The interview of the year drops tonight – Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will open up for the first time about their decision to step down as working royals during a heart to heart with America's most famous talk show host, Oprah Winfrey
Unfortunately, the timing isn't ideal for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Harry's 99-year-old grandfather, Prince Phillip, is still recovering in hospital after undergoing a successful heart procedure. And the couple's many detractors have ruthlessly been pouncing on the situation. Taking aim directly at Meghan, Piers Morgan tweeted that "she's done this as Philip lies seriously ill in hospital," adding that "it's an absolute disgrace".
But in teasers of the world-exclusive interviews, one thing is evident: Meghan and Harry had no choice.
'A lot has been lost already'
This is something that leading PR expert, Lauren Lunn Farrow, corroborates to VT. As she points out, Meghan and Harry likely had little control over when the interview went out in the first place:
"I wouldn't be surprised if their teams had tried to push the TX date back. The issue is that channels globally have now scheduled the interview into their flat plans, and sold advertising around it. So, moving the date the interview airs isn’t as simple as it sounds."
Still, Meghan makes clear in a 30-second trailer for tonight's interview that she is no longer willing to keep silent about her experiences within "the Firm" if they continue "perpetuating falsehoods" about her her and Harry. When Oprah asks Meghan, "how do you feel about the palace hearing you speak your truth today?", she sadly replies that a lot has "been lost already".
Lauren comments: "I think from Meghan’s point of view, she may have felt like she has been silenced for too long, and has not been able to speak her truth. When you are a member of the Royal Family, there is protocol and a set way of doing things – especially relating to how you deal with the media.
"Meghan has come from a Hollywood background of regularly doing press, and having her own social media platforms without needing to go through an extensive list of people and protocol. So it must have been a huge shock to give up her independent voice."
The "bullying" accusations
Of course, the plot thickened last week when The Times reported that the Duchess had allegedly "bullied" former royal staff, leaving some in tears, and forcing two to quit. In the wake of these claims being made public, Bucking Palace announced it was launching an unprecedented investigation into the accusations. "The Royal Household has had a Dignity at Work policy in place for a number of years and does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace," an official statement read.
Interestingly, the interview was recorded before the allegations became public – and the timing has raised some eyebrows.
Rallying behind Meghan, her colleagues from Suits have since taken to social media to attest to her character. Following the accusations, the show's executive producer, Jon Cowan, called her a "warm, kind, caring person" who was thrust into an "unimaginable world". Meanwhile, her makeup artist, Daniel Martin, posted a picture of Meghan to Instagram, accompanied by a poem about her "light".
Lawyers for Meghan and Harry then told The Times, that the "bullying" row was "being used by Buckingham Palace to peddle a wholly false narrative based on misleading and harmful misinformation."
The question of tactical timing
While accusations of bullying should always be taken seriously, many have found it hard to not view the reports as tactical, given that they surfaced mere days before the Oprah interview airs. And if we are going to stick to this line, "earring gate" should be painted with the same brush.
Last week, days ahead of the interview, the Duchess, once again, was the focus of renewed scrutiny after it was reported that she wore earrings gifted by Prince Salman after he approved the killing of assassination of Kamal Khashoggi. Meghan wore the jewels to a dinner in October, 2018. However, this interestingly wasn't picked up by the British tabloids until March 2021.
Raising eyebrows even further, some are accusing Buckingham Palace of double standards over its treatment of Meghan. Although it's been quick to launch an investigation claims made against the Duchess of Sussex, it's yet to conduct an inquiry into Prince Andrew and his connection with the late convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
But Meghan? A mean girl? Full probe, please!
Hope for a future across the pond
Despite being senior members of the British Royal Family, it appears that Team Markle is galvanising most of its support in the States. The New York Times published an opinion piece titled 'Good for Meghan and Harry', meanwhile UK papers and Conservative MPs and public figures have criticised the couple. Tory MP Bob Blackman told the Mail Online: "To be doing a tell-all interview screened in the UK when Philip is in hospital… they are badly advised, to put it mildly. None of these royal interviews have gone well and I can't see this going any better."
Meghan and Harry are of course aware of the negativity. They've been actively consolidating their American fanbase over the past year, with their move to LA, and multi-million dollar partnerships with US-based companies, including Netflix, Spotify and Disney.
As Lauren points out, this was another one of their motivations to speak to the biggest interviewer in America. She tells VT: "I imagine now the news is out that they won’t be returning to the UK and overseeing their patronages. They wanted to set the record straight ahead of their commercial commitments starting."
It's evident that the Sussexes didn't plan to have their interview coincide with Prince Phillip's illness – and they likely had little control over its release. But that doesn't negate their right to speak their truth, after years of falling in line with a protocol that was clearly too stifling for them.
Sadly though, it looks like they will have to set the record straight once again. And so Meghan and Harry's fight to break free of "the Firm" continues...
Lauren Lunn Farrow is a leading PR expert with over 17 years of experience. She is the MD of www.theexpertagency.co.uk.
