Harry draws parallels between the treatment of his mother and wife, in teaser clips of a TV special.
image copyrightHarpo Productions/Joe Pugliese
The Duke of Sussex has drawn parallels between the treatment of his mother and wife, in teaser clips of a much-anticipated Oprah Winfrey TV special.
In two 30-second clips released by CBS, Harry says he feared history was “repeating itself” before he and Meghan decided to step back as senior royals.
Winfrey is seen asking Meghan if there had been a “breaking point” and if she was “silent or silenced”, but the duchess does not speak in either clip.
The US interview airs on 7 March.
It is unclear when the programme, Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A CBS Primetime Special, will be shown in the UK.
In the full programme Meghan will talk about marriage, motherhood, life as a royal and how she is handling “intense public pressure”, CBS said.
Prince Harry has previously said he stepped back from royal duties in order to protect himself and his family from the “toxic” environment created in the UK by the press.
Harry’s late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, relinquished the Her Royal Highness title at the time of her divorce from the Prince of Wales in August 1996.
She died the following year after a car crash in Paris. The driver had been drink-driving and the car was being followed by paparazzi on motorbikes when the accident happened.
In the clips from the upcoming TV special, an image of a young Prince Harry with Diana is shown as the duke says: “I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like for her going through this process by herself all those years ago, because it has been unbelievably tough for the two of us – but at least we had each other.”
Harry also tells Winfrey: “My biggest concern was history repeating itself.
“For me, I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here, talking to you with my wife by my side.”
Winfrey is a personal friend of Meghan and attended the couple’s wedding in 2018.
In the full interview, Meghan and Harry talk about their move to the United States last year and their future plans, according to CBS.
Speaking to chat show host James Corden last week, the duke insisted the couple were “stepping back rather than stepping down” as senior royals.
He said the situation was “destroying my mental health” and he “did what any husband [or] father would do”.
These first insights into the much-anticipated Oprah interview are designed to draw us in with their tight editing and dramatic music.
They are a flavour of what’s to come.
In the minute of footage, Meghan doesn’t say a word. We’ll have to wait for her answers.
But the questions that Oprah puts to her hint strongly at upset and frustration. The language is of being silenced and of surviving something.
The talk from Harry is of protecting his wife and being able to escape from the pressure and strain they felt.
In Oprah, the couple chose a friend to interview them whose style isn’t aggressive.
She is an expert at getting interviewees to open up and she will have encouraged them to reveal what went wrong behind the palace walls.
It is that which will worry the Royal Family and palace officials.
How critical have Harry and Meghan been? We will find out when the full interview is broadcast next weekend.
Last month, it was announced that the duke and duchess would not be returning as working members of the Royal Family.
The couple said at the time that “service is universal” and offered to continue supporting the organisations they represented.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s honorary military appointments and royal patronages will be redistributed to working members of the Royal Family.
The announcement came just days after the couple revealed that they are expecting their second child.
It is not known whether Prince Harry and Meghan informed the royal household about their plans to be interviewed.
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment.