Meghan Markle Reveals How Her Relationship With The Royal Family Is Now
2021 has given us more royal drama than all four seasons of The Crown combined. Things started getting interesting back in January 2020, when Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced their intention to leave the royal family. This came on the heels of months of rumors about a rift between Harry and his brother Prince William, and a good amount of drama surrounding Meghan's "tense" relationship with the royal family.
The Duke and Duchess absconded to California with baby Archie and, well, went Hollywood. In a move straight out of the Obama playbook, Meghan and Harry wasted no time signing lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify, reportedly worth millions. After that, they laid low for most of 2020. In the new year, though, Meghan and Harry made a public comeback in a very big way.
First, they announced they were expecting their second child in the spring of 2021. The happy news was quickly overshadowed by the drama that followed; the palace announced that the couple would not be resuming royal duties, despite the hope that they might. Then, the duke and duchess started a mini-press tour, with Harry appearing on The Late Late Show and the couple giving a highly anticipated 90-minute interview to Oprah.
Finally, some suspiciously timed articles smearing Meghan's character led many royal watchers to believe that the palace was doing preemptive damage control before the interview and that Meghan's relationship with her in-laws was worse than ever.
So, where do they stand today? Read on to find out.
Meghan Markle has a lot to say about the palace
People around the world are on the edge of their seats for Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah. Part of the excitement surrounding the interview involves Oprah reportedly calling it some of her best work. Still, most people are excited for Meghan to finally spill the tea on the situation between herself and her in-laws.
It looks like they might get their wish. In a short clip released before the interview, Meghan throws some major shade at the royals. "How do you feel about the palace hearing you speak your truth today?" Oprah asks.
"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," says Meghan. (The "Firm" is royal-speak for other royals.) The duchess pauses for a moment, then says, "and if that comes with risk of losing things, there's a lot that's been lost already."
Like we said: THE TEA IS SCALDING.
While it's not entirely clear from the clip exactly what Meghan is accusing the other royals of doing, we have some ideas. Meghan is likely referring to the supposed lack of support she and Harry received from the palace. She may also be referring to the rumored discord between herself and the family.
If you needed any more evidence that things between Meghan and the royals are not good, then look no further than how the palace has been handling the situation.
Buckingham Palace is fighting back
When news of Meghan Markle's upcoming Oprah Winfrey interview broke, Buckingham Palace tried to take the high road. As is tradition, they did not address the scandal directly (they rarely do), but insiders close to the family told outlets that the royals were focused on Prince Philip's deteriorating health, not drama with Harry and Meghan, per the Daily Mail.
It seems like the palace might be less dedicated to the high road than we were led to believe, though. Days before the interview with Oprah was set to air, The Times released a very, shall we say, timely article. The article detailed a culture of workplace bullying that reportedly started when Meghan took up her role as a working royal. According to the sources, Meghan's attitude and "bullying" drove two aides to quit, inspired another one to lodge a formal complaint, and left one member of staff "shaking" at the thought of a confrontation.
Meghan supporters were quick to point out the suspicious timing. Some theorized that the palace had leaked the story in the hope of damaging Meghan's credibility and thus lessening the blow of whatever revelations they expected to come out in the Oprah interview, a theory echoed by Meghan and Harry's spokesperson.
The palace did not comment on those accusations, but they did release a statement saying they planned to launch a full investigation into the alleged bullying, per the Daily Mail.
We know, we know, this interview can't come fast enough.