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The roller coaster of emotions Oprah took us on tonight was a long one, but now that it's done we can all move forward, right?
No, not really.
Meghan Markle kicked things off by playing the "I had no idea about the royal family" card. As a student of royalty, I know more than the average person when it comes to all things House of Windsor. However, even I had to call Meghan on her BS when she told Oprah that she wasn't sure if Diana ever did an interview.
She did. It was in 1995 with the BBC's "Panorama." Diana revealed to Martin Bashir that Charles was sleeping with Camilla. Everyone and their mother (yes, even Doria) remembers it.
What was also a little bizarre to me is that Meghan was friends with Harry's cousin, Princess Eugenie, before she even started dating Harry, but didn't realize that everyone in the family curtsies to the Queen behind closed doors. OK, fine, maybe that's something not everyone knows. But why was Harry only telling Meghan to curtsy just before meeting Her Majesty? Wouldn't he give her a briefing long before this meeting? I thought he was supposed to prep Meghan and make sure she wanted this life before he proposed?
The sit-down with Oprah was an opportunity for Meghan and Harry to tell their side of the story, and while I understand that they couldn't reveal names when it came to shocking and very unsettling stories (Archie and what his skin color would look like when he was born, why Meghan couldn't seek treatment for suicidal thoughts), just referring to sources as the "Institution" left many wondering who was nasty enough to do such things. People on social media began to assume it was Prince Charles. Or the Queen. Or maybe Prince Philip. Was it the staff? Who is the Institution?!
One thing that Meghan failed to clarify when talking about Archie's title and his lack of security was that Archie was never eligible for one. According to the 1917 Letters Patent, only children and grandchildren of the Sovereign, as well as the eldest son of the Prince of Wales and his children, get titles (William and his kids). When Charles becomes king, Archie (as Charles' grandson) will have the option of becoming a prince (as will his little sister, whom Harry and Meghan revealed they are expecting this summer).
This is probably why Meghan was so upset about security. An HRH title brings with it publicly-funded personal protection officers, but since Archie doesn't have a title (even though he's a blood royal), he wasn't entitled to tax-payer protection. But if I had to guess, I would imagine that the Queen or Prince Charles would have paid for security to protect him.
It'll be interesting to see if there will be any fallout from this interview. Don't, however, expect a statement from the palace directly addressing tonight's special. Their motto has always been "Never complain, Never explain." Harry and Meghan have given their side of the story, which they've waited a year to do. How much of that is true, we'll never know.
What was noticeable was how much Harry misses his family, particularly his father and his brother. He said he and Charles aren't in a good place, while the best thing for he and William right now is, in his words, "space." After Diana's death, the three men only had each other to lean on, so it's upsetting to see how Harry's departure from the royal family has impacted his relationship with his father and brother so negatively.