Meghan Markle was tearful as she told Oprah Winfrey she was suicidal when she was pregnant and had warned Harry ‘I don’t want to be alive anymore’ in today’s bombshell CBS interview the couple also used to reveal they are having a daughter due this summer, Prince Charles cut them off and accused the Royal Family of racism.
Harry also revealed that he was ‘hurt’ after his father stopped taking his calls after they decided to quit and there is a rift with his brother William while his wife said an unnamed member of her husband’s family told him they were ‘worried’ about how ‘dark’ their son Archie’s skin would be when he was born.
The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah said she ‘couldn’t be left alone’ and that her husband had ‘cradled’ her as she told him she her suicidal thoughts at their cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle in January 2019, when she was around five months pregnant – but said the palace HR department refused to help because she wasn’t a ‘paid employee’.
In the extraordinary two-hour tell-all watched by tens of millions of people around the world, the Sussexes also revealed they were already planning ‘Megxit’ just six months after they married in May 2018 and Meghan compared life in Kensington Palace to lockdown in the Covid world today because she was ‘banned’ from going to lunch with friends.
Describing how she considered ending her life believing it ‘was better for everyone’, Meghan said: ‘I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember– I remember how he just cradled me. I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere’. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution’.
She said that after confiding in her husband, she was forced to go to the Royal Albert Hall, claiming photos from the event ‘haunt me’, and said she later reached out to one of the best friends of Diana, Princess of Wales, because she felt unsupported.
The Duke of Sussex also said his family had ‘cut him off’ financially in early 2020, claiming that they had to sign multi-million dollar deals with Netflix and Spotify because he was relying on spending his inheritance from Princess Diana.
In the biggest royal interview for decades, they revealed they are expecting a baby girl, but Meghan claimed Harry’s family were worried about how ‘dark’ their son Archie’s skin would be. Harry also accused the family of failing to ‘show support’ for his wife when she suffered racism, and said he was ‘trapped’ in the Royal Family until he met Meghan, who he said had ‘saved me’. He said: ‘My father and brother. They’re both trapped. They don’t get to leave’. He added that his mother Diana would be ‘angry and sad’ that he felt he had to leave the royal family, but ‘she saw it coming’. Harry said: ‘All she’d ever want for us is to be happy’.
Asked about his relationship with Prince Charles, Harry said they were now speaking, adding: ‘There’s a lot to work through there, you know? I feel really let down, because he’s been through something similar. He knows what pain feels like, and Archie’s his grandson. I will always love him, but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened. And I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship’.
In the most anticipated royal interview in decades, speaking to Oprah, Meghan and Harry:
- Choose to reveal the gender of their baby to Oprah – a girl due this summer;
- Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, made Meghan cry ahead of the royal wedding – but ‘owned it’ and apologised, according to her sister-in-law;
- Meghan described meeting the Queen for the first time and having to learn to curtsy. Harry and Meghan say they speak to her regularly on Zoom;
- Duchess claims she was ‘naive’ when she joined the Royal Family – and never researched what it would be like, or Harry. She said that she was initially welcomed by the royals, but was later ‘silenced’ and felt trapped. She said officials had ‘lied’ to protect other royals instead of them;
- Meghan claims a member of Harry’s family was ‘worried’ about Archie’s skin colour. Harry was asked about it and refused to say who it was;
- She described being cradled by Harry after feeling that she no longer wanted to live; Meghan claimed she begged for help from Palace but denied it because she wasn’t a ‘paid employee’;
- Harry says his family failed to ‘support’ and ‘understand’ them and reveals Charles stopped speaking to him;
- Couple show of the hens they rescued from a factory farm for Archie’s Chick Inn as Meghan says they want to ‘live authentically’ in their LA mansion;
- Harry says he is ‘hurt’ but ‘completely respects’ Queen’s decision to strip couple of all their patronages, but says he has ‘no regrets’ about their decision saying: ‘I’m really proud of us’.
- But Meghan said: ‘My regret is believing them when they said I’d be protected.’
Meghan Markle has told Oprah Winfrey that she was suicidal when she was part of the Royal Family living in the UK and told her husband: ‘I don’t want to be alive anymore’
Meghan cited this event at the Royal Albert Hall in January 2019, claiming she was forced to go when struggling with her mental health
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have insisted their interview with Oprah Winfrey would be the ‘last word’ on them quitting as senior royals
Meghan Markle has spoken of ‘The Firm’ – a mafia-like term used to describe the Royal Family – had tried to smear and silence her
Harry also said the couple left because of the media in Britain and because of a ‘lack of support and lack of understanding’ from his family, and revealed that his father refused to speak to him after they left for Vancouver. And in a sign that his relationship with his brother William is strained, claiming he ‘didn’t have anyone to turn to’ and was ‘ashamed’ to admit his wife struggling.
He said: ‘I love William to bits. He’s my brother. We’ve been through hell together. I mean, we have a shared experience. But we’re on different paths’. Harry added: ‘My family literally cut me off financially. Members of my family were suggesting that she [Meghan] carries on acting, because there was not enough money to pay for her. There was some real obvious signs before we even got married that this was going to be really hard’.
Meghan also revealed that Kate Middleton made her cry before she married Harry in a row over flowergirls’ dresses, and claims she called the Queen when she heard Prince Philip was admitted to hospital almost three weeks ago.
In the sensational interview she also accused the Royal Family of having ‘concerns’ about ‘how dark’ Archie’s skin would be before he was born because she is mixed-race and Harry is white.
The Duchess of Sussex also described her ‘pain’ that officials had denied him the title of prince and accused Buckingham Palace of failing to protect their son Archie by denying him 24/7 security.
Meghan refused to say which royal had the conversation with Harry about Archie’s skin colour, claiming it would be ‘damaging’ to the person in her husband’s family who raised it.
When Oprah asked if she was denied the title because of he is mixed-race, Oprah asked if the palace had concerns Archie would be ‘too brown’, Meghan said: ‘In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, we have in tandem, the conversation of ‘He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title,’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born’.
Oprah then interrupted and said: ‘Hold on. Hold up. Stop right now. There’s a conversation… about how dark your baby is going to be?’ Meghan replied: ‘Potentially, and what that would mean or look like’.
‘And you’re not going to tell me who had the conversation?’, Oprah asked. To which Meghan replied: ‘I think that would be very damaging to them. That was relayed to me from Harry. Those were conversations that family had with him’.
Much of the two-hour show was about the Royal Family, but there was no mention of Meghan’s rift with her father and a brief mention of her mother Doria.
As Oprah wrapped up the interview the couple insisted that they had had a ‘happy ending’ by moving to LA, with Harry saying he had ‘no regrets’. But his wife added: ‘My regret is believing them [the Royal Family] when they said I’d be protected.’
Meghan then called their journey ‘greater than any fairytale you’ve ever read’ and said Harry had saved her life. Harry replied: ‘Without question, she [Meghan] saved me.’
In the most extraordinary royal interview in decades, Meghan also revealed in her Oprah interview that the Duchess of Cambridge made her cry before she married Harry – but insists she has forgiven Kate who bought her flowers to apologise.
Ms Markle, who said she was ‘silenced’ by Buckingham Palace officials and felt lonely in London, she was asked about a row with Kate that made headlines around the world after a falling out over dresses for the flowergirls.
Harry and Meghan’s TV interview with Oprah Winfrey has started in the US and began with Meghan Markle showing her growing ‘baby bump’ and revealed she and her husband will tell Oprah its gender on the show. The Sussexes also showed Oprah around their new mansion in LA, which has chickens.
Meghan then denied making Kate cry before her wedding in 2018 – and said the opposite had happened. Oprah asked the Duchess: ‘Was there a situation where she (Kate) might have cried? Or she could have cried?’
But the Duchess of Sussex replied: ‘No, no. The reverse happened. And I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding. And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised.
‘And she brought me flowers and a note, apologising. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it.’ Meghan added that it was ‘shocking’ that the ‘reverse of that would be out in the world’.
She continued: ‘A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining – yes, the issue was correct – about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.
‘And I thought, in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding, that it didn’t make sense to not be just doing whatever– what everyone else was doing, which was trying to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot.’
Meghan also said: ‘It wasn’t a confrontation, and I actually think it’s… I don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that, because she apologised.
‘What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn’t do but that happened to me. And the people who were part of our wedding were going to our comms team and saying: ‘I know this didn’t happen. I don’t have to tell them what actually happened’.’
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shared candid footage of Archie playing on a beach during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey
Harry said he loved his brother William but they were now on different paths and said their mother would be ‘angry and sad’ that he felt he had to leave the royal family, but ‘saw it coming’ herself
The Duchess of Sussex had claimed she entered the Royal Family ‘naively’ and didn’t do any research about her husband or the institution before entering it.
Describing meeting the Queen for the first time at Windsor and that she was shocked when she was told by Harry would need to curtsy to Her Majesty, and was taught by her husband’s aunt Fergie.
Describing her initial experiences of becoming part of the royal family, Meghan said: ‘I will say I went into it naively, because I didn’t grow up knowing much about the royal family.
‘It wasn’t something that was part of conversation at home, it wasn’t something that we followed.’
Meghan said she did not research Harry or the family beforehand, and had little expectation of what becoming a working royal would involve.
She said: ‘I didn’t fully understand what the job was, what does it mean to be a working royal, what do you do?
‘I didn’t romanticise any element of it, but I think as Americans especially – what you know about the royals is what you read in fairy tales.
‘It’s easy to have an image of it that’s so far from reality and that’s what was really tricky over those past few years, when the perception and reality are different things and you’re being judged on the perception but you are living the reality of it, there’s a complete misalignment and there’s no way to explain that to people.’
The Duchess of Sussex, who brokered the interview, has already accused ‘The Firm’ of ‘perpetuating falsehoods’ about her and Harry and said they refused to be ‘silenced’ any more.
The Sussexes have been branded ‘selfish’ and ‘disrespectful’ to go ahead with the shown when Harry’s 99-year-old grandfather Prince Philip is in hospital recovering from heart surgery.
The interview, expected to be viewed by tens of millions of people in the US and millions more around the globe, is considered the most important piece of royal TV since Harry’s mother spoke to the BBC’s Martin Bashir in 1995 after she separated from Prince Charles.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have today insisted that their Oprah interview would be the ‘last word’ on their rift with the Royal Family. The couple, who will have their second child later this year, said they felt they ‘needed to have their say’ but now want to ‘move on’.
‘It’s a GIRL!’ Harry and Meghan reveal sex of their second child as they confirm their family but say ‘two is it’
Meghan and Harry revealed their second child is a girl and is due to be born this summer, during their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview.
The pair said they are preparing to welcome a sister for their 22-month-old son Archie later this year.
Harry joined his wife for the second half of the bombshell interview on CBS with Oprah, and excitedly told the chat show host: ‘It’s a girl.’
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry revealed their second child is a girl during their interview
He said his first thought was ‘amazing’ when he learned they were having a girl, adding: ‘Just grateful. To have any child, any one or any two, would have been amazing.
‘But to have a boy and then a girl, I mean what more can you ask for? Now we’ve got our family, we got the four of us and our two dogs.’
Asked if they were ‘done’ with two children, Harry said ‘done’ and Meghan said: ‘Two is it.’ She also confirmed the baby is due in the ‘summertime’.
Kate made ME cry: Meghan Markle says Duchess of Cambridge made HER cry in bust up over flower girls before she married Prince Harry and later bought her flowers to say sorry
Meghan claimed that the Duchess of Cambridge made her cry before she married Prince Harry.
But the Duchess of Sussex also insisted that she has now forgiven Kate Middleton and said she bought her flowers to apologise about the incident.
Meghan was asked about a row with Prince William’s wife that made headlines around the world after a falling out over dresses for the flowergirls.
Meghan then denied making Kate, also 39, cry before her wedding, which took place at Windsor Castle in May 2018, and said the opposite had happened.
Oprah asked Meghan: ‘Was there a situation where she (Kate) might have cried? Or she could have cried?’
But the Duchess of Sussex replied: ‘No, no. The reverse happened. And I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding. And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised.
‘And she brought me flowers and a note, apologising. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it.’
Meghan added that it was ‘shocking’ that the ‘reverse of that would be out in the world’.
She continued: ‘A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining – yes, the issue was correct – about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.’
‘And I thought, in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding, that it didn’t make sense to not be just doing whatever everyone else was doing, which was trying to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot.’
‘I was trapped until I met Meg’: Harry says he was desperate to quit royal life before Megxit and he has ‘compassion’ for Charles and William who CANNOT escape, but reveals his father stopped taking his calls during Megxit
The Duke of Sussex has described himself, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge as being ‘trapped’ within the system of the monarchy.
In his bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry sensationally revealed his family ‘literally cut me off financially’ and said he was only able to step away from royal life thanks to money left to him by his late mother Princess Diana.
He claimed he was ‘trapped’ before he met Meghan as he revealed his father Charles ‘stopped taking my calls’ during the build-up to the announcement that he and Meghan were leaving the royal family.
Asked if he would have left or ever stepped back were it not for Meghan, Harry replied, ‘No.’
In the candid sit-down, Harry added: ‘I wouldn’t have been able to, because I myself was trapped, as well. I didn’t see a way out. You know, I was trapped, but I didn’t know I was trapped.
‘But the moment that I met meg, and then our worlds sort of collided in the most amazing of ways. [I was] Trapped within the system, like the rest of my family are.
‘My father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave. And I have huge compassion for that.’
Discussing his fractured relationship with Prince Charles, Harry also revealed he and his father Charles were not on speaking terms after his father stopped taking his calls.
He added: ‘There’s a lot to work through there. I feel really let down.’
Discussing his fractured relationship with Prince Charles, Harry said his father stopped taking his calls, adding, ‘There’s a lot to work through there. I feel really let down.’
Asked by Winfrey why they stepped back from the royal family to forge their own family life, Harry blamed a ‘lack of support and lack of understanding’.
Winfrey asked ‘did you blindside the Queen?’ with the announcement they were leaving the family. Harry replied: ‘No, I would never blindside my grandmother, I have too much respect for her.’
Asked where that story came from, Harry said he could ‘hazard a guess’ that it may have come ‘from within the institution’.
Harry said while in Canada he had ‘three conversations with my grandmother and two conversations with my father, before he stopped taking my calls’.
He also revealed Charles had asked for him to put his plan ‘in writing’.
Harry said he had to act for the wellbeing of himself, Meghan and Archie, adding: ‘He asked me to put it in writing, and I put all the specifics in there, even the fact that we were planning on putting the announcement out on the 7th of January.’
Oprah asked: ‘So, you just said that your dad stopped taking your calls. Why did he stop taking your calls?’
Harry replied: ‘Because… by that point, I took matters into my own hands. It was like, I need to do this for my family. This is not a surprise to anybody.
‘It’s really sad that it’s gotten to this point, but I’ve got to do something for my own mental health, my wife’s, and for Archie’s, as well, because I could see where this was headed.’
He added: ‘I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like, (and) Archie’s his grandson.
‘But at the same time – I will always love him – but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship.
‘But they only know what they know, or what they’re told.’
Meghan Markle reveals FERGIE taught her how to curtsy before she met the Queen and claims she was so naive she never even Googled Harry
Meghan Markle had no idea she had to curtsy to the Queen and was taught by Sarah Ferguson outside Royal Lodge moments before meeting Her Majesty for the first time.
Fergie – as Meghan referred to the Duchess of York – is renowned for her trademark deep curtsies to Her Majesty (pictured with Princess Beatrice at Ascot)
The Duchess claimed she ‘never looked up her husband online’ when they first started dating and knew little about the British Royal Family growing up.
She told how she first met Prince Harry’s grandmother in a very informal manner at Royal Lodge, the Yorks’ home in Windsor, but was stunned when her husband revealed during the car journey there that she was expected to curtsy.
Meghan said that was the moment ‘the penny dropped’ that her perception about the Firm was ‘very different’ to the reality, and she had to learn how to perform the royal custom ‘very quickly’.
‘Right in front of the house we practised and ran in. Fergie ran out and said, ‘Do you know how to curtsy?’ she recalled.
‘Apparently I did a very deep curtsy, I don’t remember it, and then we sat there and we chatted. I grew up in LA, I see celebrities all the time. it’s not the same. This is a completely different ball game.’
She added: ‘Thank God I didn’t know about the family, thank god I didn’t research, I would have been so in my head about it.’
Fergie – as Meghan referred to the Duchess of York – is renowned for her trademark deep curtsies to Her Majesty.
Meghan makes sensational claim that Royals banned Archie from being a Prince because of concerns over how ‘DARK’ he would be and told her he would get no police protection but Harry refuses to reveal who made racist remark
Meghan Markle accused the Royal Family of having ‘concerns’ about ‘how dark’ Archie’s skin would be before he was born because she is mixed-race and Harry is white.
The Duchess also described her ‘pain’ that officials had denied him the title of prince and accused Buckingham Palace of failing to protect their son Archie by denying him 24/7 security.
Meghan Markle today used her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview to accuse the Royal Family of having ‘concerns’ about ‘how dark’ Archie’s skin would be before he was born because she is mixed-race and Harry is white. Pictured: Archie with his parents in South Africa in 2019
Meghan refused to say which royal had the conversation with Harry about Archie’s skin colour, claiming it would be ‘damaging’ to the person in her husband’s family who raised it.
She said it was ‘a pretty safe’ assumption to suggest that the royal family member was ‘concerned’ that Archie being ‘too brown’ was ‘a problem’.
When Oprah asked if she was denied the title because of he is mixed-race, Oprah asked if the palace had concerns Archie would be ‘too brown’, Meghan said: ‘In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, we have in tandem, the conversation of ‘He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title,’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born’.
Oprah then interrupted and said: ‘Hold on. Hold up. Stop right now. There’s a conversation… about how dark your baby is going to be?’
Meghan replied: ‘Potentially, and what that would mean or look like’.
‘And you’re not going to tell me who had the conversation?’, Oprah asked.
Meghan replied: ‘I think that would be very damaging to them. That was relayed to me from Harry. Those were conversations that family had with him’.
Oprah asked if ? Are you saying that?
Meghan replied: ‘I wasn’t able to follow up with why, but if that’s the assumption you’re making, I think that feels like a pretty safe one, which was really hard to understand, right?’
Harry and Meghan reveal they secretly got married three days BEFORE their royal wedding – admitting they exchanged personal vows in a private backyard ceremony with Archbishop of Canterbury and NO guests
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were secretly married three days before they tied the knot in front of the world, with the couple revealing that they held a private ‘union’ in their backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury and no guests.
Meghan cited this event at the Royal Albert Hall in January 2019, claiming
Meghan described the royal wedding on May 19 as a ‘spectacle for the world’, revealing that she and Harry, 36, exchanged personal vows that they now have framed in their home.
‘You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that,’ she admitted.
Meghan went on to reveal that she and Harry phoned the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby – who performed the ceremony at their official wedding – and asked him to marry them in private days before the event that was watched by millions around the world.
‘We called the Archbishop and we just said, ‘Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us,’ she said.
The couple revealed that they exchanged personal vows during their private backyard ceremony, which they now have framed in the bedroom of their $14.5 million Montecito mansion.
‘So, like, the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury,’ she continued.
Harry then jokingly interjected by singing: ‘Just the three of us, just the three of us.’
The couple had no guests or spectators at their private wedding – and it is unclear whether anyone in the royal family knew that the secret ceremony had taken place.
At the time, Harry and Meghan were living in a private home in the grounds of Kensington Palace, Nottingham Cottage, which is where they got engaged.
‘Back to basics’ at their $14.5million mansion: Harry and Meghan show Archie enjoying the beach and reveal his Chick Inn hens they rescued from a factory farm as Meghan says they want to ‘live authentically’
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry gushed about their new life in Los Angeles as they shared candid footage of son Archie playing on a beach and showed off the hens they rescued from a factory farm during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Meghan told the talk show host how their move to California was ‘greater than any fairytale you’ve ever read’ after she was left feeling suicidal while living as senior Royals in the UK.
The couple’s son, who turns two in May, made a cameo appearance at the end of the tell-all interview as they told the chat show host he loves the LA lifestyle and is always ‘chatting’, with his latest words being ‘hydrate’ and ‘drive safe’.
Meghan claimed she and Harry want to ‘live authentically’ and get back ‘down to basics’ as they offered a rare glimpse into life in their $14.5 million mansion by showing Oprah around Archie’s chicken coop.
This came as the couple, who announced they are expecting a girl in the summer, accused the Royal Family of raising ‘concerns’ about ‘how dark’ Archie’s skin would be before he was born and said the boy was denied 24/7 security and the title of being a prince by Buckingham Palace.
The couple showed off the hens they rescued from a factory farm as the duchess said the couple want to ‘live authentically’ and get back ‘down to basics’ at their $14.5 million mansion
In the artful black and white footage, Archie is seen running along the beach in the direction of the camera followed closely behind by his mom.
The little boy then runs beneath the legs of his dad who is filming the cute encounter.
Meghan revealed their son has already developed an impressive vocabulary and is ‘on a roll’ learning new words, with his latest penchant being to tell people to ‘drive safe’ when they leave home and to stay hydrated.
‘In the past couple weeks, it has been “Hydrate”, which is just hysterical,’ she said.
Harry added that his son tells everyone to ‘drive safe’ whenever they leave the house, to which Meghan proudly added: ‘Drive safe. He’s not even two yet!’
Harry described the last year as ‘crazy’ as he spoke of his favorite times being able to spend time with his son and go on bike rides with him – something he said he was ‘never able to do’ when he was young.
‘This year has been crazy for everybody, but to have outdoor space where I can go for walks with Archie, and we can go for walks as a family and with the dogs, and we can go on hikes,’ he said.
‘We’ll go down to the beach, which is so close – all of these things are just – I guess, the highlight for me is sticking him on the back of the bicycle in his little baby seat and take him on these bike rides, which is something I was never able to do when I was young.
‘I can see him on the back, and he’s got his arms out. And he’s like ‘whoo,’ chatting, chatting, chatting, going, ‘palm tree, house,’ and all this sort of stuff.’
Meghan and Harry also took the talk show host around the grounds of their lavish home in Montecito and introduced her to their rescued birds which live in Archie’s chicken coop.
A plaque on the side of the hut reads ‘Archie’s Chick In. Established 2021’.
In the footage, the trio are uncharacteristically dressed down with Harry sport a pair of wellies and jeans and t-shirt as he fed one of the rescue birds.
Meanwhile, Oprah and Meghan, who were both dressed casually in jeans, appeared to be deep in conversation.
A plaque on the side of the hut reads ‘Archie’s Chick In. Established 2021’
Viewers reacted on social media to the moment with some saying they were ‘obsessed’ with the revelation.
‘I LOVE the fact that Meghan and Harry’s chicken hut is called ‘Archie’s Chick Inn’,’ one person tweeted.
‘Obsessed with the fact that Meghan and Harry own chickens that they rescued from a factory,’ added another.
One person shared a picture of SpongeBob SquarePants smiling with the comment: ‘Meghan and Harry’s chickens have a tiny picnic table in their coop!’
Others cited Harry’s absence from the interview so far – but for his outing to the chicken coop.
‘So far, all Harry’s done in this interview is feed a chicken,’ they tweeted.
‘I love that Oprah and Meghan are having this deep discussion in Meghan’s chicken coop and Harry is in the background clucking like a chicken. I love them,’ added another.
Later in the show, the three are seen again standing in the coop as Meghan likens herself to the Disney character The Little Mermaid.
The clip showed the couple taking the talk show host around the grounds of their lavish home in Montecito and introducing her to their rescued birds which live in their son Archie’s chicken coop. Pictured the interview
‘I was sitting in Nottingham cottage and The Little Mermaid came on,’ Meghan said.
‘And who as an adult really watches The Little Mermaid but it came on and I was like, ‘Well I’m here all the time I might as well watch this.’
‘And I went, ‘Oh my God she falls in love with the prince and because of that she loses her voice.’ ‘
The footage of the chicken coop and family time on the beach came as Meghan told Oprah the couple are embracing a more ‘authentic’ life since they quit the Royal Family as senior working Royals last year.
‘I think just being able to live authentically [has been the most important thing],’ she said Meghan.
‘This kind of stuff is so basic, but it’s really fulfilling and about getting back to basics.’
This ‘back to basics’ lifestyle comes after they set up home in their sprawling nine-bedroom and 16-bathroom mansion in upscale Santa Barbara back in June, where their neighbors include Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.
Prince Harry says he was forced to flee Canada and make a lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify to ‘pay for security’ after being CUT OFF by royals
Harry and Meghan claimed that they ‘had no plan’ to ink multi-million-dollar deals with the ‘streamers’ when they first quit the royal family, but said that they were forced to find ways of making money when the royal family cut Prince Harry off, and took away his security.
Insisting that their deals with Netflix and Spotify – which are believed to be worth upwards of $100 million – were ‘never part of the plan’, Harry said: ‘We didn’t have a plan. That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us.’
The Duke of Sussex revealed that his family stopped all financial support in the ‘first quarter of 2020’, likely soon after Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping down as working royals, adding that had he not had the money that had been left to him by his mother Princess Diana, the couple would not have been able to afford to move to the US.
‘I’ve got what my mum left me, and without that, we would not have been able to do this,’ he said.
‘During COVID, the suggestion by a friend was, ‘What about streamers?” Harry continued, while Meghan added: ‘We genuinely hadn’t thought about it before.’
In the Netflix series, Charles is portrayed as growing jealous of Diana’s rising popularity during the trip, something that Harry suggested was echoed when he and Meghan visited the country themselves in 2018, hinting that the Duchess faced envy from other members of his family
‘We hadn’t thought about it,’ Harry continued. ‘So, there were all sorts of different options. And look, from my perspective, all I needed was enough money to be able to pay for security to keep my family safe.’
When asked about controversial series The Crown – which Harry defended during an interview with James Corden last month – the couple revealed that they ‘have watched some of’ the show, but gave little other hints about their feelings over it.
However they hinted that they have seen some of the most recent episodes, which focus primarily on Harry’s parents, including Diana’s battle with bulimia and her very turbulent relationship with Charles, with Oprah asking specifically about the show’s depiction of Prince Charles and Diana’s tour of Australia in 1983.
In the series, Charles is portrayed as growing jealous of Diana’s rising popularity during the trip, something that Harry suggested was echoed when he and Meghan visited the country themselves in 2018, hinting that the Duchess faced envy from other members of his family.
‘You know, my father, my brother, Kate and and all the rest of the family, they were really welcoming,’ he said of his wife’s introduction into the royal family. ‘But it really changed after the Australia tour, after our South Pacific tour.’
He continued: ‘It was the first time that the family got to see how incredible [Meghan] is at the job.’
Prince Harry admits he was ‘hurt’ by the Queen removing his royal patronages but insists he ‘completely respects’ her decision
Prince Harry said he was ‘hurt’ by the Queen’s decision to remove his royal patronages and honorary titles, but insisted he ‘completely respects’ her decision.
Harry and Meghan attend the Royal Albert Hall in March 2020, which the Duke of Sussex attended as, Captain General Royal Marines and the ceremonial head of the Royal Marines
The Duke of Sussex said he would ‘still love for us to be able to continue to support those associations, albeit without the title or the role’.
The interview was filmed before Buckingham Palace announced on February 19 that Harry and his wife Meghan Markle would lose all their remaining royal titles.
Oprah asked Harry about the decision which was ‘coming up at the end of this month’, and he said it would be that ‘they will be removing everything’.
Harry replied: ‘I am hurt. But at the same time, I completely respect my grandmother’s decision.
‘I would still love for us to be able to continue to support those associations, albeit without the title or the role.
Oprah also asked the couple: ‘Could you be as satisfied now, doing this through your own organisation, Archewell?’
And Meghan replied: ‘Well, we… this is what we’re doing, right? We’re still doing it. We’re still going to always do the work.
‘But I also think it’s important for you or everyone to know this decision that was made about patronages and all of that was before anyone knew that we were sitting down with you.’
Oprah added: ‘I heard a story that you’re getting punished now. Those were being taken away because you did sit down with me.’
But Meghan said: Those letters, those conversations, that was finalised before anyone even knew that we were going to sit down. So, that’s just not true.’
‘It’s better than any fairy tale’: Meghan hails her ‘happy ending’ with Harry and Archie in California after revealing that life as a senior royal left her suicidal
Meghan hailed her ‘happy ending’ with Prince Harry and Archie now the family are in California – calling their escape from the UK ‘better than any fairy tale’.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they are ‘thriving’ in the US after having ‘been through a lot’ during their time as senior royals.
Meghan hit nerves across the world in 2019 when she said ‘it is not enough to just survive something’ and instead ‘you’ve got to thrive and feel happy’ when speaking about her struggles with life in the Firm.
The duchess said she, Harry and Archie (pictured together in 2019) are ‘on the other side’ and circled back to her earlier comments, triumphantly declaring ‘we’ve actually not just survived but are thriving’
And now, the duchess said she, Harry and Archie are ‘on the other side’ and circled back to her earlier comments, triumphantly declaring ‘we’ve actually not just survived but are thriving’.
But it their joy followed hardship, with Meghan revealing she was suicidal when she was pregnant and had warned Harry ‘I don’t want to be alive anymore’.
Harry also revealed that his father Prince Charles stopped taking his calls after they decided to quit while his wife said an unnamed member of Harry’s family was ‘worried’ about how ‘dark’ their son Archie’s skin would be when he was born.
But Meghan said: ‘Now, because we’re actually on the other side, we’ve actually not just survived but are thriving.
‘I mean, this is miracles. I think that all of those things that I was hoping for have happened, and this is in some ways just the beginning for us. You know, we’ve been through a lot. It’s felt like a lifetime. A lifetime.’
Oprah asked: ‘So, your story with the prince does have a happy ending?
Meghan replied: ‘It does.’
‘Palace lied about me to protect other royals’: Meghan claims aides refused to stand up for her
Meghan said Palace officials failed to protect her and ‘were willing to lie to protect other members of the Royal family.’
She opened up about life in ‘The Firm’ and the struggles she faced adjusting to life in the Royal family.
She revealed she was ‘silenced’ by Buckingham Palace officials, who told her to always answer ‘no comment’, adding, ‘because it was also through the lens of ‘And we’ll protect you.’
Meghan added: ‘It was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to understand that not only was I not being protected but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family, but they weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have insisted their interview with Oprah Winfrey would be the ‘last word’ on them quitting as senior royals
The Duchess of Sussex also described her ‘pain’ that officials had denied her first born son the title of prince and accused Buckingham Palace of failing to protect Archie by denying him 24/7 security.
She said: ‘I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.’
Oprah asked, ‘Were you silent? Or were you silenced?’
Meghan replied: ‘The latter.’
Oprah said: ‘So, how does that work? Were you told by the comms people or the– I don’t know– the institution, the– were– were you told to keep silent? Were you– were you told to say nothing?’
Meghan told her: ‘Everyone from– everyone in my world was given very clear directive from the moment the world knew Harry and I were dating to always say ‘No comment.’
‘That’s my friends, my mom and dad. And we did. I did anything they told me to do.
‘Of course I did, because it was also through the lens of ‘And we’ll protect you.’
‘So, even as things started to roll out in the media that I didn’t see but my friends would call me and say, ‘meg, this is really bad,’ because I didn’t see it, I’d go, ‘Don’t worry. I’m being protected.
‘I believed that. And– and I think that was– that was really hard to reconcile because it was only– it was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to understand that not only was I not being protected but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family, but they weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.’
Me and the Queen: Meghan says Queen was ‘wonderful’ to her and gave her ‘beautiful’ pearl earrings and says she phoned to ‘check in’ when she heard Prince Phillip was ill
Meghan praised the Queen saying she had been ‘wonderful’ to her and had once asked her to share a blanket which sits across her knees for warmth.
The Duchess also said the monarch had given her some ‘beautiful’ pearl earrings and a matching necklace.
Meghan went on her first trip with the Queen on the royal train to Cheshire in June 2018, a month after her wedding, which saw them open a bridge and visit a theatre.
She told Oprah: ‘The Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me. I mean, we had one of our first joint engagements together. She asked me to join her.
‘We had breakfast together that morning, and she’d given me a beautiful gift, and I just really loved being in her company. And I remember we were in the car.’
Oprah asked her what the gift was, and Meghan replied: ‘She gave me some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace.
‘We were in the car going between engagements, and she has a blanket that sits across her knees for warmth.
‘And it was chilly, and she was like, ‘Meghan, come on,’ and put it over my knees, as well.’ Oprah replied ‘nice’.
And Meghan continued: ‘Right? Just moments of… and it made me think of my grandmother where she’s always been warm and inviting and really welcoming.’
Queen stresses importance of ‘friendship and unity’ as she is joined by Kate, William and other senior royals for Commonwealth Day message hours before Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview airs
Hours before the broadcast the Queen spoke to the UK in a TV address to mark Commonwealth Day, where Her Majesty stressed the importance of staying in touch with family and friends during the ‘testing times’ caused by coronavirus. In her speech, the Queen said: ‘We can all live a life of service. Service is universal’.
In audio, played over new footage of the 94-year-old sovereign walking past the flags of the ‘family of nations’ at Windsor Castle, the head of state referred to ‘friendship and a spirit of unity’ – all qualities currently absent from her relationship with her grandson.
She said the Commonwealth – which she had keenly hoped Harry and Meghan would play a significant role in before they quit – had shown throughout the pandemic ‘courage, commitment and selfless dedication to duty’.
In a show of solidarity she was backed by her son Prince Charles and Prince William and Kate, who praised the bravery and selflessness of health workers during the pandemic.
Speaking hours before the couple’s ‘tell all’ with chat show legend Oprah Winfrey was aired in the US, Her Majesty and senior royals – including Charles, Camilla, William and Kate – put on a show of unity as they took part in a pre-recorded Commonwealth Day service.
Aides at the centre of palace intrigue
Melissa Touabti (right) is pictured with Robbie Williams’ wife Ayda for whom she previously worked
PA WHO QUIT AFTER WEDDING:
Melissa Touabti, the duchess’s former personal assistant, had previously worked for Robbie Williams and Madonna.
She played a key role in preparations for Meghan and Harry’s wedding in May 2018, but quit after just six months.
The Frenchwoman, 41, took a job with the billionaire Livingstone family – owners of the stately home Cliveden.
THE AMERICAN SPIN DOCTOR:
Jason Knauf joined the royals in 2014, having acted as a ‘crisis management expert’ at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The 36- year-old American, who completed his master’s at the London School of Economics, served as communications secretary to the ‘Fab Four’ of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan before the Cambridges and Sussexes created separate offices in March 2019.
Mr Knauf now heads William and Kate’s charitable foundation.
THE AMERICAN SPIN DOCTOR: Jason Knauf (left) walks behind the couple at the Invictus Games in Toronto
Simon Case in Dundee in 2019
THE WHIZ-KID WHO RUNS WHITEHALL:
Simon Case became the youngest head of the civil service for over a century when he took the post at the tender age of 41.
The Cambridge history graduate – a noted fan of tweed suits and Barbour jackets – had previously been the principal private secretary to successive Tory prime ministers, David Cameron and Theresa May. He also worked at spying centre GCHQ as a ‘director of strategy’.
His most recent role before becoming Cabinet Secretary last year was serving as private secretary to Prince William.
THE TOUGH TALKING AUSTRALIAN:
Formerly the Queen’s assistant private secretary, Samantha Cohen had planned to quit Buckingham Palace in 2018. Instead, she agreed to stay on and help the duchess through her first months in the Royal Family.
The well-liked but tough-talking Australian became the Sussexes’ private secretary, but left in 2019 to work for the environmental charity Cool Earth.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Queen Elizabeth II (accompanied by Samantha Cohen) attend a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on June 14, 2018 in Widnes, England
THE PRINCES’ HR HEAD HONCHO:
Experienced human resources director Samantha Carruthers worked for De Beers and investment bank Lazard before joining the royals.
Head of HR for Prince Charles and Prince William until 2019, she is now deputy chairman of the board of trustees for child bereavement charity Winston’s Wish.
Samantha Carruthers worked for De Beers and investment bank Lazard before joining the royal
Harry is said to want to concentrate on his relationship with Prince William, which has been under strain since the Sussexes quit the UK for Los Angeles.
The brothers will have to display a united front when they unveil a statue in honour of their mother Princess Diana in London later this year.
The Duke of Sussex and Duke of Cambridge will reunite once more as they unveil the commissioned statue of their mother at Kensington Palace on July 1 on what would have been her 60th birthday. Meghan is not expected to attend.
Meghan and Harry’s interview has sparked the biggest crisis faced by the Royal Family since Princess Diana gave her infamous interview to Martin Bashir in 1995. During the Panorama exclusive, the princess famously said: ‘There were three of us in this marriage’ when asked about Camilla Parker-Bowles.
The build up to two-hour interview, which aired overnight, sparked a toxic transatlantic war of words between supporters of the Sussexes and defenders of the British monarchy.
With the gloves now off, pitting Windsor v Windsor, palace sources last night said they were refusing to be goaded into a ‘tit for tat’ with the Sussexes.
‘We are just not going to get drawn into the circus that is being created around this media interview,’ said one. ‘It helps no-one.’
Senior royals sources have made clear to the Mail that it is the Sussexes who have declared war on the palace, not the other way round.
A palace insider said the feeling was that courtiers ‘couldn’t have done any more for the couple than they did.’ ‘Not everything was handled brilliantly,’ said one. ‘But they were supported and given everything they demanded. And certainly nothing was done that warrants this.
In extracts of the Oprah Winfrey interview released over the last few days, Meghan has criticised the constraints she faced as a working royal, and said it was ‘liberating’ to be able to ‘say yes’ to a request for an interview with the US chat show host.
Prior to the interview’s broadcast, the Duchess of Sussex claimed royal aides blocked her from having a personal conversation with Oprah Winfrey in the months leading up to her wedding to Prince Harry.
Oprah revealed she called Meghan in February or March 2018 – two or three months before the royal wedding at Windsor Castle in May that year – to ask for an interview, but she declined because it was not ‘the right time’.
The Duchess said she remembered this talk with the US chat show queen ‘very well’ and ‘wasn’t even allowed to have this conversation with you personally’ because there had to be other people in the same room.
Last week the Sussexes were urged to postpone their tell-all interview with Oprah after Prince Philip had major surgery after more than a fortnight in hospital.
Harry’s grandfather had the operation at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City of London – Britain’s top heart hospital – after being transferred there from the private King Edward VII Hospital in Marylebone where he was being treated for an infection.
It came as a new clip released ahead of Harry and Meghan’s interview showed the Duchess of Sussex accusing The Firm of ‘perpetuating falsehoods about us.’
She said: ‘I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.’
The Duchess added: ‘And, if that comes with risk of losing things, there is a lot that has been lost already.’
Meghan’s views on ‘The Firm’ came as Buckingham Palace announced they will launch an investigation into allegations that Markle bullied royal aides. The Sussexes deny bullying and claimed they were smeared.
The Queen launched the unprecedented inquiry into allegations that Meghan and Harry bullied their staff – leaving royal employees ‘shaken’ by ‘unhappy memories’ being brought up about a ‘toxic period’.
Devastating claims that the Duchess of Sussex inflicted ’emotional cruelty’ on underlings and ‘drove them out’ were ‘very’ concerning, Buckingham Palace said.
But as the bitter fallout surrounding the tell-all interview continues, the Duke of Sussex reportedly considers the unveiling of his mother’s statue ‘a priority’, a source told The Telegraph.
A friend told the paper: ‘It was something they felt they wanted and needed to do but now they have done it, they feel a line has been drawn under that chapter of their lives and they want to move on.’
However there is still uncertainty about whether the Duke will also attend other upcoming events such as the Trooping the Colour on June 12 or the Duke of Edinburgh’s 100th birthday on June 10 due to arrival of his second child this summer.
The statue which is due to be unveiled was commissioned to mark the twentieth anniversary of Princess Diana’s death and recognise her positive impact in the UK and around the world.
It will be installed in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace on July 1 to mark The Princess’s 60th birthday.
Prince William has barely spoken to his brother in recent months and their relationship is said to be ‘hanging by a thread’ – although Prince Charles is understood to have tried not to get involved.
Meghan and Harry’s interview has sparked the biggest crisis faced by the Royal Family since Princess Diana gave her infamous interview to Martin Bashir in 1995.
During the Panorama exclusive, the princess famously said: ‘There were three of us in this marriage’ when asked about Camilla Parker-Bowles.
While mounting pressure has been put on Meghan and Harry to push back the much-anticipated interview, a friend of the Sussexes told DailyMail.com that calls were an ‘excuse by the palace to keep her muzzled’.
The source said: ‘Even if Meghan had the choice to postpone the Oprah special she said she wouldn’t because it has absolutely nothing to do with Prince Philip and that this is just an excuse by the palace to keep her muzzled.’
Reports have claimed Meghan could expose insider details of her supposed rift with the Duchess of Cambridge, but an Oprah interview source has insisted Meghan has nothing but ‘kind words’ to say about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Last week the Queen launched an unprecedented inquiry into allegations that Meghan and Harry bullied their staff – leaving royal employees ‘shaken’ by ‘unhappy memories’ being brought up about a ‘toxic period’ before the couple emigrated.
The Duchess of Sussex is accused of ‘driving out’ two PAs and shattering the confidence of another member of Kensington Palace staff – with one former aide branding Prince Harry and his wife ‘outrageous bullies’ in The Times on Wednesday.