who conducted the interview in which the startling revelation was made.
Continue reading...Prince Harry denied he had ‘blindside’ his grandmother, saying he had too much respect for her
One person in the royal family escaped the ire of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their devastatingly critical tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey: the Queen.
Prince Harry’s hurt at being “let down” by Prince Charles; Meghan’s claim that the Duchess of Cambridge made her cry, and not the other way around; Harry’s sadness at his rift with Prince William – all was laid bare.
Continue reading...Caught between a hate-filled media and a terrified royal family, the surprise is not that the couple struck out on their own. It’s that they didn’t escape much sooner
A seldom remembered fact about the royal family is that, before the death of Princess Diana, it was not normal to be interested in them. Tabloids were fascinated, but it was more of a convention than news – like a splash about tomatoes causing cancer, it was the out-of-office auto reply of the industry, a fallback. The family (I seriously dislike the affectation of calling them “the Firm”) survived while there was nothing to see. They were caught between two irreconcilable forces – their own culture of discretion, on one side, and intense, 24-hour scrutiny on the other – and they navigated that with a studied blandness. What did they actually care about? Manners, duty, causes, the Commonwealth. Whatever curiosity surrounded them, they simply did not reward it, and the regular response to that, after a few centuries and whatnot, was to not be terribly curious.
You may recall David Blaine, the magician who lived in a glass box above the Thames for 44 days in 2003: people really wanted to know what he was doing, even though we could see what he was doing – and that was mainly nothing. There grew a peculiar resentment of gawping at something that was only interesting because it was untouchable. But we could see for ourselves that it was not interesting – and then everyone got annoyed and some of us (not me) threw eggs. Eventually, hawkers started selling eggs. That pretty much sums up the experience of the royals pre-1997.
Continue reading...Highly-anticipated prime time two-hour special with Duke and Duchess of Sussex airs as transatlantic public relations war mounts
Oprah is now at Meghan and Harry’s new home in Santa Barbara.
There are many chickens. “Archie has always wanted chickens,” says Harry.
Before we cut away to an ad break, there is a clip of Oprah asking: “Were you silent, or were you silenced?”
Continue reading...Queen, Charles, Camilla, William and Kate to pay tribute to the world’s healthcare workers in TV broadcast
In an apparent attempt to grab attention before the airing of Prince Harry and Meghan’s tell-all interview, senior members of the royal family are to show a united front on Sunday and praise the efforts of doctors and nurses.
Just hours before the interview with Oprah goes out, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Camilla, William and Kate will appear in a programme celebrating the Commonwealth and paying tribute to the world’s frontline healthcare workers.
Continue reading...Royal experts predict the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not target members of the royal family
As the world awaits Sunday’s interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex against a toxic canvas of bullying and smear claims, the key question must be: what should Buckingham Palace fear most?
Anticipating what will fall from the couple’s lips under Oprah Winfrey’s “no off-limits” questioning is clearly taxing those at the heart of the British monarchy.
Continue reading...Meghan and Harry will not be involved in investigation, announced just before Oprah Winfrey interview
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have yet to be contacted by Buckingham Palace after it announced it would launch an investigation into allegations of bullying by the duchess, the Guardian understands.
Harry and Meghan will not be personally involved in the investigation as they are no longer part of the royal household, but the Los-Angeles based couple are understood to be hoping to hear details of what the process will entail.
Continue reading...The summits and rival statements since Prince Harry and Meghan stood back as senior royals
Prince Harry and Meghan married in May 2018 and within months the tensions between them and the rest of royal family began to emerge:
Continue reading...Duchess of Sussex criticises ‘the firm’ in latest excerpt ahead of broadcast of full Oprah Winfrey interview
The Duchess of Sussex has claimed in a new clip of her forthcoming interview with Oprah Winfrey that the palace is “perpetuating falsehoods” about her and Prince Harry.
In the clip released on Wednesday night in the US, Meghan was asked by Oprah how she felt about the palace hearing her “speak her truth today”.
Continue reading...Aide alleged in 2018 that Duchess of Sussex’s behaviour had driven out two personal assistants, say reports
The Duchess of Sussex is said to be “saddened” by a report, days before the broadcast of an interview with Oprah Winfrey, claiming she faced a bullying complaint at Kensington Palace.
The Times reported that a complaint was made in October 2018 by Jason Knauf, then the Sussexes’ communications secretary, which alleged Meghan had driven two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member.
Continue reading...Tens of thousands sign petition to investigate mechanism that allows Queen to vet draft laws
More than 50,000 people have called for a parliamentary investigation into an “unfathomable” mechanism that allows the Queen to vet draft laws before they are approved by the UK’s elected representatives.
They have signed a petition supporting an urgent investigation by a House of Commons committee as they are concerned that the “royal family has a worrying and undemocratic ability to influence the government behind closed doors”.
Continue reading...The Sussexes are the latest in a line of celebrities to try to rebuild their image by talking to the chatshow queen
You could have forgiven the British royal family for giving primetime, tell-all interviews a wide berth for the foreseeable. The evisceration of Prince Andrew by the BBC’s Emily Maitlis in 2019 managed to achieve the near-impossible: making the Duke of York appear more dubious and less sympathetic.
But if we have learned one thing about the Sussexes, Harry and Meghan, it’s that they are intent on doing pretty much the opposite of what the other royals want them to do. So next Sunday, 7 March, a 90-minute special, Oprah with Meghan and Harry, will air on the US network CBS. There is also understood to be a bidding war between UK broadcasters – though not the BBC – for the interview, which, it is promised, will be “intimate” and “wide-ranging”.
Continue reading...Duke of Sussex says he is happier with series than news stories about Meghan or his family
The Duke of Sussex has defended the Netflix series The Crown, saying that – while it was not “strictly accurate” – it portrayed the pressures of royal life.
In an interview with James Corden for the US programme The Late Late Show, Prince Harry said he minded the intrusions of the media into his family’s life much more than the miniseries, which was “obviously fiction”.
Continue reading...