Inside Meghan Markle’s final revenge

Let’s be honest: the fact that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have managed to spend the past year calling for privacy, while simultaneously making front page news every other day, would have been impressive in and of itself. But to do so when the entire world has been gripped by a pandemic really is something.

And just when we thought they couldn’t drop any more bombshells, they delivered the motherload last week, following a surprise pregnancy announcement – accompanied by a very showbizzy pic – with the jaw-dropping news that they will be sitting down with Oprah Winfrey for a “wide-ranging” and “intimate” chat on prime-time TV. If that wasn’t enough, a statement then revealed they had officially quit the royal family and would not be returning to any duties, following a 12-month review – something Buckingham Palace was “saddened” by. The interview will now be the pair’s swan song as members of the royal family. And you’d best believe that Meghan will be having the final word.

“Meghan and Harry were inundated with offers to tell their story, even before they set foot in America,” says an insider close to the Sussexes, who apparently blindsided the palace last week with the double-whammy news that they were expecting their second child (a sibling for one-year-old son Archie), and would also be giving Oprah a tell-all interview.

“Oprah was always top of the list of people they wanted to do it – she’s someone who Meghan’s idolised since childhood. It boiled down to trust – they both knew she would do it right, and it would be a professional and enjoyable experience, as opposed to a high-pressured studio sit-down with someone who they didn’t know. They were able to set the agenda – but, at the same time, Oprah pushed them to make it a gripping and insightful two-part chat.”

The couple’s week of big news started when they posed for a whimsical photo to announce Meghan’s pregnancy – on Valentine’s Day, no less. The artsy picture was taken remotely, using an iPad, by celebrity photographer Misan Harriman, and shows Meghan cradling her bump as she rests her head on a barefoot Harry’s lap under a massive tree – all shot in Meghan’s preferred monochrome. “They are lost in each other,” Misan later explained. “And the tree in the background and just life growing around them is incredibly powerful and symbolic.” So far, so LA – proving that the couple are effortlessly blending into the California lifestyle.

But it was the Oprah announcement that really sent royal watchers reeling, and raised that question of hypocrisy all over again, in regard to the couple’s claims of wanting to step back from the public eye. As many have pointed out, the Sussexes have voraciously argued for their right to privacy – stepping back as senior royals, refusing to work with British tabloids, and taking legal action along the way. Yet at the same time, they’ve upped sticks to California – the very hub of the celebrity world – signed multi-million dollar deals with Netflix and Spotify, and orchestrated several photo calls and Zoom appearances.

And the Oprah interview takes things to a whole new level – given that, when it comes to prominence and power in the States, the talk-show host eclipses the Queen. Having attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018, she’s one of their most famous and influential friends, who will no doubt be lending a sympathetic ear (much like their good friend Tom Bradby did back in his ITV special Harry & Meghan: An African Journey in 2018).

Last week, as news of the 90-minute special – titled Oprah With Meghan And Harry, and due to air in the US on 7 March – went live, the TV queen’s good friend and fellow broadcaster Gayle King weighed in, claiming that it will be every bit as explosive as expected. “I know she’s been working on the questions all weekend long,” Gayle said of Oprah on CBS This Morning. “I’m told nothing is off limits. She can ask anything she wants.”

CHECK OUT Meghan and Harry's love story from the start

It’s left us all pondering over the couple’s end goal. What do Harry and Meghan (the latter in particular, given that she’ll be answering questions alone in part one) want to achieve by sitting down with such a high-profile interviewer? According to our source, this isn’t about purposefully offending the royals or severing ties. The couple mean no harm, but we’re told Meghan does feel let down by Harry’s side of the family – having hinted at that before by referring to it as the “institution”, and lamenting in their ITV documentary that “not many people have asked if I’m OK”.

Apparently, she believes this is her chance to redress the balance once and for all, and ultimately “take control of her story”. But many people still see it as “revenge” on those who have upset her. On top of that, now it’s been confirmed that Harry has been stripped of his honorary military appointments and the couple have had their royal patronages taken away, we’re told that the couple felt they had nothing else to lose – and, by sitting down with Oprah, they have everything to gain.

“Meghan will be addressing the highs and lows of her life as a royal, even though she knows this will upset a lot of people in the palace,” says our insider. “And now their remaining royal affiliations have been removed, their attitude is ‘Why hold back?’ They feel strongly that it is time for them to speak up for themselves, and to put to rest so much of the speculation that’s out there. Apparently, they won’t be lambasting the royals or settling scores in any kind of brutal way. They’ll more likely make subtle references to their disappointment about things that have happened, like their reported fallout with William and Kate. In so many ways, Oprah is like royalty herself in the US, and that fact isn’t lost on Harry and Meghan. For them, this is a cathartic experience.”

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As for the future, it’s safe to say that the interview will be a fitting end to the past 13 months of Megxit “probation” – and that the Sussexes will start their new lives in earnest once it airs. That means having their second baby on US soil, raising him or her on their terms, without any royal involvement, while also pursuing their ambitious career goals. While Harry is expected to travel back to the UK in the summer, it’s unclear whether Meghan – who’s said to be due around that time – plans to join him.

Until it airs, it’s impossible to gauge just how monumental the Oprah tell-all will be – but given that Princess Diana’s bombshell 1995 Panorama interview is still making waves 25 years later, we know better than to underestimate the potential magnitude. It’s safe to say that this will be a pivotal moment for all involved.

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