Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey will continue to be discussed for years to come, potentially overshadowing future narratives about royal experiences they may choose to share, a new episode of Newsweek's The Royal Report podcast has discussed.
The revelations made during the couple's interview with the TV veteran—their first since splitting from the royal family a year earlier—continue to be raised, with core bombshells, such as Meghan's disclosure that there were "concerns and conversations" within the royal family about her future children's skin color, continuing to be a point of public interest.
Newsweek's chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston, told Royal Report listeners that this was proven in November, when debate around the alleged "royal racist" was revived by the publication of the book Endgame, written by Omid Scobie.
A Dutch translation of the book appeared to link King Charles III to the conversation about skin color, being identified in a letter exchange between the monarch and Meghan after her interview with Winfrey. The edition also referenced the Princess of Wales as being present at the time.
Buckingham Palace and Meghan have not commented on the Endgame claim. The Dutch edition was recalled and a new one issued without the names. Scobie said that the Dutch text had been translated from a draft version of the final book that had not been cleared by lawyers.
"This is still very much a live issue in people's imaginations," Royston said of the discussions around the royal family and racism.
"It was the big take home from the Oprah Winfrey interview, whatever Harry and Meghan might now say about whether they didn't intend that, it was the biggest take home from the Oprah Winfrey interview, and it always will be.
"This will always be the issue from the Oprah interview, and the Oprah interview will always trump the other things that Harry and Meghan do in years to come."
The interview, which aired in the U.S. on March 7, 2021, was the first and most widely publicized time that Harry and Meghan discussed their royal experiences and the events that led them to split from the monarchy and move to California, Royston explained.
This set a narrative that people will return to, despite any future elaboration or context they may choose to give.
"When people look back, it will trump the Netflix documentary, and it will trump Harry's memoir, Harry's book Spare, and the reason it will trump those two things is because it came first," he said.
"Because it came first, it's created the narrative. It created the drama, and it created the interest. It was the original manifestation of the Harry and Meghan perspective, and this was its centerpiece."
In 2023, the public were given an indication that the duke and duchess had completed a series of "look-back" projects—including their Netflix show and Harry's memoir which also counted the Oprah interview as among them— and were instead now turning to "look-forward."
Despite this new direction, the couple's past revelations continue to form a narrative around their work and also, importantly, around the monarchy.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
