Harry and Meghan Are Skipping Sit-Down Interviews in the UK — Our Royal Experts Explain Why
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle know what they have signed up for when they moved across the pond.
DESPITE their exit from the royal family, or perhaps primarily because of it, the global spotlight had firmly settled on Montecito over the past several years. Now that they’re back in the UK, the distance is gone, and the scrutiny that followed them from California has arrived on home ground. The couple is reportedly choosing their words carefully.
While their motivation for the sudden shift remains unclear, what they would have to sign up for by moving across the pond has become rather apparent in recent weeks. On Royal Observer's exclusive Show, The Windsor Report, Associate Editor Josh Rom and Contributing Editor Pandora Forsyth discussed the fact that Harry and Markle had reportedly decided not to do sit-down interviews in the UK, instead choosing to focus on their charitable and commercial endeavors. Forsyth explained that external attention and their stay in royal territory might have been strong reasons behind the choice.
“They are now back in the UK, and they're well aware of every single move that they make, which I'm sure we'll be addressing shortly, is under a microscope, and they know ultimately they're in the heart of the monarchy,” Forsyth said. “They know anything they do is going to be judged, and they know perhaps having a sit-down interview won't go down too well with the British public. So this story was quite interesting.”
Rom further noted that any time that a royal has done a sit-down interview, it has been a disaster. Be it Princess Diana’s controversial Panorama interview or Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Newsnight train wreck. The phenomenon applies to Harry and Markle themselves. Their bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey is not exactly remembered fondly at present. And according to Rom, the Sussexes are aware of it. He mentioned that the couple realizes that it might not have gone down the way they would have “intended”.
The Duke and Duchess received enough online brickbats even when they were miles away in California. Now that they are not, the judgment could be even more intense. So far, they have seemingly played their hand smartly and on their own time. Even Harry’s public appearances up until now have been meaningful and no-nonsense.
Markle is set to make her first public appearance in the UK since returning alongside her husband. The pair will take on charitable visits in Nottingham this week. Till now, Harry had been making solo appearances, with his wife cheering for him on social media.
