‘If he ever comes back home, I fear he’s in for a nasty shock!’ Judy Finnigan brands Prince Harry ‘silly and spoilt’ for his tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview with Meghan Markle
- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aged 36 and 39, recorded an intimate interview with Oprah, 67, last week which it set to be aired on Sunday March 7
- It came just hours before they issued a parting shot after being stripped of roles and patronages by the Queen
- Lashing out at the duo in an article with husband Richard Madeley, Judy, 72, branded Prince Harry ‘silly and spoilt’
- The presenter also warned that Prince Harry, who has relocated to a £11m mansion in LA, California, will have a ‘nasty shock’ if he returns to the UK
- It comes after Eamonn Holmes blasted Prince Harry and Meghan’s decision to do a tell-all interview with Oprah, branding it as just an ‘advert’
- It was revealed on Monday that the Queen will address the nation on TV just hours before their interview with their friend Oprah is broadcast in the US
Judy Finnigan has branded Prince Harry ‘silly and spoilt’ for his tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview with wife Meghan Markle.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aged 36 and 39, recorded an intimate interview with Oprah, 67, last week which it set to be aired on Sunday March 7, and will reportedly make ‘pure gold’.
It came just hours before they issued a parting shot after being stripped of roles and patronages by the Queen.
Lashing out at the duo in her The Express column with husband Richard Madeley, Judy, 72, warned that Prince Harry, who has relocated to a £11million mansion in Los Angeles, California, will have a ‘nasty shock’ if he returns to the UK.
‘Silly and spoilt’: Judy Finnigan has branded Prince Harry ‘silly and spoilt’ for his tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview with wife Meghan Markle (Judy pictured with husband Richard Madeley)
The former This Morning presenter penned: ‘He’s just a silly, spoiled Prince who thinks he can have it all. You’re not a Prince without a country, just a rich playboy with a Netflix contract.
‘If he ever comes back home, I fear he’s in for a nasty shock.’
It comes after Eamonn Holmes blasted Prince Harry and Meghan’s decision to do a tell-all interview with Oprah on This Morning, branding it as just an ‘advert’.
Speaking to royal correspondent Camilla Tominey and Nick Ferrari, Eamonn disputed the idea it was interview, and was instead a marketing tactic because Oprah ‘is a mate’.
Tell-all interview: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aged 36 and 39, recorded an intimate interview with Oprah, 67, last week which it set to be aired on Sunday March 7, and will reportedly make ‘pure gold’ (pictured in 2020)
Interview: The interview came just hours before they issued a parting shot after being stripped of roles and patronages by the Queen (Oprah pictured)
Eamonn, who has previously come under fire for his outspoken views on the royal couple, said: ‘Well, it’s not an interview really, is it? It’s an ad, really. I mean, Oprah’s a mate, Oprah was at her wedding.
‘Meghan’s mum stayed with Oprah at her home as a house guest. So it’s not an interview as such.’
It was revealed on Monday that the Queen will steal a march on Prince Harry and Meghan and beat them to the airwaves by addressing the nation on TV just hours before their incendiary interview with their friend Oprah is broadcast in the US.
Her Majesty was due to attend the annual Commonwealth Service on March 8 – but this has been cancelled for the first time in nearly half a century due to Covid-19, Westminster Abbey announced.
Instead the Queen has chosen to share her annual message 24 hours earlier for A Celebration For Commonwealth Day, in a speech pre-recorded at Windsor Castle and broadcast on BBC One on Sunday March 7.
‘Nasty shock’: Lashing out at the royals in her The Express column with husband Richard Madeley (pictured in 2013), Judy, 72, warned that Prince Harry, who has relocated to a £11million mansion in Los Angeles, California, will have a ‘nasty shock’ if he returns to the UK
This will be shown to millions a few hours before Harry and Meghan’s intimate interview with Oprah is being screened in a 90-minute special on CBS at 8pm EST in the US – around 1am UK time on Monday.
And in a show of unity with the monarch, Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, will also take part in the show hosted by Anita Rani.
The show’s broadcast time will be confirmed on Wednesday, MailOnline understands, while a Westminster Abbey spokesman said: ‘The decision was taken jointly by the Abbey, the BBC and the royal household about three weeks ago.’
The clash between the Queen’s BBC statement and the Sussexes’ multi-million dollar CBS interview has extra significance because last year’s Commonwealth Service was when the couple bowed out as working royals, and when they were last seen in public with Harry’s grandmother, father and brother.
Hitting out: It comes after Eamonn Holmes blasted Prince Harry and Meghan’s decision to do a tell-all interview with Oprah on This Morning, branding it as just an ‘advert’
It is not yet known how or when UK viewers will see the full Oprah interview, with TV companies already locked in an international bidding war for the rights to the programme.
ITV are understood to be in the driving seat in Britain with a UK deal expected in the coming days, although ViacomCBS are yet to comment.
Clips of the Oprah interview will be all over the international TV news and online media minutes after it is shown in America, but the full 90-minute show may not be broadcast in the UK until later in the week.
It also emerged on Monday that Harry and Meghan’s incendiary interview with their friend Oprah may have to be re-edited or even partially re-shot due to the rift it has caused with the royal family and 99-year-old Prince Philip’s hospitalisation.
Some have claimed that the interview, believed to be completed last week, could even be toned down.
Revealed: It was revealed on Monday that the Queen will steal a march on Prince Harry and Meghan and beat them to the airwaves by addressing the nation on TV just hours before their incendiary interview with their friend Oprah is broadcast in the US (pictured in 2018)
Harry and Meghan, who are expecting their second child, are said to be in shock as the Queen stripped them of their royal and sporting patronages after they ‘poured their hearts out’ to Oprah during a two-day shoot in their £11m LA mansion last week.
The tell-all interview is due to air on Sunday March 7 with no topics off-limits with one source warning Harry’s family the show would be a good ‘time to hide behind the sofa at the palace’.
It has also emerged that Meghan is expected to speak about the feud with her family on her father Thomas’ side after This Morning host Holly Willoughby said that Oprah’s team had been in contact for footage of an interview with her half-sister.
In the January 2020 broadcast Samantha Markle said the former Suits actress and Harry owed her and their father an apology for ‘incredibly wrong, untoward, and shocking’ behaviour after the royal wedding in 2018.
Holly said: ‘Oprah Winfrey’s team contacted This Morning requesting footage from our interview with Samantha Markle in preparation for the interview with the Duchess of Sussex’.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s controversial interview with Oprah was filmed at their LA mansion (pictured) just hours before the couple issued a parting shot after being stripped of roles and patronages by the Queen, meaning parts may need to be re-shot or edited
She added: ‘So, we don’t know whether or not they used that in the interview, but what we do know is nothing was off limits.’
There are claims in the US that CBS would like to re-shoot some of the interview – and a new edit of the existing footage – because of the row it has caused with the Queen and his brother Prince William back in Britain.
His grandfather Prince Philip’s admission to hospital in London also happened after some or all of the interview was completed.
A source told the Mirror: ‘When the Duke and Duchess spoke, it was never envisaged they would have their patronages taken away. They didn’t see it coming and spoke as though they still had roles to play.
‘Now, however, other than their titles, they are to have no role in royal life – a point producers know was not discussed when Winfrey spoke to them. Neither the Sussexes nor the TV crew saw the fallout of their interview leading to this.
Cancelled: Her Majesty was due to attend the annual Commonwealth Service on March 8 – but this has been cancelled for the first time in nearly half a century due to Covid-19, Westminster Abbey announced (pictured at the 2020 service with Prince Charles)
‘Harry and Meghan thought they would retain their roles. But things have significantly changed for them since they eagerly sat for Winfrey and poured their hearts out.’
Prince William has been left ‘really sad and genuinely shocked’ by his brother’s behaviour towards the Queen after Harry and Meghan were cast out as working royals.
The Duke of Cambridge is said to be ‘very upset by what has happened’ and feels Harry has been ‘insulting and disrespectful’ to their grandmother.
But he also refuses to call it a day with his brother, and hopes that focusing on ‘purely family matters’ with the Duke of Sussex, could help repair their rift.
An insider told The Daily Telegraph: ‘There is hope that they can all move forward now these loose ends have been tied up once and for all.
‘The [one year] review had been hanging over both sides for some time but now it has finally been resolved, it allows all parties to work on purely family matters.’
Harry’s grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, is still in a central London hospital amid claims Prince Charles may have used his visit to ‘reassure him’ about the growing row with Prince Harry and his wife.
Royal author Penny Junor said: ‘Momentous things are happening in the family at the moment and I suppose it’s perfectly possible that Charles wanted to go and talk to his father and reassure him about Harry’.
The hospital’s website states visitors will ‘only be considered in exceptional circumstances’.
The relationship between the two brothers was strained before Friday’s announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been stripped of their remaining roles after their 12-month trial separation from royal life and move to the US.
The couple then issued a sharp rebuke, declaring they would offer ‘continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role’.
They signed off: ‘We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.’
Pictured: The statement from Buckingham Palace that The Sussexes had been stripped of their remaining roles
Sources close to the monarch told The Sunday Times that the riposte was ‘petulant and insulting to the Queen’.
A source told the Mail: ‘Their statement in response to the Queen’s heartfelt sentiment that the couple are still muchloved members of her family was considered highly disrespectful.’
The source added: ‘At the end of the day this was all their [Harry and Meghan’s] decision.
‘They asked to explore an ‘alternate way’ but the only alternative is that you are either a public servant or you aren’t. She made her view clear from the start and hasn’t ever deviated from that.
‘People [in the household] would have liked a different outcome. Harry and Meghan clearly could have made a very positive contribution to public life in the UK. But from the start they made clear they were only ever interested in pursuing this quasi-royal role.
‘It seems Harry genuinely thought he could persuade Her Majesty of the merits of that. But she has always been clear on this point – you cannot pursue commercial interests while undertaking public duties. It is untenable.’
Minutes later, the apparently furious Sussexes issued a stinging rebuke to the Queen, insisting they would still ‘live a life of service’ outside the royal fold. They added: ‘Service is universal.’
Another source suggested that there has been widespread exasperation at the ‘inflammatory’ statement and determination to ‘always have the last word’.
They said the Queen had no choice but to act as the situation ‘wasn’t fair’ on the charities and organisations that rely on royal patronage.
One obstacle to improve relations may prove to be the ‘tell-all’ TV interview Harry and Meghan have agreed to do with Oprah.
It is thought they pre-recorded it at their home in California at the start of last week. On Friday Oprah – a friend and neighbour of the couple who attended their wedding in 2018 – was seen boarding her private jet near their £11million home in Montecito.
It remains to be seen whether the couple will carry out any additional interviews with Oprah in light of Friday’s announcement.
The Queen was reportedly ‘blindsided’ by the interview, which will be shown on March 7.
Analysed: The above graphic shows how royal experts and commentators have analysed the statement from Buckingham Palace (left) and Harry and Meghan (right)
Oprah spent two days interviewing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Wednesday and Thursday before their parting shot at Buckingham Palace – and ‘gained a unique insight into the rift’, it was claimed.
The prime-time discussion, which controversially ‘blindsided’ the Queen after her grandson chose not to inform her of the sit-down ‘tell all’, will make ‘pure gold’ when it airs next month, aides told the Sun.
The chat show host prepared for the interview at her home in Hawaii before flying into California, where she also owns a second property in Montecito a short drive from the couple, on her £50million private jet.
Oprah, who attended the Sussexes’ wedding and has been a firm supporter of their decision to leave Britain, was with the couple just hours before they released their statement, having filmed the discussion on Wednesday and Thursday.
The presenter only left Santa Barbara, where she travelled to with an entourage of assistants and her rescue cocker spaniel Sadie, later on Friday, as the fallout from Megxit went into overdrive.
Sources told the Sun how the friends looked relaxed, and not as if they were caught in the middle of a major royal drama.
Air date: Instead the Queen has chosen to share her annual message 24 hours earlier for A Celebration For Commonwealth Day, in a speech pre-recorded at Windsor Castle and broadcast on BBC One on Sunday March 7 (pictured in 2018)
In stark contrast to the glamorous meeting, Harry’s grandfather, Prince Philip, remains in hospital, and was visited by a teary-eyed Prince Charles.
The interview with Oprah is due to be aired on Sunday March 7, and a person close to the Sussexes told the Sunday Times last night that Meghan believes the prime-time broadcast gives her the ‘loudest way she’ll get her voice back’.
Another source told the Sun: ‘The pair are clearly very close to Oprah and the fact she’s been with them at such an intense time has given her a unique insight into the rift with the royals.
‘The drama of last week means that Oprah’s tell-all show will be pure gold. It’s time to hide behind the sofa for the other royals.’
Harry and Meghan first announced their desire to quit as working royals in January last year without even informing the Queen beforehand, a move which deeply hurt the 94-year-old monarch.
The ensuing ‘Sandringham Summit’ saw the Queen, backed by the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge, stand firm against her grandson and his wife, who were demanding they be allowed to move to North America in pursuit of their fortunes while continuing to serve her as ‘quasi-working royals’.
In the end the couple were forced to agree not to use their royal titles for commercial gain.
However the Queen did agree to hold over some of their official patronages – most notably Harry’s military positions – while a 12-month review of their new arrangements was concluded.
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