Kate and William will join Queen’s rare TV special hours before Meghan’s Oprah show, Palace reveal amid ‘bully’ storm
PRINCE William and Kate Middleton will join a rare TV special with the Queen – before Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey airs.
Buckingham Palace has this afternoon revealed some of the royals will unite for a celebration of the Commonwealth – and the show will screen hours before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s chat appears on US TV.
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The news was released amid the latest bombshell twists in the Megxit saga, and hours after the Queen last night launched an unprecedented probe into allegations Meghan and Harry bullied their staff.
The palace said: “In Her Majesty’s annual Commonwealth Day message, the Queen will pay tribute to the way in which communities across the family of nations have come together in response to the pandemic.”
It comes amid claims that:
- Meghan had ‘furious rows’ with palace aides over freebie designer clothes
- Meghan’s pal accused the palace of racism – and said the star ‘knew it would get ugly’ before the Oprah interview aired
- The Duchess ignored aides’ advice not to wear earrings gifted by the Saudi prince weeks after the murder of a journalist
- Furious palace sources said the allegations about Meghan are not a smear campaign – and branded her ‘disingenuous’
- Harry ‘spoke to his wife about her behaviour when talking to staff’ – even ‘gently admonishing her’ for the way she spoke to them
- The former actress ‘turned and hissed’ at a member of staff during a row in a Fiji market – leaving the employee ‘in tears’
News William and Kate will feature on the programme was revealed hours after the latest teaser clip of Meghan and Harry’s upcoming interview with Winfrey was released.
The palace also confirmed the Prince of Wales has recorded a message for the programme addressing “the universal devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic“.
The Queen, in an audio message, will pay tribute to the way in which communities across the “family of nations” have “come together” in response to the pandemic.
Elsewhere, William and Kate have filmed segments featuring chats to medical, charity and voluntary staff from across the Commonwealth.
The Duchess of Cornwall will also be seen chatting to broadcaster Clare Balding about the importance of books and reading for children across the Commonwealth.
A Celebration for Commonwealth Day will be broadcast on BBC One at 5pm on Sunday, March 7 – while Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A CBS Primetime Special will premiere the same night at 8pm Eastern Time, which is 1am in the UK.
The chat is set to be aired on UK screens at 9pm on Monday – but deals have been struck across the globe for broadcast rights, with the interview likely to run more than 17 countries, including Australia, Switzerland and Belgium, as well as sub-Saharan Africa.
A new trailer for the bombshell interview was released overnight.
The 30-second snippet features Meghan accusing the Royal Family of “perpetuating falsehoods” and telling the interviewer “there’s a lot has been lost”.
In the clip, Winfrey asks Meghan: “How do you feel about the Palace hearing you speak your truth today?”
A visibly-emotional Meghan replies: “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.”
She adds: “And, if that comes with risk of losing things, there is a lot that has been lost already.”
The “falsehoods” the Duchess refers to aren’t yet known – as the interview was filmed in LA before claims emerged in The Times that she drove two personal assistants out of the household and undermined the confidence of a third.
Meghan strongly denies the allegations.
However, royal aides said they were left ‘shaking with fear’ following run-ins with the her – and last night, Buckingham Palace announced a formal probe into the allegations.
Members of staff will be invited to contribute in confidence.
In response to the reports, Meghan and Harry accused the Queen’s staff of orchestrating a “calculated smear campaign” ahead of their explosive two-hour interview.
Allegations about bullying claim to light more than two years after one of the couple’s most senior advisors, Jason Knauf, lodged an official complaint.
Mr Knauf, who worked as communications secretary to Harry and Meghan and now heads the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s charitable foundation, alleged: “I am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of [X] was totally unacceptable.
A right royal celebration
A Celebration for Commonwealth Day will be broadcast on BBC One at 5pm on Sunday.
The Queen, who has reigned for nearly 70 years, is Head of the Commonwealth – a voluntary association of 54 nations.
And the palace has today revealed what Brits can expect from the special programme.
Officials said: “Her Majesty the Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, joined by Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the Countess of Wessex, will take part in A Celebration for Commonwealth Day – a special programme to be broadcast on BBC One on Sunday, March 7.
“In Her Majesty’s annual Commonwealth Day message, the Queen will pay tribute to the way in which communities across the family of nations have come together in response to the pandemic.
“The Prince of Wales has recorded a message addressing the universal devastation caused by the pandemic. His Royal Highness will celebrate the critical work being carried out by nations across the Commonwealth to combat climate change and protect its unique landscapes, marine environments and biodiversity.
“The Duchess of Cornwall has spoken to broadcaster Clare Balding about the importance of books and reading for children across the Commonwealth, especially in a year of isolation and disrupted education.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall have spoken to medical, charity and voluntary staff from across the Commonwealth to hear more about the work they have been carrying out to care for those within their communities.
“Marking both Commonwealth Day and International Women’s Day, the Countess of Wessex has spoken to three women from around the Commonwealth to hear about their experiences of supporting other women and their wider communities.”
“The duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence.
“We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards [Y].”
A spokesman for the royal couple hit back with claims the newspaper was being “used by Buckingham Palace to peddle a wholly false narrative” before the interview.
Meanwhile, it’s today been revealed that shortly before the clip was broadcast, the Duke of Edinburgh underwent a ‘successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition’.
He will remain in hospital for ‘treatment, rest and recuperation for a number of days’.
There’s been widespread condemnation that the interview will air while Prince Philip remains unwell.
And sources say the Royal Family will need to ‘hide behind the sofa’ for the chat – while fears over the content are likely to have deepened after clips were shared.
A trailer released earlier this week shows Winfrey asking Meghan if she was “silent or silenced”.
The presenter says in response to a comment by the Duchess: “Almost unsurvivable.
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“Sounds like there was a breaking point?”
In the footage, Harry, 36, says: “My biggest fear was history repeating itself.”
The teaser then shows Harry and Meghan sitting side by side holding hands as Winfrey says: “You have said some pretty shocking things here.”