It’s been a few days, and the public is still reeling over the revealing conversation between Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle. The interview shined a light onto the Royal Family’s behind-the-scenes affairs, exposing a number of the disturbing occurrences that led Harry and Meghan to make a quick exit. True to royal protocol, the Firm's official response to the allegations has been unsurprisingly vague, and the one person who probably needs to speak up the most has nothing to say.
Oprah with Meghan and Harry saw the famous trio sit down for an open and honest discussion about the former royals’ experience in the palace, and it was even more shocking than many people initially anticipated. With Oprah pressing the couple for answers to difficult questions about racism and lack of support inside of the Firm, viewers were stunned to learn just how much Meghan suffered.
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The duchess shared painful details about the rapid deterioration of her mental health and updated Oprah on the state of her estrangement with her father’s side of the family. Harry also talked about his relationship with his family, sharing that he and his brother Prince William are taking “space” as a result of the royal fallout and that he feels “really let down” by his father due to the lack of support.
"There’s a lot to work through, there," Harry said during the interview. "I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like. I will always love him. There’s a lot of hurt that’s happened."
The Firm has since come out with a perfunctory statement relaying its “sadness” over the struggles that Meghan and Harry faced as royals — while also noticeably pushing back on their version of events — but internally, the palace is said to be in disarray as it tries to figure out an appropriate response to the interview. Prince Charles is reportedly “in a state of despair” because of the conversation, especially devastated by his son's vocalized disappointment in the trajectory of their relationship. (It doesn't look great for the future king of England to be estranged from his son.)
Despite his feelings, the crown prince was all smiles while attending an official event on Tuesday, March 9, his first public appearance since the tell-all broke the internet. Journalists attempted to inquire about Charles' reaction to the interview during the event, but no dice; the royal had no response to the questions.
It's difficult to predict exactly where the situation will go from here. Meghan and Harry's story exposed the darker side of life as a royal, a move that unintentionally also intensified an existing sentiment of distrust and wariness of The Crown. Though Harry himself said that he's still working on his relationship with his family, and the Firm stated that it is addressing the allegations privately, the world would still very much like an explanation — preferably one that's longer than 61 words.