Meghan Markle and Prince Harry latest news – Couple 'let Britain down' by ditching duties for A-list life in California
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry "let Britain down" by abandoning royal duties to live an A-list life in California, a new poll has claimed.
The survey by Savanta ComRes showed that nearly half of Brits were disappointed in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex' decision to step down as working members of the royal family.
This comes after the couple signed multi-million pound deals with Spotify and Netflix and agreed to a bombshell no-holds-barred interview with America's top celebrity interviewer Oprah Winfrey.
The news comes as a new update about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's forthcoming Oprah interview proves it really will be no holds barred.
Royal fans will be shocked to learn than Oprah's producers have requested archive footage of Meghan's estranged half-sister Samantha, suggesting the Duchess may well be asked about a rift in the Markle family.
The nugget of information was revealed yesterday by Holly Willoughby, who said Oprah's crew had contacted This Morning staff for permission to use a clip from one Samantha's often decidedly anti-Meghan interviews.
The couple's bombshell interview with Oprah is due to be aired on March 8 in the UK and will no doubt be viewed by hundreds of millions of people around the world as they break their silence on Megxit.
Follow our Harry and Meghan live blog below for the very latest news and gossip about the royal couple…
- Claudia Aoraha
ROYAL BODY LANGUAGE
- Claudia Aoraha
HOW CAN I WATCH THE SPEECH?
The Queen's annual message in A Celebration For Commonwealth Day, will be broadcast on Sunday, March 7, on BBC One.
Viewers can tune in online or on the small screen.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan's Oprah special – Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A CBS Primetime Special – will air on March 7 in the US, while British broadcasters scramble for the TV rights.
- Claudia Aoraha
COMMONWEALTH DAY SPEECH
The Queen will make a rare televised address to mark Commonwealth Day, as the usual church service has been cancelled due to Covid-19.
And her address is expected to air on BBC One just hours before Meghan and Harry's tell-all with the queen of American chat shows is aired in the US.
The Queen’s message will be pre-recorded at Windsor Castle then broadcast as part of BBC programme A Celebration for Commonwealth Day.
- Claudia Aoraha
HARRY AND MEGHAN: A TIMELINE
- Claudia Aoraha
QUEEN 'ADORES' HER FAMILY AND IS 'HAPPIEST' AROUND THEM
Royal expert Katie Nicholl told OK! magazine: "The family will be over the moon for Harry and Meghan. It's another great-grandchild for the Queen and fifth grandchild for the Prince of Wales.
"It will be a real moment to celebrate. It's just tinged with sadness that they won't get to see this grandchild as much as they might like.
"The Queen adores her family and is happiest when she's surrounded by them."
- Claudia Aoraha
QUEEN 'TINGED WITH SADNESS' OVER MEGHAN'S PREGNANCY
The Queen, 94, said at the time she was "delighted" at the imminent arrival of Meghan and Harry's second child, which will be her tenth great-grandchild.
But a royal biographer says the announcement will be "tinged with sadness" as the family will be living thousands of miles away in LA.
It is understood the Queen and Prince Philip haven't seen the couple's first child Archie in over a year.
- Patrick Joseph DUGGAN
HARRY 'DOMINANT'
PRINCE Harry looked “dominant” next to “demure” Meghan Markle who showed off a “softer side” in their first appearance since quitting the royal family, according to an expert.
Body language expert Judi James said the couple now have a “US-style polish” in how they carry themselves.
- Patrick Joseph DUGGAN
QUEEN'S TV ADDRESS
THE Queen will make a rare televised address to mark Commonwealth Day, as the usual church service has been cancelled due to Covid-19.
And her address is expected to air on BBC One just hours before Meghan and Harry's tell-all with the queen of American chat shows is aired in the US.
- Patrick Joseph DUGGAN
QUEEN 'OVER THE MOON'
THE Queen is "over the moon" Meghan Markle is pregnant but will be sad she won't see much of her great-grandchild, a royal expert says.
Meghan and Prince Harry announced on Valentine's Day they are expecting their second child.
The Queen, 94, said at the time she was "delighted" at the imminent arrival, which will be her tenth great-grandchild.
- Martha Cliff
KAMALA HARRIS COULD APPEAR ON MEGHAN AND HARRY'S PODCAST, EXPERT PREDICTS
Royal fans could expect to see Vice-President Kamala Harris appear on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Archewell podcast, a royal commentator has claimed.
Writing for The Telegraph, Rosa Silverman predicted Meghan and Kamala will collaborate on future projects – after the Vice-President supported the Duchess on Twitter last year.
A source said: "I think there’s a real feeling of solidarity between the two women."
Commenting on the prospect of Kamala making an appearance on the podcast, Rosa wrote: "It would serve as a one-off collaboration to discuss and promote some shared aims and interests before Harris becomes too busy to enter into such enterprises with figures like Meghan.
"What not to expect: A whole podcast series, with loads of unscripted jokes."
- Martha Cliff
MEGHAN LOVES THIS LONDON NIGHT CLUB
In a post on her now-defunct blog The Tig titled 'Insiders Guide To London', Meghan, recommended a particular night held at the club St Moritz on Wardour Street every Thursday – Gaz's Rockin' Blues – for a fun night out.
The then-Suits actress wrote: "The oldest ongoing club in London, this place is sweaty, grungy and happening every Thursday night, late night.
"They play a mix of rock’a’billy, reggae and ska. You come here to dance, not to be seen or to people watch.
"The crowd is a mix of regulars in their zoot suits, teenagers channelling Jim Morrison, red lipped tough birds in tight corsets and other randoms that pepper the evening with strange encounters and lots of laughs. Don’t wear heels."
- Martha Cliff
THIS IS THE SECRET BEHIND MEG’S WEDDING SONG
The couple have revealed the poignant reason behind playing the song This Little Light Of Mine at their wedding.
Speaking on their new Archewell podcast the Duchess of Sussex, 39, said: "It was the music that we wanted playing when we started our lives together.”
Meghan said: “This Little Light of Mine played at the very end of our wedding…while we were walking down the steps of the church.
"It was the music that we wanted playing when we started our lives together. Because as we all know, 'darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that…"
- Martha Cliff
MEGHAN SAYS SHE WAS THE ‘MOST TROLLED PERSON IN THE WORLD’ IN MENTAL HEALTH PODCAST
Meghan says she was the "most trolled person in the world" in a new mental health podcast with Prince Harry.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined Californian high school students on their 'Teenager Therapy' podcast to mark Mental Health Day – and made a passionate plea for anyone suffering to speak out.
During the interview, Meghan said she was the world's most trolled person last year – and described the online abuse she'd received as "unsurvivable".
She said: “I'm told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female.
“Eight months of that I wasn’t even visible – I was on maternity leave or with a baby.
“But what was able to be manufactured and churned out, it’s almost unsurvivable.”
- Martha Cliff
MEGHAN'S CO-STAR PATRICK J. ADAMS OPENS UP ABOUT THEIR 'CLOSE RELATIONSHIP'
Before she married into the Royal Family, Meghan Markle was best known for her role as paralegal Rachel Zane in the hit US legal drama Suits.
Rachel's love interest in the show Mike was played by Patrick J. Adams – who attended the Royal Wedding in April 2018 with his wife Troian Bellisario.
Discussing his relationship with Meghan, Patrick told the Hollywood Reporter in 2018: "In some ways, Meghan and I were the closest because we were the youngest people in the cast and both came in with the least experience.
"We grew up together over the course of the show."
- Martha Cliff
MEGHAN HAS A £4,800 CARTIER WATCH SHE PLANS TO GIFT HER BABY IF IT IS A GIRL
Meghan already has a gift planned to give to her baby if she has a daughter and the story behind it is so sweet.
And, if the new baby is a girl, then she is likely to be gifted Meghan's £4,800 Cartier watch.
Meghan bought the pricey Cartier Tank Française after learning Suits – the television programme she starred in – had been commissioned for a third season.
In 2015, Meghan told Hello: "When I found out Suits had been picked up for our third season – which, at the time, felt like such a milestone – I totally splurged and bought the two-tone version [of the watch]."
She continued: "I had it engraved on the back, 'To M.M. From M.M.'
"And I plan to give it to my daughter one day.”
- Martha Cliff
MEGHAN REVEALS BIZARRE FACIAL EXERCISES BEHIND RADIANT COMPLEXION
Long before she was Prince Harry's blushing bride, fans have marvelled over Meghan Markle's glowing complexion.
But it's not just regular facials and a talented make-up artist behind the Duchess's flawless skin.
The former actress also relies on facial exercises.
While previously sharing her beauty tips with Birchbox, Meghan explained: “I do facial exercises from one of my favourite aestheticians, Nichola Joss, who basically has you sculpt your face from the inside out.
"I swear it works, as silly as you may feel. On the days I do it, my cheekbones and jawline are way more sculpted. There’s a reason she is in high demand around awards season when every actress wants to look A-plus."
- Martha Cliff
WHY MEGHAN MARKLE ALWAYS WEARS SHOES TOO BIG FOR HER
You'd be forgiven for thinking a super stylish royal like Meghan Markle wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of ill-fitting shoes.
But according to fashion expert Harriet Davey, the Duchess of Sussex purposefully wears shoes too big for her.
She explained: "Celebs often go a size up, or even two, in the shoe department when they're at an event or on the red carpet and it's for one reason we can all relate to – to avoid blisters.
"There's nothing worse than uncomfortable shoes (we've all been there on a night out) and when celebs like Meghan are wearing heels for a long period of time their feet can often swell up."
"The swelling can cause blisters and in the long run bunions – like long-time heel fan Victoria Beckham has been rumoured to suffer with."
- Martha Cliff
MEGHAN MARKLE HAD TO 'REINVENT HERSELF' BEFORE MARRYING INTO ROYAL FAMILY
Before she married into the Royal Family, Meghan Markle was most famous for her role in Suits.
Speaking ahead of the Royal Family in 2018, royal expert Victoria Murphy claimed the former actress would have to "reinvent herself".
The expert said: "She has had a long time to have an independent life to forge her own opinions, and she has very much made a career of promoting herself – of putting herself forward.
"She had an Instagram account, and she's been very open and outspoken about a lot of things. And these are things that are going to have to change."
"It does feel like a need for a bit of reinvention really, she is really kind of parking what she's done before and moving herself into her new role."
- Martha Cliff
WHEN IS MEGHAN AND HARRY’S BABY DUE?
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are expecting a new addition to their family of three as they announced in a statement on February 14.
The couple said: “We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.”
It is unclear when or where Meghan will give birth or what the sex of the baby is.
The duchess kept her pregnancy under wraps as her, Harry, and baby Archie have been social distancing in their Santa Barbara, California home.
- Sarah Grealish
COUPLE WARNED OF ‘OPRAH EFFECT’
Harry and Meghan have been warned of the ‘Oprah effect’ as they prepare for the airing of their prime time interview.
Marketing expert Jonathan Gabay told Metro the pair have reached the point of no return as they leave their British lives behind for ‘an LA zip code’.
He added they are taking a “pretty risky” decision in taking part in the sit-down chat, which airs in America on March 7.
- Sarah Grealish
PRINCE EDWARD THANKS WELL WISHERS
Prince Edward has thanked people from around the world for sending get well soon messages to his ill father.
He told Sky: "We've had some brilliant and lovely messages from all sorts of people and we really appreciate that and so does he, I've been passing them on. It's fantastic, thank you."
Asked whether Philip was frustrated to be in hospital, Edward laughed and replied: "Just a bit. I think that gets to all of us, and then, you can only watch the clock so many times and the walls are only so interesting."
- Sarah Grealish
ROYALS TOLD TO ‘HIDE BEHIND SOFA’ FOR OPRAH CHAT
The Royal Family have been warned to “hide behind the sofa” when Harry and Meghan’s tell-all chat with Oprah Winfrey airs next month.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have sat down with the chat show queen in a 90-minute interview — with Oprah’s pals suggesting “nothing will be off-limits”.
It is believed the couple used the interview to “get what they want to say off their chests” before they announced they have permanently quit as frontline royals on Friday.
It was filmed on Tuesday — the same day the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, was taken to the hospital — in the Californian enclave where Harry and Meghan are neighbours of 67-year-old Oprah Winfrey, reports the Times.
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- Sarah Grealish
WILL HOPES TO REPAIR ‘RIFT’ WITH HARRY
PRINCE William hopes to repair his rift with Prince Harry now Megxit is done, but only if Meghan Markle doesn’t “unleash” on Oprah, royal sources have claimed.
The brothers’ relationship is understood to remain fragile after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were officially stripped of their royal patronages last week.
William was said to be “really sad and genuinely shocked” by how his brother reacted as the Sussexes insisted they could still “live a life of service”.
Sources close to William said he believed Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, had been “insulting and disrespectful”, and he was “very upset by what has happened”.
But the Duke of Cambridge is now keen to focus on “purely family matters” with his brother in order to repair their bond, palace sources have said.
- Sarah Grealish
BABY’S SEX KNOWN
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry already “know the sex of their baby” and “will ditch” a traditional royal name, a royal biographer has claimed.
On Valentine’s Day, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were expecting their second child with a black-and-white photo taken in the garden of their £11m Californian estate.
Although the couple haven’t revealed when their baby is due, royal expert Camilla Tominey speculated Meghan is already five months pregnant on Today Extra.
- Sarah Grealish
HARRY AND MEGHAN SECRETLY STAYED AT OPRAH'S MANSION
HARRY and Meghan secretly stayed at Oprah Winfrey’s £80million mansion before buying their Californian home.
They are said to have been at the US chatshow host’s sprawling house in Montecito, Santa Barbara, so they could get a feel for the area before moving into a property nearby.
A source said: “Oprah has been incredibly supportive since the couple moved Stateside.
“She specifically helped out Meghan’s mum, Doria, and gave some really helpful and practical advice in dealing with all the attention.
“She also lives in super-exclusive Montecito and recommended it to the couple.
"When they were renting, she offered them use of her massive mansion so they could get a proper feel for the place — and just hide out discreetly, away from prying eyes.."
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