A year after the “Megxit”, the voluntary exile in California of Prince Harry, 36, and his wife Meghan Markle, 39, the break between the Sussexes and the rest of the British royal family is completely consumed. In recent weeks, the family feud has turned into a toxic communications war between Buckingham Palace and Montecito – the enclave for the super rich where the couple took refuge a few months ago – as excerpts emerged from Meghan and Harry’s interview with American talk show star Oprah Winfrey.
Finally broadcast Sunday, March 7 in the evening on the American channel CBS and on the British channels twenty-four hours later, this long-term interview shook an institution, very respected in the United Kingdom, but which, for not having known to take the transplant with a young American actress of mixed race, risks passing for excessively traditionalist and rigid – even institutionally racist.
When the family feud turns into a communication war
The relationship between Harry, sixth in the order of succession and the rest of the royal family – especially his older brother, William (second in the order of succession), was already freezing since the prince and his wife had decided, in January 2020, to abandon part of their royal obligations and cross the Atlantic. The Queen refused the “one foot in, one foot out” demanded by the young couple (part-time pursuit of classic charities under the gray skies of the United Kingdom, filming for Netflix and exploitation of the “Sussex” brand under the Californian sun). Elizabeth II imposed a “hard Megxit”, going so far as to deprive Harry of his honorary military titles – which Diana Spencer’s youngest held so dear.
In recent days, as Harry and Meghan began delivering their version of the breakup to Oprah Winfrey, the “Firm” – pejorative way of qualifying the royal family – peddled “Lies” on his account, insisted Meghan, after Buckingham Palace returned to the offensive. The British media are increasing the revelations about the alleged harassment that Meghan subjected to her staff during her stay in the UK (between 2017 and 2020). Incessant and sometimes impossible demands, emails from morning to night … In the process, Buckingham Palace let it be known that it was opening an investigation for harassment – a very unusual eagerness.
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