UK tabloids hammer Prince Harry and Meghan as their interview reverberates across globe

British tabloids, whose treatment was one of the reasons that drove Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to start an independent life in the United States, are hammering Duke and Duchess of Sussex over their extraordinary interview with Oprah Winfrey. In the tell-all sit-down interview that aired on CBS on Sunday night but reverberated across the globe, Meghan revealed that her life within the UK royal family was isolating, lonely and lacking in support. 

Even before the interview that was Meghan’s first since she moved to the United States with her husband, Prince Harry, UK media had been criticising the event. The relationship between Prince Harry and Meghan with the British press, particularly newspaper tabloids has long been tumultuous. Now that the wildly-anticipated interview has aired, several tabloids including the Daily Mail ran wall-to-wall coverage of the two-hour-long talk. 

In a bid to fit all the bombshells that the couple disclosed to Oprah Winfrey, Daily Mail posted a single headline saying, “Meghan claims she was suicidal when she was 5 months pregnant, Kate made HER cry and Royals refused to make Archie a prince because they were worried how 'dark' he would be, as Harry reveals their new baby will be a GIRL." 

Subsequently, the website was also dominated by the interview with one of the articles ripping into the couple’s decision about life in the US, where they are raising chickens. One headline said, “Back to basics at their $14.5 million mansion”. Further, while other news outlets used images provided by Harpo Productions, Winfrey's production company, Daily Mail chose a closely cropped image of Meghan. Similarly, other media outlets based in the UK were also quick on weighing in on the potential fallout of the interview. 

‘Megxile’ after ‘Megxit’

The Sun newspaper wrote, “Meghan Markle may never return to Britain after angering Royal Family with bombshell Oprah interview” referring to Duchess of Sussex’s name before her marriage to Prince Harry. In the report further, it cited “insiders” that feared that Meghan and Prince Harry could have “burnt their bridges by failing to tell family members what was in the two-hour chat before it was shown." The British publication also came up with a new nickname for Meghan as her relationship with UK royal family is expected to hit a new low: ‘Megxile’. 

‘Megxile’ came after British media outlets scrutinised Prince Harry and Meghan’s exit from the family in January 2020 and called it ‘Megxit’ that budded from ‘Brexit’ or Britain exit from the European Union (EU). the front page of Daily Express newspaper read Queen: Duty and family unite us” adding "That's public service for you, Harry and Meghan ... NOT a self-serving TV chat with Oprah."

(Images from The Associated Press)