Queen’s TV show to air just before Sussexes’ interview

The Queen and senior members of the royal family will take part in a special television programme celebrating the Commonwealth, just hours before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Oprah interview is aired in the US.

The annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey has been cancelled this year for the first time in nearly half a century, because of the pandemic.

Instead the Queen will share her annual message in A Celebration For Commonwealth Day, on March 7 on BBC1.

Harry and Meghan’s intimate interview with Oprah Winfrey is being screened in a 90-minute special on CBS at 8pm in the US on Sunday, which will be in the early hours of Monday UK time.

Megxit was finalised in a 12-month review last week when Buckingham Palace confirmed Harry and Meghan would never return as working royals, and that the Queen had stripped them of their royal patronages and Harry of his honorary military roles.

The Sussex camp retorted with a parting shot by saying: “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal,” prompting accusations they were sticking two fingers up at the institution of the monarchy and being disrespectful to the Queen and her decades of public duty.

The Queen is the symbolic head of the Commonwealth and regards the role very highly.

Last year’s Commonwealth service, just weeks before England went into its first national lockdown, was Harry and Meghan’s final appearance before they quit royal duties.

One in three people in their 50s and 60s feels at a disadvantage when applying for jobs, showing that ageism is having a “profound” effect on older workers, according to a new report.

The Centre for Ageing Better said the issue is leaving some older workers trapped in insecure employment, unable to find suitable jobs, or forced into early retirement.

With the number of 50 to 64-year-olds out of work increasing by 175,000 since the start of the coronavirus crisis, ageism in recruitment could be the final straw which prevents many returning to work, said the report.

Almost one in five older workers said they have experienced ageism, having been turned down for a job because of their age, and nearly a third have been told they are unlikely to be successful due to having too much experience, said the report.