Is this the end of the monarchy as we know it?
As ITV’S royal editor, Chris Ship was in the eye of the storm during a tumultuous fortnight for the royal family, coping with the fallout of that Oprah interview. Here, he asks what’s next for the family in crisis…
WHEN WE BROKE the news the Oprah interview was happening, I said it had the potential to be explosive. Little did I know quite how explosive. By all accounts, royal aides at Buckingham Palace felt the same.
It was exactly what they had feared – and have always feared – when a former member of staff or a recently departed family member decides to do a tell-all interview or write a tell-all book. Think Princess Diana, Paul Burrell, even the Queen’s own governess, Marion Crawford. Tell-alls go down very badly in an institution that values its privacy.
Meghan and Harry blew all that apart over the course of two gripping hours and, from what I hear, they’re not done yet. Meghan’s friends now speak of a ‘new era’ in which they have the freedom to speak.
And they have already shown they are willing to do so.
In the days after Oprah aired, Meghan’s actor friend of 17 years, Janina Gavankar, was dispatched to talk about the ‘emails and texts’ that support the couple’s claims. Then Meghan’s Tv-host friend, Gayle King, was given permission to reveal, live from her own breakfast show studio, that Harry had spoken to his father and brother, adding that those conversations were ‘not productive’. You wonder what will come next in Team Sussexes’ new PR offensive against the Palace.
It’s certainly true that Meghan did want the UK to have a good look at itself on the issue of race. It’s something she believes is not discussed enough in this country, unlike America, where the tensions over race relations are always in the news. She has a point. Those in Britain’s diverse communities spoke to us about how they identified with many of the things Meghan was saying, no matter how damaging those allegations might have been for ‘The Firm’.
But for all the couple’s attempts to protect the Queen from their criticism, in attacking the monarchy, of which she has been head for the last 69 years, they were also attacking her. Little wonder it took the Palace more than 36 hours to respond. And then in just four sentences. Those close to the Queen concluded they should not throw any more logs on to the raging fire.
Be that as it may, Harry and Meghan’s accusations have stung the family. Prince William, a future king, was asked whether his family was racist. Ignore the question and he’d be accused of not taking the issue seriously. But answer the question, as he chose to, and the world had his words – ‘We’re very much not a racist family’ – which exposed the damage Harry and Meghan had done to the royal family. Kate was with William at the school, but has remained silent about her brother-in-law’s interview. In the days after the Oprah programme, Kate made a private visit to the Sarah Everard vigil, choosing to take what might be called the ‘traditional’ royal approach: speaking not through words, but deeds.
People might feel sympathy for the 94-year-old monarch, but her institution and other members of her family have not escaped the damaging fallout. It’s a particular problem in the US, where a view has quickly formed that their American ‘princess’ was shunned by senior members of the British establishment. And this particular part of the establishment does have to take some lessons from what happened. Could it have been more accommodating? Might it have been too austere? Why do outsiders have such a difficult time?
On many levels, we shouldn’t be surprised that Meghan found her new life a challenge. What will be of greater concern to the Queen is the damage the interview may have done to the crown’s relationship with the Commonwealth – the club of 54 countries which was, in part, born from the ashes of the British Empire and which the Queen holds very close to her heart.
So where does the British monarchy go from here? The Sussexes’ claims have divided Britain and that is dangerous for an institution that depends on public money – and survives on public support. The institution will need to examine how it reacts and interacts in a world of social media and internet news. The monarchy might give the impression of stability, but it does adapt and change. It won’t happen quickly, but the time Harry and Meghan spent with Oprah will be a trigger for change.
HARRY AND MEGHAN’S ACCUSATIONS HAVE STUNG THE FAMILY