MEGHAN Markle will sit down with Oprah this week to record her tell-all interview, it was reported today.
The Duchess of Sussex will appear in an exclusive 90-minute special with the American talk show host in a move said to have created “a great deal of nervousness” at the Palace.
Read our Meghan and Harry live blog for the latest news and gossip...
But despite CBS making the bombshell announcement yesterday – just a day after Meghan and Harry revealed they were expecting baby number two – it has been claimed the interview has not been recorded yet.
ITV today reported the sitdown chat was instead expected to be recorded this week.
Royal reporter Chris Ship said the Sussexes had been planning to reveal the Oprah interview after it was recorded but said “it didn’t work out that way”.
It is unclear why the decision was made to announce news of the interview before it had taken place.
CBS said in a statement: “Winfrey will speak with Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, in a wide-ranging interview, covering everything from stepping into life as a Royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public pressure.
“Later, the two are joined by Prince Harry as they speak about their move to the US and their future hopes and dreams for their expanding family.”
The primetime special, titled Oprah with Meghan and Harry, will be broadcast on March 7 – with ITV reporting that the deal was signed over the weekend.
In the wake of the announcement, one royal insider has said there is “a great deal of nervousness” at the Palace.
One royal source told the Mirror: “One only has to look at the previous instalments of the tell-all interview to know these things never end up with a wholly positive experience for any party.
“Everyone will be watching with intense interest.”
It could mean Meghan and Harry now have “no way back to official royal duties”, royal sources claim.
The couple are set to possibly lose all their royal patronages as it is believed the Queen will ask them give up their links with organisations passed down through the Royal Family, reports the Daily Mail.
If asked by the Queen to relinquish such links, it would see Harry, 36, stripped of his three remaining honorary military titles.
It could potentially even mean he would have to give up his patronages with the Rugby Football Union, Rugby Football League, and the London Marathon.
For Meghan, 39, it would mean stepping down as a patron of the National Theatre, a role she was given in 2019 after being held by the Queen for 45 years.
It is unknown whether the couple would have to forfeit their link with the Commonwealth, but sources suggest they would be forced to give this too, according to the Mail.
The Duchess’s decision to open up publicly came after a ‘three-year courtship by the chatshow host,’ The Times reported.
Oprah, 67, came into Meghan’s life in early 2018, having reportedly got in touch through the US TV network, CBS.
She even attended the Royal Wedding in 2018, among other famous faces including Elton John and the Clooneys.
In December, Meghan reportedly “angered the Palace” by getting Oprah to flog her coffee investment on Instagram, insiders claimed.
Palace insiders told The Mirror that there were “more than a few raised eyebrows” as it emerged that the Duchess of Sussex had invested in the oat-milk latte start-up Clevr Blends.
Meghan and Prince Harry moved to California with their son Archie last year after quitting the Royal Family.
