Meghan and Harry against the royal family: this turbulent year that led to open war
On Sunday March 7, US broadcaster CBS airs an exclusive interview with Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, just over a year after the couple left the royal family. Buckingham Palace fears its image will take a hit. Between the Sussexes and the palace, war is well and truly declared.
What is the point of waiting for the new season of The Crown when reality offers us twists and turns even more breathtaking than what the most devious writers could imagine?
A little over a year after the Megxit, the conflict between Meghan and Harry on the one hand, and the royal family on the other, will have another episode. CBS broadcasts on Sunday March 7 a 90-minute interview (also Monday March 8, at 9:15 p.m., on TMC) that Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, gave to famous presenter Oprah Winfrey American and close friend of the couple. She is their neighbor in Santa Barbara, California. Already, Buckingham Palace is shaking.
What is the point of waiting for the new season of The Crown when reality offers us twists and turns even more breathtaking than what the most devious writers could imagine?
A little over a year after the Megxit, the conflict between Meghan and Harry on the one hand, and the royal family on the other, will have another episode. CBS broadcasts on Sunday March 7 a 90-minute interview (also Monday March 8, at 9:15 p.m., on TMC) that Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, gave to famous presenter Oprah Winfrey American and close friend of the couple. She is their neighbor in Santa Barbara, California. Already, Buckingham Palace is shaking.
According to the Mirror, Queen Elizabeth II organized an emergency meeting before the interview. William and Kate distance themselves, pinching their noses at this inappropriate unpacking.
For more than a year, we have to choose sides: the Sussexes (Harry and Meghan) or the Windsors? The war, hitherto hidden, is breaking out in broad daylight. On Tuesday March 2, The Times reported that Meghan allegedly harassed two of her personal assistants and undermined the confidence of a third. Complaints were reportedly filed in 2018.
"Total war at the Palace"
The next day, surprise: Buckingham Palace reacts, saying it is "very concerned", and announces that it is examining the charges of harassment.
A declaration of war, according to the British tabloids. The Daily Mirror headlines "All Out War at the Palace", emphasizing the "extraordinary" side of the Buckingham Palace investigation. "The Queen went to war with Harry and Meghan last night," it reads.
Tomorrow's front page: Royal aides 'incandescent' over Meghan Markle smear claims amid all-out war at Palace #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/ZrZ4wuRVYA pic.twitter.com/Qlt1gwOjMI
— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) March 3, 2021
The Daily Express talks about Battle Royal when the Daily Mail, known to be close to the royal family, mentions the Sussex Survivors’Club.
“There’s a lot that’s been lost already.”
— CBS (@CBS) March 4, 2021
CBS Presents Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A Primetime Special this Sunday at 8/7c. #OprahMeghanHarry pic.twitter.com/iKFjiVP3IH
Neither one nor two, an excerpt from Sunday's filter interview where Meghan, "saddened by this latest attack" suggests that the palace - the Firm as she calls the royal family - is "peddling" lies about her and Harry.
Complicated relationships from the start
Since their meeting, arranged by friends, in 2016, the affair between Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle has fueled the scathing comments of the tabloids, against a backdrop of class contempt and even racism. Their marriage on May 19, 2018, and Archie's birth on May 6, 2019, did not change that.
But relations between Meghan and the rest of the royal family have never been straightforward, either. Notably with her sister-in-law Kate, who gave her the nickname "Capricious Duchess". And even with Elizabeth II, who maintains a closeness with her grandson Harry.
"Meghan's refusal to get into the nails, her attempts to hide Kate, have been frowned upon," Belgian journalist and essayist Marc Roche recalled after Megxit. In the September 2019 Vogue, Meghan was supposed to name important women according to her and she did not mention the Queen who took offense. "
For keen Windsor watchers, the split, which falls on January 8, 2020, is no surprise.
But the abrupt manner in which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announce they are giving up their role within the British royal family is upset with the Queen and Prince Charles, faced with a fait accompli.
Prince Philip, husband of the Queen, was also reportedly enraged, already taking it all as a declaration of war.
A year of transition that has not appeased anything
Elizabeth II eventually agrees to let the couple fly to a "new life" and grants them a "transition period" after which the situation will be reviewed.
On March 31, 2020, Harry and Meghan officially cease to be active members of the British Royal Family before moving to Canada and then to California.
Between the creation of Archewell, a new brand and foundation, the contracts signed with Spotify and Netflix, the couple are trying to make their name grow and to ensure income capable of satisfying their lifestyle, far from slowing down afterwards. their departure from the royal family.
For example, they have to pay back the $ 9.5 million borrowed to buy their house in Santa Barbara at a total cost of $ 14.65 million.
In the heart of summer, a book puts a coin back in the machine. In Finding Freedom (in French, Harry and Meghan, free), Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, two journalists specializing in the British royal family, give the beautiful role to Harry and Meghan.
Several friends of the couple also claim that Prince Harry, 36, was the driving force behind the decision to withdraw from the royal family, when numerous tabloids blamed the American actress.
Run away from the tabloids
As much as his family and his position, Harry has mostly wanted to get away from the tabloids, haunted as he is by the tragic death of his mother, Diana, as he told Oprah Winfrey. “My greatest fear is that history will repeat itself,” he had already said in October 2019. “I lost my mother and now I see my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces. "
When the rest of his family, willy-nilly, make do with it, he and Meghan quickly come into conflict with a press which, although it has lost its luster, still makes (mostly) rain and (sometimes) shine. across the Channel.
The tabloids keep a grudge against the couple who had, in particular, restricted as much as possible the media coverage of the birth of their first child.
The converse is just as true, the Sussexes multiplying the lawsuits against the press. Meghan Markle won Thursday, February 11, 2021 her lawsuit against the publisher of the tabloid Mail on Sunday, which she was suing for invasion of privacy after the publication of a letter to her father.
"Never complain, never explain ..."
Jealous of her privacy, the American broke a taboo on the royal family on November 25, 2020, when she revealed in The New York Times that she had a miscarriage in July. "Never complain, never explain ..." The leitmotif of Queen Victoria, set up as a way of life among the Windsors, takes a new blow.
And when the couple announced, on February 14, quite a symbol, expecting a second child, the members of the royal family say they are "delighted and send them their best wishes for happiness", according to a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace. Minimum service.
Meg, I was there at your wedding to witness this love story begin, and my friend, I am honoured to capture it grow. Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on this joyous news!#remoteshoot #shotonipad #shotbymisan pic.twitter.com/3iSYjydVj9
— Misan Harriman (@misanharriman) February 14, 2021
Five days later, the Palace announces that Harry will lose his military titles, in particular in the Royal Marines to which he was very attached after having served in Afghanistan, as well as his representative function for the rugby federation.
As for Meghan, she is deprived of her charitable patronage, in particular at the National Theater in London.
The big unboxing? Nothing is less sure
Before this Sunday’s interview, they don’t have much to lose… “I just want this to be clear to everyone. There is no subject that will be banned, "warns Oprah Winfrey. Meghan and Harry will they unpack everything?
But several royal experts doubt it. In the Guardian, royal biographer and historian Robert Lacey says the palace "has absolutely nothing to fear" from the interview.
The couple should above all seek to justify themselves on a departure frowned upon by a majority of the British, breaking their image of scapegoats. In short, restore their image while The Times, again, published on March 3 an article on the earrings worn by Meghan Markle in 2018 and which would have been offered by Prince Mohammed ben Salman of Saudi Arabia, accused of be responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi.
And then, Harry remains close to the queen, "who almost became a surrogate mother when Diana died," according to Robert Lacey. Those who know the couple insist they wouldn't do anything to disrespect them.
Timing that questions
Is the timing well chosen? Prince Philip, 99, has been hospitalized since February 16 in London for an infection and has just undergone "successfully" surgery this week for a heart problem. But CBS said, there is no question of unscheduling the broadcast, even if the prince's health deteriorated.
And then, on Sunday, Elizabeth II is also due to speak on Commonwealth Day. The usual celebration, canceled due to Covid, was replaced with a televised address.
Obviously, as always, she will avoid personal matters. Even the good news. Because there is something for the queen, 94, confined to Windsor Castle: she has received two new corgis, her favorite breed of small dogs. The last corgi in his possession died in 2018.
According to royal family expert Penny Junor, quoted by The Sun, “Corgis are passionately loyal and loving, and they never disappointed her. And of course, the corgis rarely spin to Los Angeles for interviews. "
