This year, Valentine’s Day fell on a Sunday, and the Sunday newspapers in the UK were full of stories about how the Queen was exacting a litany of punishments from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Liz was forcing Harry and Meghan out of all of their royal patronages, stripping Harry of all of his military honorary ranks and declaring that Harry in particular would not be able to have his cake and eat it too, the cake being… serving the military in any capacity. There were even threats about how the Queen was going to hand all of Harry’s patronages to Prince William, but nothing came of that (because William is incredibly lazy). Then, in the same 48-hour newscycle, ITV broke the story that Oprah was about to interview Harry and Meghan. Like, all of that happened within a few days. Now, months later, the Sun has the breaking-news story that Harry only did the Oprah interview when he found out he was being stripped of his military patronages. Mmhm.
Prince Harry launched bitter attacks on the Royal Family after he was stripped of his military titles, The Sun can reveal. Retired major Harry, 36, agreed to the Oprah Winfrey chat within 24 hours of losing them in February’s final Megxit deal.
His anger had long thought to have been triggered by future king Charles telling him that son Archie could not be a prince. But we can reveal he lost his cool after an argument about keeping his titles.
A source explained: “There was a bust-up just before Oprah but it wasn’t to do with Archie’s title. That had been known and discussed for quite a while. Harry and Meghan were very cross before Oprah because the final Megxit separation had just been signed off which included Harry not keeping military roles. That was what made him so angry. He’s very emotional and his military roles were very important to him given that he served.”
Harry, a retired Army major who served two tours of Afghanistan as Captain Wales, stepped away from royal duties in March 2020 before he and Meghan moved their family to the US. On Friday February 12 this year, as part of the final separation, the Queen removed three key roles. They were Captain General Royal Marines — handed down by his late grandad Prince Philip — Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington in Suffolk and Commodore-in-Chief Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command.
That same weekend, aggrieved Harry and Meghan, now based in Montecito, California, signed for the Oprah interview. They filmed with US chat host days later — on Tuesday or Wednesday — and only hours after Philip went into hospital.
The dipsh-ts in the British media honestly believe this. They honestly believe that the Queen called up Harry on February 12th, told him out of nowhere that Harry would lose his military patronages, and Harry was full of rage and so he immediately rang up Oprah and was like “I want to do an interview!” That’s not the way any of this works. First of all, while Harry held out hope that Liz would see how stupid it was to strip him of his military patronages, he knew that he was losing them for the better part of a year. The whole “one-year review” thing was a scheme hatched by the Windsors and their aides so that if Harry (and Harry alone) wanted to leave Meghan and Archie in America and come back to Saltine Isle, he would have a route. That’s all it was. Harry knew that if he stayed in America and stayed married to Meghan, his family would strip him of his titles and patronages.
As for the idea that Harry called up Oprah and the interview was arranged in a matter of days… again, that’s not how any of this works. Oprah had likely been talking to both of them for months about the interview and how and when they would do it. It was specifically timed for the end of their “one year review” period. And I think we can safely say that Harry has been angry about how Meghan was treated for YEARS. It wasn’t like “losing his military titles” sent Harry into a new tailspin. He was pissed off at his father, his brother and the institution for a long time.
Photos courtesy of CBS screencaps.
I mean, maybe that’s how it works on Tiny Island Big Salt, but the U.S. is huge. There’s a lot of planning.
Oprah and her team don’t work like that. They always do their research and probably made sure they also legally covered themselves too. You can’t do that in a few days. That would take months.
These people are making these assumptions because that’s how The Firm and the British tabloids work. They are EXTREMELY reactionary and run to the tabs with their BS without thinking anything through and the tabloids publish without doing their research. That’s why they are always getting sued and walking things back. Idiots.
In the last week we’ve had the announcement of the announcement flop of a photocopier video, an umbrella moment fail, a dredging up of some failed autobiography, a mess of a title scandal, and a failed pap moment. The Sussexes’ name is what sells. Cut through the noise and someone’s 5 minute radio conversation and best selling book is what people were glued to.
Exactly. They’re assuming that’s what Harry did and why he agreed to the interview because that’s what they would do.
FFS, in the interview Meghan and Oprah talked about how Oprah was trying to interview Meghan for YEARS. It was clearly something planned and discussed.
In my personal opinion, I think the final trigger for them was the birth certificate story. That was when we really saw the Sussexes push back – “carnival of so-called experts,” etc. They were using something about the birth of their child to attack Meghan and I think that was the point when Meghan and Harry said, as she said in the interview – how can they expect us to remain silent if they continue to brief against us in the press. So I can see Oprah discussing the interview with them for a while, and that story (in January) being what made them say, yes, we’re doing it.
I honestly think if the british press had just left them the eff alone after they went to California they wouldn’t have done the interview.
I don’t think there was a specific trigger. I think the Oprah interview was a calculated part of the PR strategy to introduce H&M to the US market. And I’m saying this with total admiration. Meghan and Harry knew that they were going to be celebrities in the US and they knew they’d have to control the narrative and, sure, they wanted to tell their side of the story. The BRF were always going to keep attacking from the other side of the planet, but H&M had to develop their positive circle in the US – good for them.
Agree with the poster above with the launching of Archewell Harry and Meghan decided to do the interview to establish their brand & to clear their names from all the smear of the past years..
I completely disagree, Eurydice & Demi – if the Oprah interview was meant to establish the Archewell brand, they would have done a much different interview focused on their goals with Archewell, their partnership with WCK, etc. They’re not stupid, they know that even one mention of the royals would dominate any coverage of the interview, and would have planned accordingly if it were some sort of soft launch for their “brand.”
I am increasingly convinced that the Sussexes intentions with the Oprah interview were to send a very clear message to the royal family and courtiers who, as Becks1 points out, continued to viciously attack them even once they were settled in California. Consider how many times emails, texts, phone calls were mentioned. Meghan and Harry were reminding the royals that they won’t be intimidated, that they have the receipts, and that they won’t hesitate to use them if these baseless character attacks continue.
@Sunday both things can be true at once. They needed to clear up a lot of misinformation that they BM had been spreading for years in order to put a button on what they were leaving behind in order to launch the brand of Archewell, Compassion in motion. They also of course needed to let the BM and the BRF know that they wouldn’t be tolerating further lies and smears without correcting the record with receipts.
@Sunday – I wasn’t really talking about the Archewell brand, but about Harry and Meghan as people who are entering the US celebrity world – Harry especially, Meghan was more familiar with it, but not in an A list way. In general, people here didn’t know much about Harry, but the Cordon interview was a clever and humanizing start.
The world know how great Oprah is, the RF, and the British press prefere give another version. Then when I think about the British tabloids, the RF I also think about the mess of Prince Andrew interview and do the maths.
Exactly. The UK press and RF will always downplay the VERY racist treatment of Meghan. Always.
+1 I used to work in television, and guaranteed it took several months to set this interview up. Never mind the logistics of the interview itself, it can take months for legal/biz dev teams to figure out and negotiate distribution rights for domestic and international audiences. Even if Harry called Oprah and said “let’s do this,” it would have taken, absolute minimum, two months to get everything lined up.
But then the UK rags aren’t really interested in actual facts, so these recent lies track.
I came here to say this. It’s beyond stupid to think that this happened quickly. All the lawyers working out contracts, what will be said and all legal issues can take a LONG time, (With obstreperous clients unlike the Sussex’s or lawyers this process can take MONTHS) much less research (And Oprah is known for her research) and finding a spot, organizing film crews, on and on and on. I love how they think they threw it together with a camera and a wish, lol.
They make up plausible scenarios to suit a narrative that works for the monarchy. The reality is of little consequence. The fact that the threat of the patronages’ was broadcast for almost 20 months when the Sussexes ask to be part time royals, would suggest, it was not a surprise to Harry. The thing is Meghan could have given the palace lessons in how to be a civic patron of the world, long before she join the royals, she was the epitome of SERVICE IS UNIVERSAL. You don’t need a royal edict to do charity work…memo to the Windsors.
the state of british media is truly tragic. and the people who read this garbage and actually believe it? sad.
Many rational Brits don’t. That’s why papers like the Sun are making huge losses year on year.
So we can hope they eventually disappear as I desperately hope Fox “news” does here in the States.
Definitely a “niche” audience.
I agree with your take Kaiser. I imagine the Sussexes were approached by several outlets wanting to do a “one year later” type special. ABC has done a couple of programs about the Sussexes which included Omid and others, I wouldn’t be surprised if they approached the Sussexes too. They always want to make the story all about Harry upset about “losing” something over there when they know the truth is if he cared that much he wouldn’t have left.
The upshot of the Queen’sa pettiness is that several of the organizations did not cut ties with Harry and Meghan in spite of Lizzie’s tantrum. They ask them to remain patrons.
All the articles lately are just retreading ground already covered. Archie’s titles, bullying accusations, military patronages stripped. They have nothing new and this probably has William terrified.
Exactly. They’re going to want fresh meat to feast on as soon as these leftovers are gone.
The fresh meat is coming as soon as harry touches down on that island for the statue unveiling so they don’t have to wait too long. This is why i didn’t want harry to go in the first place but then again. Its not my place to tell him what to do.
I agree! All of the recent articles are just revival articles: new presentation of old worn-out information.
I have basically lost quite of bit of interest as the whole Sussexes vs. the BRF has devolved into nothing both fodder for food fight combat.
I am waiting for the WHOLE truth to come out. I hope the inquiry of the allegations of Meghan’s bullying comes out and comes out soon as this may be the beginning of the WHOLE truth coming out.
I think its optimistic to think the whole truth will come out especially whilst there’s a monarchy in Britain. I think a lot of rota reporters already know the truth about the skin tone comment (they all refer to a conversation with William that made Harry blow up which is why I think he’s the one) but they all want empire awards etc & who’s going to tell on future kings & face a lot of harassment from the establishment?
plus Harry & Meghan successfully suing certain tabloids & Harry saying the British press is bigoted has put journalists’ noses out of joint. out of solidarity with fellow journalists or even concern for future job prospects doubt they are minded to put out a narrative that could help justify the Sussexes’ position. That leaves international journalists but would they be able to get the right sources? And again still have to be concerned with the British establishment’s reach
My bet is they will try to quietly bury the bullying investigation -which is actually meant to be review as to whether the bullying complaints were properly handled by HR rather than an investigation into the actual complaints. My guess is KP went overboard & then when Meghan got lawyers involved & asked for docs- we heard Bp telling CH to find the files. I suspect they don’t want Meghan to be able to clear her name & just have this hovering over her
ABritGuest, I agree that they want the bullying accusations to fade quietly into the background, but it’s gone too far for that to happen. Meghan’s attorneys are going to keep on the Palace to pony up the evidence, or clear her name. I think Meghan would want that. She is against bullying, and she will not allow this to stand. From other posts, I understand that this has been postponed until 2022, which is interesting given all of this info in Lacey’s book. Even if their intent is to throw Knauf under the bus, it won’t help. They’ll need to clear her name. This whole thing is going to blow up in the brf’s face. I wonder if anyone in any of the palaces understand how they are setting themselves up for a fall.
Poor Harry
No. Rich, moisturised, eating seasoned food, living by the ocean with his beautiful wife and two kids, in a 16 bathroom mansion Harry.
“Eating seasoned food” just made my morning 🤣🤣🤣
the seasoned food is so worth it! Great point, ER.
“Moisturized”
That made me think of the Bill Burr stand up but about white people not knowing about lotion. 😂
Can’t help notice this latest sewage spill came on Father’s Day.
It still didn’t stop Meghan’s book from staying on the New York Times best seller list.
That’s exactly it, they thought that Meghan and Harry were going to post baby pictures so they created all that noise
If (and it’s a big if) we get a photo of Lili, it will be on a random Tuesday afternoon when none of those bumbling fools are expecting it.
He wasn’t allowed to have someone lay a wreath for him for Remembrance Day the previous November. I think that told him what Gran thought about his military service and titles.
As for Oprah, if anything he did the interview as part of The Me You Can See deal, not out of vengeance. He was way to careful in the interview for it to have been emotional retaliation.
I agree with everything you said Kaiser but I’ll add that Meghan winning her case also gave them the go ahead to talk to Oprah. If she had not gotten the summary judgement the interview would not have happened until after the case was concluded.
Why? It didn’t conclude the case. It was partial summary judgment if I remember correctly. There were other claims still to be decided and even now the case is ongoing. Either way they wouldn’t have been precluded from doing the interview. It’s not like they were discussing the case.
At this point the BM are simply throwing anything against the wall to see what sticks. There are no leaks out of Montecito and they are simply regurgitating and reformulating old news. Oprah is not someone to rock up at the last minute and neither are the Sussexes. Harry said what he said. PERIOD!
“There are no leaks out of Montecito.” Not even in a bathroom. And it is beautiful to see.
Has william cheated again? Is that why we are getting all this sussex related garbage?
there’s definitely smoke coming out of Anmer
He never stopped, I’m sure. Not with that ego and entitlement.
Peter probably had him hiding in the boot of his car when he went on his lockdown booty run, to see his side piece too.
He’s stepping out on Father’s Day without the wifey trying to play the cool single dad — it’s highly likely.
Anyone else feel like the press is reviving old stories in advance of Harry’s planned trip? Just to make the atmosphere as toxic as possible!?
No probably in advance of the upcoming sex trafficking trial, in the USA. Maybe cover for Andy, a distraction.
Karma, bitch, where are you?
You need gas money?
You need someone to cover your shift?
You need someone to watch the kids?
Girl, let us know so you can hurry up and body these crusty lipped royals. We don’t have time for the wait and see game.
Literally!!! Like where is our good sis karma?
We need a search party. Homegirl is slacking
I honestly never knew how broke down the UK was until I started following this. These palace people and their media friends are out of control. They think they’re controlling the story but they ARE the story. How embarrassing. But maybe they know they’re embarrassing and they don’t care because clicks.
It’s hard out there for the British media. Harry and Meghan sell, the well ran dry and the British media is starving for anything about the irrelevant two in America.
As someone with a toxic/abusive parent who also has a spouse my parent doesn’t care for…I find the idea that Harry is most pissed about Meghan’s treatment to be far more believable than the idea that he’s giving a revenge interview because he’s pissed about military titles. For myself, even though my Dad’s shitty treatment of me had been going on for decades, when I think about why we aren’t talking it’s 100% about how he refuses to respect my right and ability to choose a suitable spouse for myself. All the stuff he’s done to me individually is honestly water under the bridge and if I were single I could probably have continued to grin and bear it until he died. But the total arrogant disrespect of my husband makes *me* incandescent with rage whenever I think about it, so we’re done.
These old stories of bullshit is what has Willy scared. This is why we aren’t seeing a lot of him. No news about his brother and his family will make the media want to write stories about him. So he figured he better lay low. It’s actually quite funny. When you play with the devil, you come out with horns
I love it. No access what so ever so they are reduced to analyzing material from several months ago. I think the same as Kaiser, no way an interview that big with so many extracts from the BM was organized in days. They would have had to consult with lawyers and that sht takes weeks.
There’s a story that the Cambridge’s are looking for property and schools in Berkshire near Kate’s parents. If true, it may give credence to the comments here about the state of the Cambridge’s marriage. It may be that Kate is moving herself and the kids to be closer to her parents. Allegedly they ruled out the school William and Harry boarded at before Eton.
These Sussex stories are getting out of hand. William needs to start doing more appearances to feed the press beast which he created.
Hmmm. That’s interesting. But wouldn’t the BRF dictate the Cambridge children’s education? Especially George’s education as FFFK?
From what we hear, Kate is the one who’s in charge of the kids’ education. Of course they’re going to stick to top private schools but it’s why George might not go to Ludgrove and why he didn’t go to Weatherby (2 schools William went to) because they didn’t want to do it the “royal” way. Being better parents than previous generations has been the image they love to project
It will be interesting to see if George goes to Eton, Charles didn’t and I thought I had read that Eton was Diana’s choice. Some others have speculated that they will send them to a co-ed school so they can all attend together.