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ONE STORY DOMINATES across media outlets on the other side of the Irish sea today: Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview.
The interview, which aired in the US at 1am Irish time, featured a number of noteworthy moments which have been given wall-to-wall coverage by British publications this morning.
In the interview, they claimed that an unnamed member of the royal family raised concerns about “how dark” the skin of their first child would be, Harry described how his father stopped taking his calls and Meghan described how she was told it would not “look good” if she sought professional help for her mental health.
Many outlets are continuing with their theme of criticising the couple for the interview in their coverage today, as well as their decision to step down from being working members of the UK royal family.
The Daily Mail had dismissed the interview as a “sideshow” but ran it on its later edition front page with the headline: “Meghan accuses palace of racism”.
Today's @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/bcax4S9wqH
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) March 8, 2021
Its website MailOnline features 17 articles about the interview atop its home page this morning.
One of those articles reports on the reaction of broadcaster Piers Morgan to the interview.
Having earlier denounced it on Twitter as “destructive, self serving nonsense,” Morgan described it on ITV’s Good Morning Britain as “bilge” and a “two-hour trashathon”.
He also called it a “disgraceful betrayal of the Queen and the royal family”.
.@TrishaGoddard says @piersmorgan can call out whatever he wants but he doesn’t get to say what ‘is and isn’t racism against black people.'
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 8, 2021
He responds he's calling out Meghan's 'incendiary charge of racism against the Royal Family'.
Watch GMB👉https://t.co/6iQ6ebeOEQ pic.twitter.com/LhIeVrcKwx
The Sun, meanwhile, reported that Meghan may never come back to Britain after the interview angered the royal family. It also reports that royal staff had described Harry as Meghan’s “hostage” prior to their move to the US.
The Daily Star took a typically dismissive view of the couple under a headline of “Fights, camera, action!”
Running with a photo of Queen Elizabeth on its front page, the Daily Express criticised Harry and Meghan for a “self-serving interview” while the queen said that “duty and family unite us”.
Tomorrow's front page: 'All care homes must open up to loved ones'https://t.co/RBqmrJSTXl#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/PtD9NBeLjv
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) March 7, 2021
On its website, it also runs a comment piece with the headline: “Meghan has cost you everything Harry – let’s hope she’s worth it”.
The Times’ political sketch writer Quentin Letts, meanwhile, described it as a “politically ruinous two-hour glooapthon”.
The Daily Telegraph echoes some of the other papers in this analysis piece. It said: “Thankfully, for the Sussexes, this fairy tale does have a happy ending, however. As they walk away from the wreckage of their time in the Royal family – and the relatives they have left behind – towards the LA sunset, like the closing scene of a Hollywood movie, they are ‘not just surviving, but thriving’.
“Well, I guess that’s the most important thing, right?”
The Daily Mirror’s front page today, meanwhile, covers the “immense sadness” felt by Princes William and Charles over the interview, and also covers it extensively on its website.
Tomorrow’s #frontpage - Oprah interview fallout: Charles & William’s ‘immense sadness#tomorrowspaperstoday
— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) March 7, 2021
Read more: https://t.co/cpO84YZYR8 pic.twitter.com/lN60kt26zS
The British royal family has yet to respond directly to last night’s programme.
The interview is being aired again in full on RTÉ 2 this evening at 9.30pm.
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