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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Alan Weston

How the newspapers reacted to Harry and Meghan's 'bombshell' interview

The nation's papers were full of the fallout from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Oprah Winfrey interview, watched by millions across the world.

The two-hour special was broadcast in the US in the early hours of Monday and on British TV on Monday evening, with the Sussexes covering mental health struggles, their wedding and relationship with the Royal Family.

This was how the national papers reacted to the interview.

Daily Mirror

The Daily Mirror said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's "bombshell" interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey has sparked the "worst royal crisis in 85 years", when Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936.

An insider tells the paper that the couple's interview will have "monumental consequences forever".

Daily Express

The Daily Express focused on the Queen and how she might be reacting to Harry and Meghan's interview, saying the palace was "reeling" from their revelations.

Columnist Stephen Pollard meanwhile criticised the Sussexes for electing to air their grievances on "prime time TV".

Metro

"Just the Four of Us Now" was the front page headline of the Metro, which featured a black and white photograph of Prince Harry and a pregnant Meghan who is clutching their son, Archie.

The family portrait, shared on social media after their interview with Oprah, was released to mark the news that the couple's second child will be a girl.

Daily Star

The Daily Star joked about the Harry and Meghan interview dominating headlines since it was broadcast in the US last night.

It focused on the other television programmes that were on during the UK broadcast of Meghan and Harry's Oprah interview - including Masterchef, Googlebox and the Vicar of Dibley.

The i

The i's front page reported that Buckingham Palace was in "crisis talks" after Meghan told Oprah that Harry had been asked by an unnamed member of the Royal Family "how dark" their son Archie's skin might be when he was born.

It was later clarified that the family member alleged to have made the comments was not the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh.

Daily Mail

Under the headline: "What have they done?", the Daily Mail said Buckingham Palace was "paralysed with 'horror and dismay" after Meghan and Harry's "stinging" interview - leaving the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William "locked in crisis talks" over how to respond.

Daily Telegraph

A picture of Meghan wiping away a tear is on the Daily Telegraph's front page as it carries President Joe Biden's comments about the duchess's "courage".

It adds that Buckingham Palace is under "intense pressure" to respond to the couples' claims, with a senior royal source saying: "The institution needs to lead the response to this. What a sad, terrible morning."

The Times

A leading article in The Times said the racism allegation "could hardly be more damaging to the royal family".

It read: "The implication that the monarchy is racist could hardly be more damaging to an institution that relies for its legitimacy on its claim to represent the whole of modern Britain.

"The problem for the royal family is that there is little they could say by way of explanation or mitigation that would not risk making the situation worse."

The Guardian

The Guardian led with Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview, saying the palace is in "crisis" after they revealed a member of the Royal Family questioned how dark Archie's skin would be before he was born.

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