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Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview: Palace under pressure to investigate racism allegations as minister says it is 'absolutely' unacceptable

The Queen and Prince Philip were not part of conversations about Archie's skin colour, Oprah Winfrey revealed. 

Oprah told CBS This Morning that the Duke had wanted to make clear that neither his grandmother nor grandfather were involved in "those conversations". 

Prince Harry told Oprah that the Queen was "too busy to meet" with him when he attempted to see her before stepping back from Royal life. 

"I didn't want to push because I knew what was going on," he said. 

Oprah asked: "Doesn't the Queen get to do what the Queen wants to do?" 

Prince Harry responded: "No, because when you're head of The Firm, the people around you give you advice."

In a previously unseen clip from the bombshell interview which aired on CBS this morning, the Duke and Duchess discuss racism in the UK in greater detail. 

Asked whether they left the UK because of racism, Prince Harry told Oprah Winfrey it was "a large part of it".

The Duke added that British society was not "bigoted" but the country's press was "inherently corrupt".

Prince Harry described attending a fundraising dinner for his Sentebale charity during which a well-connected friend warned him about racism in the UK.

"[They] said to me 'please don't do this with the media, they will destroy your life'...This person is friends with all the editors," the Prince said.

"He said: 'You need to understand that the UK is bigoted'. I stopped and I said the UK is not bigoted. I said the UK press is bigoted, and specifically the tabloids, is that what you mean?"

"He said: 'No, the UK is bigoted.' I said I completely disagree but unfortunately if the source of information is inherently corrupt or biased then that filters out into society."

Royal commentator Tine Brown called the interview "kryptonite". 

"This is a hand grenade that has been thrown into the heart of the institution," she told CBS News. "It's extremely hard to refute a lot of what they said." 

US anchors were full of condemnation for the Royal family after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, Washington Correspondent Rozina Sabur reports.

Gayle King, a CBS anchor and a friend of the Duchess, told her morning show: "I don't know what people were expecting but they weren't expecting that." 

The host is appearing on CBS This Morning to discuss the interview. 

Having reflected on the astonishing interview, here is our Associate Editor Camilla Tominey's take on the revelations, the Sussexes and where they and the Royal family go from here.

Labour MP Nadia Whittome tweeted: "When Meghan Markle was accused of bullying, Buckingham Palace immediately announced an investigation.

"Now that Meghan has revealed comments about her child's skin colour, will they investigate racism in the Palace? I won't be holding my breath."

Whether you watched it live, have been keeping abreast of the bombshell claims in our live blog or you are waiting for the re-run tonight - you can have your say now. 

What did you think of the Meghan and Harry interview with Oprah Winfrey?

Check back later this afternoon to see if your comment has been included in a round-up of the best reaction.

The Duchess said she had struggled to admit her suicidal feelings to her husband. “I was ashamed to have to admit it to Harry, especially, because I know how much loss he’s suffered,” she said.

Meghan dabbed away tears as she said she eventually told him just hours before they attended the premiere of Cirque du Soleil's Totem in January 2019 (you can see their appearance below), when she was around five months pregnant.

She said the Duke had told her he did not think she should attend the engagement but that she was so concerned for her own welfare that she told him she could not be left alone.

“It takes so much courage to admit you need help,” she said, “to admit how dark of a place you are in.”

On the issue of Harry seemingly falling out with his father Prince Charles, Mr Anson said: "I don't know about that, obviously. 

"My feeling is that both the Queen and Prince Philip and Prince of Wales will have tried to have been helpful.

"There is no question they went to California with the good wishes of the Queen and her family. 

"It was very clear they would remain as very close members of the family."

There will be mounting pressure on Buckingham Palace to respond to the allegations made in the interview - not least on the issues of racism and Meghan's suicidal thoughts. 

Will the Queen respond? Her former press secretary thinks not. 

Mr Anson said: "I think the Palace's instinct will reflect how the Queen has carried her role in last 69 years.

"Try to take things gently, to be open and fair and deal with those things that are to do with family  to be dealt with in a private, family setting. 

"They tend to treat these family matters privately - not to do it all over the airwaves." 

Charles Anson said that there was "not a strand of racism" within the Royal household. 

He said: "I certainly recall at the time of the wedding when I was working as a commentator - and the overwhelming sense of welcome for Meghan and for their marriage

"That was both evident in the press and the reaction of the public - and I don't think there's a strand of racism in that within the Royal household at all."

He said that any racism that existed was on social media.

Pressed that this was not what the Sussexes were saying, Mr Anson said: "I do take that point, that was a question and it's obviously one that needs to be considered."

Charles Anson, who was the Queen's press secretary for seven years from 1990 to 1997, said the interview was "very significant". 

Asked about the claims that Meghan did not get help from within the Royal family when she expressed suicidal thoughts, he said: "There is a medical household and I remember it being very responsive both to members of staff and the Queen and her family. 

"In my experience - seven years - nearly everybody wanted to do the best they could for their principals - about programmes, security and life. 

"Everybody was proud and wanted it to work out."

Dean Stott, who has known the Duke of Sussex for more than a decade after they met during military training, described the interview as "powerful", "honest" and "uncomfortable at times".

He told BBC Breakfast that people have to be clear about "the distinction between the royal family and the institution".

He said: "The royal family, you know, Meghan only had praise for them. However the institution and the officials, I think they're the ones that have come up quite badly in this interview."

He said he does not think Harry will regret doing the interview, adding: "Obviously something needed to be said."

"I came away from watching it actually having sympathy for the royal family," he said. "They don't have a voice.

"When Harry mentions that they (other members) are trapped, that's very uncomfortable to hear."

The interview also produced new pictures of Meghan and Harry's son Archie running along a beach. 

The Duchess of Sussex has suggested it was her son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor's "birthright" to be a prince and the decision not to give him a title went against convention.

She expressed her shock at being told he would not get security and the idea of him "not being safe", and said she wanted him to have the title so he could have police protection.

Meghan also suggested that the decision was taken because of Archie's race.

The duchess shared her upset at the "idea of the first member of colour in this family, not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be". "It's not their right to take it away," she added.

Oprah Winfrey asked in the televised tell-all: "Do you think it's because of his race? I know that's a loaded question."

Meghan replied: "In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we (had) the conversation of he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title. And also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born."

But Archie was not entitled to be a prince because of rules set down by King George V more than 100 years ago. And being a prince or princess does not automatically mean royals have police protection.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie's security is no longer paid for by the taxpayer.

The Duke of Sussex's body language during the bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey showed "anger" and "resentment" towards his father, an expert said.

Harry accused the Prince of Wales of refusing to take his calls as he went public with his grievances about the Royal family. He revealed he and his father are estranged, adding: "I feel really let down."

Author and body language expert Judi James said that while Harry showed "love" when discussing his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, he was "comprehensively" negative when it came to Charles.

"I think specifically what emerged was his anger about his father," she said. "He spoke with affection about the Queen, he spoke with love for his brother, William.

"But when his father was mentioned the dramatic pause lasting several seconds before he spoke kind of said everything, really. And that's when he started to do the fast blinking. He sighed, he did a leg judder, he did a tongue poke.

"So that's where probably the key focus of resentment seems to lie."

Ms James said "there was no real effort to mask his (Harry's) response" to Charles.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green has said she expects the "shocking" claims by Meghan regarding Archie's skin colour to be investigated with the "upmost seriousness".

Watch below her talk to Sky News below. 

Vicky Ford has said there is "no place for racism", after the Duchess of Sussex claimed that a member of the Royal family raised "concerns" about how dark Archie's skin would be before his birth.

Stressing she had not seen the documentary yet, the schools minister said it was "absolutely" unacceptable, adding: "There is absolutely no place for racism in our society and we all need to work to make sure that doesn't happen."

Asked about Meghan's claims that her mental health deteriorated to the point where she felt suicidal, Ford told Sky News: "Mental health and wellbeing is a really big issue,and that is part of the reason why we have prioritised bringing young children back into classrooms for their wellbeing support as well as education."

1. Who is alleged to have asked about how dark Archie's skin would be? The duke and duchess refused to say which member of the royal family had this conversation with Harry while Meghan was pregnant with Archie. Meghan said she would not reveal the identity because it would be very damaging to them. Harry followed suit, and said he will never reveal who said it and what was said, but this will not stop the speculation.
2. What damage has been done to Harry and Meghan's relationship with the Royal family? At this stage, the damage could be irreparable. The duke has vowed to try to restore his relationship with his father, the Prince of Wales, and said he hopes he can heal his rift with William in time. The interview is likely to be seen as an attack on the whole family, and it remains to be seen how William will react to his wife being singled out.
3. What did Kate say to Meghan to make her cry? Meghan said it was Kate who left her in tears over the flower girl dresses, not the other way round as was reported. "It was a really hard week of the wedding, and she was upset about some things," the duchess said. Kate apologised and sent flowers and a note. But Meghan said it was a turning point when the false story was not put straight.
4. Who did Meghan approach in the Palace for help when feeling suicidal? Meghan said she went to "one of the most senior people". The duchess sent emails and begged for help and people said "Yes, yes, it's disproportionately terrible... but nothing was ever done", she claimed.
5. Why was Meghan not supported? Meghan said: "There was no guidance... there's no class on how to speak, how to cross your legs, how to be royal, there's none of that training." She added: "That might exist for other members of the family" but said it was not offered to her.
6. Who was jealous of Meghan? Harry indicated that members of the Royal family were jealous of Meghan because of the ease with which she carried out royal duties on their tour of Australia and New Zealand.
7. What about Meghan's father? The duchess has been estranged from Thomas Markle since her wedding, but Winfrey was not seen questioning Meghan about their relationship. Does she intend to reach out to her father, and he will ever meet Harry or their children?
8. Why did Meghan think Archie should be a prince? Meghan said she wanted Archie to be a prince so he could have police protection, and expressed her shock at the idea of the first member of colour in the family not being titled in the same way as other grandchildren. But seventh in line Archie is not at this stage entitled to be a prince because of rules established more than 100 years ago by King George V.
9. Why didn't the Queen make Archie a prince? The Queen stepped in ahead of Prince George's birth to issue a Letters Patent to ensure all the Cambridges' children, not just George, would have fitting titles. But the Cambridges' children are the offspring of a future monarch whereas Archie is not. He will be entitled to be an HRH or a prince however when the Prince of Wales accedes to the throne.
10. What about the alleged bullying Meghan is accused of? The interview was filmed before the Times revealed that a senior aide raised concerns over bullying and that Meghan allegedly drove out two personal assistants and humiliated another, which the duchess denies. Questions still remain as to what exactly went on and how Meghan treated her staff. Buckingham Palace has launched an investigation.
11. What will Harry and Meghan name their daughter? With the couple set to have a baby girl, the bookmakers will be predicting Diana as the frontrunner. Or perhaps even Elizabeth in honour of the Queen.

The royal family and their aides have some challenging accusations to answer about why a suicidal Meghan was not supported and given help, and about the allegations of racism.

The Queen, known for her calm approach, is never reactive or rash during challenging times, and The Telegraph understands that there will not be an official response this morning. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have long been vocal campaigners on the issue of mental health so questions remain about their involvement and what their response will be after both were named in the interview.

Contrary to reports, which first surfaced in the Daily Telegraph in November 2018, that Meghan had made Kate cry during a bridesmaids’ dress fitting, the former actress insisted it was actually the other way round, reports Associate Editor Camilla Tominey.

Implying a distinct lack of sisterly support from the mother-of-three, even when “everything was going on with my Dad”, Meghan insisted: “I’m not sharing that in any way to be disparaging about her,” adding: “I would hope that she would want that to be corrected.” 

Read Camilla Tominey's analysis here.

Perhaps the most shocking moment of the two-hour interview was Meghan saying she'd had suicidal thoughts. 

Watch it here: 

Harry and Meghan's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey could trigger "the start of a PR war", a public relations expert has said.

PR consultant Mark Borkowski said his initial reaction to the interview, broadcast in the US in the early hours of Monday, was that it was "pretty damaging to the Royal family".

He said: "Some of the accusations and some of the deeply personal insights into living inside a royal household will be judged, particularly by an American audience who are watching on primetime as pretty shocking.

"He (Harry) was very direct about the fact that he felt that his father (Charles, the Prince of Wales) had not given him the support, and he wanted to try and rebuild a relationship, the fact that he was close to his brother (William, the Duke of Cambridge), but obviously there was some distance between them.

"It certainly is their opportunity to give their side of the story, it's depending on what is the counter view of that - we've already seen bullying accusations, this could be the start of a PR war.

"Or it could be a moment for everybody to draw a line in the sand and start talking and trying to heal some wounds here, because the wounds are very deep."

The interview also revealed how Meghan felt suicidal while working as a senior member of the Royal family.

Mr Borkowski said: "There's a lot of losers in this."

ITV Good Morning Britain's Piers Morgan has berated the two-hour trashing of the Queen.

Winfrey said sections of the interview which were unable to be broadcast during the two-hour time slot would be held over until a second show, to be transmitted this afternoon.

Royal watchers will be waiting with baited breath, given the dramatic nature of the first instalment.

Harry said his family "literally cut me off financially" in the first quarter of 2020 and he went for the Netflix and Spotify deals to pay for his security.

Since leaving the UK last year, the pair have signed lucrative deals - thought to be worth well over £100 million - with Spotify and Netflix to give them the capital to pursue their new lifestyle and public goals.

They have also bought a multi-million pound home in the celebrity enclave of Montecito in California, and also launched a non-profit foundation called Archewell.

Meghan beamed as she spoke about her unborn child, a girl, the Sussexes confirmed.

The baby, a sister to Archie, is due in the summer - although no further details were provided about timings.

Harry said his first thought was "amazing" when he discovered they were having a girl, adding: "Just grateful. To have any child, any one or any two, would have been amazing. But to have a boy and then a girl, I mean what more can you ask for? Now we've got our family, we got the four of us and our two dogs."

Asked if they were "done" with two children, Harry said "done" and Meghan said: "Two is it."

No hints were given about what the couple will name their child, and, given they have sought to leave royal protocol behind them, it may be some time after the birth before the duo allow the world to see a picture of the latest member of their brood.

Harry and Meghan's interview came at a time when the Royal family have barely been out of the headlines.

First, concerns linger about the health of the Duke of Edinburgh, who remains in hospital having undergone heart surgery last week.

Second, the furore over allegations of bullying made against the duchess by former royal staff.

Rumours are swirling about who will be called to give evidence in the Buckingham Palace probe.

Past and present employees are to be invited to speak in confidence about their experiences of working for the duchess, after it was alleged she drove out two personal assistants and that staff were "humiliated" on several occasions.

To fully examine the allegations Meghan would be needed to be part of the proceedings but it is not clear at this early stage what role if any she will play in the process.

After such enormous accusations, where to the Duke and Duchess go from here? 

The next handful of posts will take a look at this issue.

The Sussexes' decision to stand down as senior members of the royal family was always going to cause a great deal of upset.

But the extent of that rift was underlined when Harry disclosed his father, the Prince of Wales, stopped taking his phone calls during the build-up to the announcement that he and Meghan were leaving the royal family.

Likewise, Harry and older brother William were said to have fallen out some time ago.

While Harry clearly signalled stresses on his relationships with his father and brother, he expressed a desire for them to "heal".

Meghan's revelation that the Duchess of Cambridge previously made her cry is unlikely to be well received at the palace, given the long-standing tradition that disputes are not aired publicly. Some relationships might be easier to repair than others.

America reacted with deep sympathy for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and there was widespread anger at Buckingham Palace following their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, writes Nick Allen in Washington.

Much of the focus was on the revelation that a senior royal discussed the Duke and Duchess's son Archie and "how dark his skin might be when he's born."

The interview sparked a wave of goodwill for the Duchess in particular, and was widely seen as disastrous for the palace.

Read Nick Allen's full story on reaction here. 

If you're just waking up, our video team have this clip of highlights for you from the extraordinary two-hour interview of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's claims.

The Telegraph's Associate Editor Camilla Tominey has written an analysis of the Oprah interview, complete with a number of "marmalade-dropper" moments.

"We knew it was going to be blockbuster TV. But what we didn’t anticipate about the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ Oprah interview is how unvarnished their “truth” was actually going to be," she writes.

"Talk of Royals “hiding behind the sofa” ahead of the primetime, no-holds-barred chat appeared to underestimate quite what the couple had in store. "

Read it all here.

New Zealand's prime minister says the country is unlikely to become a republic anytime soon or otherwise break from observing Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was asked by a reporter whether the unflattering picture of the British Royal family painted by Harry and Meghan had given her pause about New Zealand's constitutional ties to Britain.

"I've said before that I've not sensed an appetite from New Zealanders for significant change in our constitutional arrangements, and I don't expect that's likely to change quickly," she said.

Asked whether Harry and Meghan had ever inquired about living in New Zealand, Ms Ardern said they hadn't in any official capacity, as far as she was aware.

And asked about her personal friendship with Meghan since the couple toured the country in 2018, Ms Ardern said she had kept in touch. "It is fair to say in the past I've had contact here and there," she said. "But ultimately, the matters that are being canvassed here I see as for Meghan and Harry to respond to directly. These are matters about their personal lives and their personal decisions, and I don't think it deserves a commentary from anyone else."

The Duke and Duchess revealed Hollywood mogul Tyler Perry provided a home and security for the couple when they moved from Canada to the US.

During their chat with Oprah Winfrey, the couple confirmed it was a Los Angeles mansion owned by Perry they fled to when leaving Canada early last year, days before the first coronavirus lockdown.

They later bought a home in nearby Montecito, where they are living now.  They told how Perry provided them with security after their UK tax payer-funded protection was removed.

Speaking of their departure from British Columbia, Canada, Meghan said: "We didn't have a plan. We needed a house and he (Perry) offered his security as well so it gave us breathing room to try to figure out what we were going to do."

Harry added: "The biggest concern was while we were in Canada, in someone else's house, I then got told, short notice, that security was going to be removed. By this point, courtesy of the Daily Mail, the world knew our exact location.

"So suddenly it dawned on me, 'hang on a second, the borders could be closed, we're going to have our security removed, who knows how long lockdown is going to be, the world knows where we are, it's not safe, it's not secure, we probably need to get out of here'."

American writer Roxane Gay suggested the Royal family was angry with Meghan for attempting to modernise the monarchy. "They cannot stand when someone marries into the family and soars to popularity they will never, ever have," she wrote on Twitter.  

Tennis star Serena Williams has paid a tribute to her "selfless friend" Meghan after her tell-all interview with Oprah.

"Meghan Markle, my selfless friend, lives her life - and leads by example - with empathy and compassion," she wrote on Twitter.

"She teaches me every day what it means to be truly noble. Her words illustrate the pain and cruelty she's experienced.

Williams added that she knows "first hand the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of colour".

Britons will be able to watch the full Harry and Meghan interview with Oprah in the UK tonight. 

The two-hour blockbuster will be broadcast by ITV and on ITV hub on Monday at 9pm.

Oprah Winfrey will join CBS' morning programme on Monday to divulge extra footage from her interview with the Duke and Duchess.

The extra clips will air on "CBS This Morning" on Monday at 7 am east coast time.

Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old poet who captured hearts with her performance at Joe Biden's Inauguration in January, has weighed in. 

Celebrities and American activists have taken to social media to show support for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following their interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Among those showing support for the couple was Meena Harris, the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Ms Harris live tweeted her reactions during the interview, and tweeted after it wrapped up: "Her Majesty The Queen Oprah."

Bernice King, the youngest child of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King, tweeted: "Royalty is not a shield from the devastation and despair of racism."

Social media users have been largely sympathetic towards the couple following the US broadcast, which aired at 8pm on the east coast. 

American comedian Matt Bellassai tweeted: "The little inhales Meghan and Harry both take before dropping each bombshell....... the 'I'm about to say this shit to Oprah' breath."

Lord Alan Sugar said: "I just watched the Harry and Meghan interview with Oprah on US TV. Hmm ... I'll be interested to see the reaction in the UK tomorrow."

American commentators have already begun weighing in on the bombshell interview by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

As they concluded their bombshell two-hour interview, the couple asked whether they have any regrets about their decision to step back from Royal life. 

Prince Harry replied: "No... I am really proud of us. I am so proud of my wife. She safely delivered Archie during a period of time that was so cruel, so mean."

He offered a glimpse of their most trying moments in London, describing how his wife would sometimes cry while breastfeeding their son. 

The Duchess said her one regret was "believing them when they said I would be protected".

However she employed a favoured phrase, adding: "we've actually not just survived but are thriving" calling it a miracle".

The interview ended with the Duchess declaring: "in some ways just the beginning for us."

Winfrey asked if Meghan's story with a prince "does have a happy ending", to which she replied: "Greater than any fairy tale you've ever read."

Asked about his relationship with his older brother, Harry said: "The relationship is space at the moment. And time heals all things, hopefully."

He added: "I love William to bits, he's my brother, we've been through hell together, we have a shared experience, but we were on different paths."

Winfrey pressed Harry to disclose the content of a conversation Meghan referred to earlier in the interview about Archie's skin tone.

Harry said: "That conversion, I am never going to share. At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked."

He added that it happened "right at the beginning" of their relationship.

He said members of his family suggested Meghan "carried on acting because there was not enough money to pay for her".

He added: "There were some real obvious signs, before we even got married, that this was going to be really hard."

Prince Harry said he still felt compassion for his father and brother because they are also "trapped".

"They don't get to leave," he said, adding he has "huge compassion for that".

Asked if he would have stepped back had he not met Meghan, Harry said: "No, the answer to your question is no."

He said that despite being "trapped", he "didn't see a way out" or realise he was trapped until he met Meghan.

Prince Harry has divulged that his relationship with his father has still not been repaired.

"I feel really let down" by him, he said, "because he's been through something similar", adding "Archie is his grandson."

Prince Harry added that he will always love his father but "there's a lot of hurt that's happened". 

He also revealed that "my family literally cut me off financially".

The prince said he had been able to restart their lives in the US with money his mother had left him.  

"I think she saw this coming," he added.

Asked how his mother would have reacted to the developments of the last year, Prince Harry said she would "feel very angry with how this has panned out and very sad." 

The Prince said the turning point for the couple came after their tour of Australia. 

"They saw how good she [Meghan] was at the job," he said, adding: "That brought back memories." 

Oprah asked Prince Harry whether he was suggesting the Royal family were "jealous" of Meghan, in the same way the recent Netflix series The Crown  had suggested they were of his mother. 

Asking whether the couple have watched The Crown, Harry replied: "I've watched some of it. We've watched some of it."

Meghan, laughing, added: "I've watched some of it."

Prince Harry says there were many opportunities for his family to show their support for Meghan but they were "scared" of antagonising the press. 

“I’m acutely aware of where my family stand and how acutely scared they are of the tabloids turning on them,” he told Oprah.

The Prince claimed there is an “invisible contract” between the royal family and the tabloids, adding the dynamic is one of “control by fear”. 

“The institution survives based on” its relationship with the press, he said.

The Duchess added that the press coverage's racial overtones changed the level of threat to the couple.

“It changed the death threats,” she added.

Prince Harry revealed that his father Prince Charles stopped taking his calls while discussions about the couple's future role were ongoing. 

The prince denied blindsiding his grandmother the Queen with his plans to quit the UK, saying he had too much respect for her.

"I had three conversations with my grandmother, and two conversations with my father before he stopped taking my calls. And then he said, can you put this all in writing?"

Asked why Prince Charles had stopped taking his calls, Prince Harry said: "By that point I took matters into my own hands, it was like, I needed to do this for my family. This is not a surprise to anybody. It's really sad that it's got to this point, but I've got to do something for my own mental health, my wife's and for Archie's as well."

Harry said he ultimately decided to step back because of a "lack of support and lack of understanding" from both the British press and the Royal institution.

Joining his wife for the second part of the interview, Prince Harry described the circumstances leading up to them stepping back from the Royal family.

The Duke of Sussex also revealed their security detail was removed when they stepped back from being senior members of the family.

Gripping Meghan's hand, he said: "Their justification was a change in status. I pushed back and said is there a change of threat or risk?

"Eventually, I got the confirmation that no, the risk hasn't changed but due to our change of status - we would no longer be 'official' members of the Royal family."

Prince Harry said the couple had done everything they could to try to remain a part of the Royal family and considered living in a Commonwealth country like Canada or New Zealand in order to satisfy the Palace.

Asked about the "tipping point" which led the couple to quit the UK, Prince Harry replied: "I was desperate.

"I went to all the places which I thought I should go to, to ask for help - we both did, separately and together."

Oprah asked: "You left because you were asking for help, and didn't get it?"

Harry replied: "Yeah. Basically. But we never left."

Meghan said: "We never left the family."

Prince Harry has joined the couch for the second part of their interview. The couple revealed they are expecting  a baby girl. 

The Prince said he was "just grateful".

"To have any child, any one or any two, would have been amazing. But to have a boy and then a girl, I mean what more can you ask for? Now we've got our family, we got the four of us and our two dogs."

Asked if they were "done" with two children, Prince Harry said "done" and the Duchess said: "Two is it."

Meghan also confirmed the baby is due in the "summertime".

The Duchess said she reached "a breaking point" where she came to find her life unsurvivable and began to have suicidal thoughts.

"I just didn't want to be alive anymore," she said. 

The Duchess said her friends and family's reactions to the negative press coverage of her made her all the more aware of her impossible situation. 

The Duchess grew tearful as she told Oprah: "I was really ashamed to say it at the time, and ashamed to have to admit it, to Harry especially, because I know how much loss he suffered.

"But I knew that if I didn't say it that I would do it, and I just didn't...I just didn't want to be alive anymore".

The Duchess described Harry cradling her and looking back on an event where he gripped her tightly by the hand to protect her. 

But she added that the wider Palace institution denied her access to mental health help. 

"I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that I've never felt this way before and I need to go somewhere. And I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution," she said.

The Duchess of Sussex said that when she was pregnant with Archie there were "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born".

Meghan said she would not reveal who was involved in the talks, but said there were "several conversations" about Archie's skin tone and "what that would mean or look like".

"That was relayed to me from Harry," she said. "Those were conversations family had with him."

Pushed by Winfrey on who had those conversations, Meghan said: "I think that would be very damaging to them".

The Duchess added that the decision not to give Archie a title was made by the Palace.

"They didn't want him to be a prince or princess, not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn't going to receive security," she said.

"In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, you won't be given security, not gonna be given a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born."

The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah she was "silenced" when she joined the Royal family, while everyone in her circle was instructed to say "no comment" to questions which she said they did.

Meghan said the reports around her incident with the Duchess of Cambridge was "the beginning of a real character assassination". 

The Duchess said "people within The Firm" told her she was "everywhere" in press coverage, and a member of the family suggested that she "lay low" for a while.

"I said: 'I have left the house twice in four months, I am everywhere but I am nowhere'," the Duchess told Oprah as she described her loneliness.

Winfrey asked Meghan: "Were you silent? Or were you silenced?"

"Everyone in my world was given very clear directive from the moment the world knew Harry and I were dating, to always say 'no comment'," she replied.

The Duchess has claimed the Palace was willing to "lie" to protect "other" members of the Royal family rather than correct reports about her.

"It was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to understand that not only was I not being protected, but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family," she said. "But they weren't willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband."

However the Duchess stressed that the Queen was nothing but lovely to her, comparing their relationship to one of grandmother and grand-daughter. 

Contrary to reports that the Duchess of Sussex made the Duchess of Cambridge cry at her wedding rehearsal, Meghan says the "reverse" was true. 

Oprah raised the rumours that Meghan had made "Kate", as she referred to her, cry during a rehearsal for the flower girls. 

Reports after the Sussexes' wedding suggested Meghan's demands had left the Duchess of Cambridge in tears during the rehearsal. 

She said in fact the "reverse happened" and the Duchess of Cambridge made her cry. She later apologised, brought her flowers and took accountability for it.

Meghan said she was not sharing the information to be "disparaging", but added it was "really important for people to understand the truth".

"She's a good person," the Duchess added.

Meghan said the Duchess of Cambridge was "upset about some things and she owned it and apologised".

The Duchess described later press reports that distorted the incident as a “turning point”. 

The Duchess revealed that she married Prince Harry three days before their Royal wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor. 

The formal ceremony was done by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Duchess opens the interview by invoking the infamous interview done by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995. 

The interview with the BBC revealed intimate details of Diana's marriage to Prince Charles and was watched by millions. It was also said to have infuriated the Queen.

The Duchess said she entered the Royal family "naively", but had since become aware of Diana's "famous" tell-all interview.

The Duchess said she did not research Prince Harry or his family beforehand, and had a very limited understanding of what marrying into the family would entail.

"I didn't romanticise any element of it, but I think as Americans especially - what you know about the royals is what you read in fairy tales," she said.

Meghan revealed the first time she met the Queen, Prince Harry asked her if she knew how to curtesy.

"He said: 'Do you know how to curtesy?'

"That was the first moment that the penny dropped."

She said she and Harry then practiced her curtsey before meeting the Queen.

"We sat there and we just chatted. And it was lovely and easy," she said.

And we've begun. Oprah has opened the interview by reminding viewers that no subject is off the table. The Duchess of Sussex has not been paid for her participation. 

The Duchess of Sussex said she knows the gender of her baby and it will be revealed later on during the interview, which was filmed at a friend's house.

To give you a taste of what is to come, The Telegraph looked back over the course of Oprah Winfrey's 25-year television career and the interviews that made her TV royalty. 

From Lance Armstrong’s guilt to Rihanna’s forgiveness, for some of the most memorable moments in modern pop culture, you need look no further than Oprah’s sofa.

Have a look back at her greatest TV moments here. 

Allegations of bullying against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have surfaced in recent days ahead of their tell-all interview. 

The Telegraph's Victoria Ward has this report revealing that the Buckingham Palace investigation into bullying will be confined solely to allegations concerning the Duchess - and no other members of the Royal family.

The review will be deliberately limited in scope, focusing on a specific time period, and will invite only members of staff from the time to give evidence, The Telegraph understands.

Read the full story here.

The Duke of Sussex is determined to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brother at the unveiling of a statue of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, whatever the fallout from his interview with Oprah Winfrey. 

Victoria Ward has spoken to a royal source who believes tonight offers the Sussexes' a chance to "draw a line under that chapter of their lives". 

The source, who is close to Prince Harry, insisted that whatever had been said and done, he desperately hoped to attend the event at Kensington Palace to mark his mother's 60th birthday on July 1. 

Read the full story here.

The Queen of chat show has been counting down the hours until the interview airs on her social media accounts. 

Students from Northwestern University in Chicago, Meghan's alma mater, will be eagerly watching tonight's interview. 

Members of the Duchess' former sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, say they are marking the occasion with British-themed food and memorabilia from the royal wedding. 

Despite coronavirus restrictions, Northwestern graduate Alexis Barber, 22, told the New York Times she will be taking to Instagram to share her obsession with the Duchess with friends. 

“I just need to know what’s going on,” she told the newspaper.

Oprah Winfrey is the queen of the chat show, but is she the right person to interview Harry and Meghan? The Telegraph's Robin Aitken has his reservations about the move. 

He writes:  "I can see the temptation – it gives them a huge audience and an opportunity to enlist the sympathy of the credulous – but it comes at a cost. The thing which Harry and Meghan stand to lose is their authenticity. How can we take them seriously when so much about their lives now seems so phony and fake?

For one thing the idea that this is any kind of normal journalistic interview is wrong. Oprah Winfrey is no even-handed inquisitor. She has built a reputation and media empire by monetising flattery - the same technique employed with huge success by Hello! magazine.

If you look at Oprah’s back catalogue (and it’s vast; she has interviewed more than 30,000 people in her long career) what stands out is the way she shamelessly massages the egos of her famous guests; but then occasionally she goes on to be unexpectedly sharp and insinuating. 

It’s a technique that can pay dividends but it doesn’t entirely dispel the suspicion that she often pulls her punches.

You can read more here. 

This was the first teaser CBS released, and in it Oprah Winfrey reveals "there is no subject that is off-limits". She asks the Duchess of Sussex: "Were you silent, or were you silenced?"

The Telegraph's Associate Editor, Camilla Tominey, has written this forensic account of how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex ended up here, beginning back in October 2017. She writes: 

The Telegraph has spoken to a number of well-placed insiders who witnessed first-hand the turmoil within the royal household from Meghan's arrival as Prince Harry's girlfriend to the couple's decision to  stand down as working royals last year. All spoke on the condition of anonymity amid claims they had been operating in a "climate of fear", where employees were routinely "humiliated" in front of their peers and repeatedly subjected to "unreasonable demands" by both Meghan and Harry.

It's an unmissable piece and you can read it in full here. 

The tiny crumbs from the interview that CBS has already thrown out tell us that it is going to be unmissable. 

The slickly produced, dramatic teasers have quashed any lingering hopes that the couple might stick to more mundane and diplomatic subject matters. Instead, they will lift the lid on life behind palace walls in a manner no member of the family has done for decades.

Here, Victoria Ward highlights five issues likely to be hot topics, with racism top of the list. As she writes: 

From the moment Meghan Markle arrived on the royal scene, the couple have claimed that press coverage has contained undercurrents of racism. She will almost certainly talk about race in Britain but more damaging would be claims that the royal institution itself was racist.

Read her full article here.