Oprah Winfrey is receiving mixed reviews for her bombshell interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as some viewers praise her ‘masterful’ questions while others say she needs to stop interrupting.
The talk show legend’s long-awaited conversation with Meghan and Harry aired on Sunday night, beginning with a solo chat with the duchess.
Oprah kept true to her promise to ask the tough questions about everything from baby Archie’s title to being ‘silenced’ by the Royal family to reports of her troubled relationship with Kate Middleton.
Many viewers sounding off on Twitter praised Oprah for repeatedly pressing Meghan to explain her claims and offer specific details.
But others expressed frustration with Oprah talking over Meghan before she finished speaking on multiple occasions.
Oprah Winfrey is receiving mixed reviews for her bombshell interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as some viewers praise her ‘masterful’ questions while others say she needs to stop interrupting
The talk show legend’s long-awaited conversation with Meghan and Harry aired Sunday night
Many viewers sounding off on Twitter praised Oprah for repeatedly pressing Meghan to explain her claims and offer specific details
Other viewers expressed frustration with Oprah talking over Meghan before she finished speaking on multiple occasions
‘Oprah needs to stop interrupting this juicy narrative,’ one viewer wrote.
‘Is it just me or does Oprah keep interrupting Meghan in the middle of a sentence you really wanted to hear?’ another asked.
‘@Oprah is asking great questions, but I wish she would stop interrupting Meghan Markle. I was to hear Meghan’s story, not Oprah’s thoughts about it in real time,’ a third wrote. ‘Too many famous interviewers need to interject while interviewees are talking.’
But many viewers defended Oprah’s interjections, saying that she was merely trying to get full answers from Meghan.
‘Oprah is really DIGGING for this info sksksk i don’t think anyone could’ve done this better,’ one impressed viewer wrote.
‘Oprah is giving a masterclass on interviewing right now,’ another wrote.
‘Oprah asking direct questions no beating around the bush,’ a third viewer added.
Another viewer wrote: ‘Oprah is a master. She is letting Markle destroy herself.’
One of the most captivating moments of the interview came when Meghan revealed that members of the Royal family had discussed the potential color of her son’s skin before he was born and informed her that he wouldn’t receive security protection because he wasn’t going to have a Prince title.
Describing her pregnancy with baby Archie, Meghan said: ‘All around this same time, we have in tandem the conversation of he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title and also concerns and conversations as how dark his skin might be when he’s born.
‘That was relayed to me from Harry from conversations that family had with him.’
Meghan refused to say who had those conversations with Harry, saying: ‘That would be really damaging to them.’
It came after Meghan said she had been informed Archie wouldn’t have security protection when he was born because he wasn’t going to be given a HRH or Prince title.
One of the most captivating moments of the interview came when Meghan revealed that members of the Royal family had discussed the potential color of her son Archie’s skin before he was born
Their son, who is seventh in the line to the throne, was christened Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
At the time of Archie’s birth, it was widely reported that Harry and Meghan had broken with royal convention by making a personal decision not to use a title.
Meghan denied that her and Harry declined the title.
‘If you’re saying without a title is what’s going to affect their protection, we haven’t created this monster machine around us in terms of click-bait and tabloid fodder,’ Meghan said.
‘You’ve allowed that to happen, which means our son needs to be safe.’
She said: ‘I was very scared of having to offer up our baby knowing he wasn’t going to be kept safe.’
Oprah questioned Meghan about why her son wasn’t a prince.
‘How did they explain to you that your son, the great-grandson of the queen, wasn’t going to be a prince. You certainly must have had some conversations with Harry about it and had your own suspicions as to why they didn’t want to make Archie a prince,’ Oprah asked.
At the time of Archie’s birth, it was widely reported that Harry and Meghan had broken with royal convention by making a personal decision not to use a title. But speaking to Oprah, Meghan denied that her and Harry declined the title
Archie, who will turn two in May, is the eighth great-grandchild to Queen Elizabeth.
He is not currently entitled to be an HRH, nor be a prince or a princess, due to rules set out more than 100 years ago by George V.
Only the children and grandchildren of the Sovereign automatically get those titles. Great-grandchildren are only given the title if the Queen intervenes, which explains why Princess Charlotte and Price Louis have those titles.
Archie will be entitled to be an HRH and a prince or princess when the Prince of Wales accedes to the throne.
As the first-born son of a duke, Archie could have become Earl of Dumbarton – one of Harry’s subsidiary titles – or been Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
The decision was thought to be inspired by Harry’s wish to have been a normal child, rather than a prince, as he grew up.
Meghan and Harry, who are now living in Montecito, California with their son, are expecting their second child later this year.
Baby Sussex will be the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s 10th or 11th great-grandchild, depending on whether he or she arrives before or after Zara Tindall’s baby, which is also due in 2021.
The same title rules will apply to their second-born child.
Harry and Meghan have sought to keep Archie out of the public eye for the most part since moving to California, only releasing a few photos of him on holidays such as his birthday.