Buckingham Palace has issued a statement this week in response to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s announcement that they will take part in a TV interview next month with Oprah Winfrey.
The statement makes it clear that Queen Elizabeth II was not giving the heads-up for the tell-all interview.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their roles as working members of the royal family last year and have pursued their own media and charity projects since.
They have agreed to participate in an upcoming interview, set to be aired by CBS on March 7th, and led by legendary TV chat host Oprah Winfrey.
The announcement was made just one day after the couple publicly revealed they are expecting their second child.
It will take place in two parts, with Meghan Markle speaking alone with Oprah Winfrey for the first part. She is expected to talk about her experiences joining the royal family, being under the spotlight, motherhood, and marriage.
The second part will see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle speaking jointly with Oprah, mainly about their life in the USA after settling last year in California and their future plans.
In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace, it said that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are free to engage in media activities of their own as they are no longer working members of the royal family.
The statement also clarified that the couple is not required to inform the Queen and the wider royal family about their plans in advance.
The Queen stated: “The Duke and Duchess are no longer working members of the Royal Family and therefore any decisions they take with regard to media commitments are matters for them. As non-working members of the Royal Family they are under no obligation to inform the Royal Household of such plans.”
The upcoming sit-down has already reminded many people of the candid interview which the late Diana, Princess of Wales had with Martin Bashir in 1995, where she revealed details about her marriage to Prince Charles and her relationship with the royal family.
In a previous interview in 2019, Prince Harry had spoken of the ongoing feud between him and his brother, Prince William, saying that he and his older sibling were now “on different paths.”
It will be interesting to see if the interview makes news with buzzy revelations. Experts say that is unlikely since the power couple masters this game.
