PALACE aides have dismissed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview as a “sideshow,” saying people are more concerned about schools and Covid vaccines.
Shockwaves have been caused by the revelations in the bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey as well as allegations of bullying and strong denials.
Read our Meghan and Harry live blog for the latest news...
Royal officials though have remained determined not to be dragged into the war of words between the Palace and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The two-hour interview which will air in the US on Sunday night and be broadcast in the UK on Monday is expected to contain uncomfortable moments for the Palace.
One insider though said Brits face more important issues.
They told the Mail on Sunday: “On Monday most people in Britain will be thinking about schools going back, getting the vaccine and, at the Palace particularly, looking forward to the Duke of Edinburgh coming out of hospital. This is just a sideshow.”
The comments will be seen by many as an indication the Palace believes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will in time struggle to attract the attention they received in the UK before they stepped away from royal duties a year ago.
The monarch, 94, will ignore the interview to show the Royal Family is “focusing on the big issues”, a source told The Celeb Reportday Times.
She will also have several engagements in the coming days to make it clear “where the focus is”.
The source said: “You will see next week Her Majesty has quite a few things going on. I don’t think anyone should expect Her Majesty to stay up and watch the interview. She won’t.”
They added: “The mood in the family is: can everyone just shut the hell up and can we just get on with the day job.”
Prince Charles is also said to be more concerned with the health of his father, Prince Philip, than with the Oprah interview.
A source told the Mail on Sunday: “He is a man who feels emotions keenly and is far more concerned about the Duke of Edinburgh than whatever Oprah Winfrey is up to in California.’
Aides have described the mood at Buckingham Palace in the run up to the interview with Oprah Winfrey as “calm” with courtiers maintaining a sense of “this, too, will pass,” according to the report.
One source told the paper: “Most of what is said will be lost in the mists of time. History teaches us that only the interviewer wins from these programmes.”
The Queen as well as palace officials are said to have no idea what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex say in the interview except what has been released in trailers.
The source said: “We haven’t got a clue what they say in the interview.
‘SIDESHOW’
“But there is determination not to play their game. There is a very clear sense right from the top that it’s best not to react.”
Snippets from the interview have been released by the US network CBS ahead of the broadcast.
The broadcaster is said to have paid Winfrey’s production company between £5million and £6.5m for the rights to the interview.
In one clip released last week Meghan described her experience of royal life as “almost unsurvivable”.
In another, Harry said that it has been “unbelievably tough for the two of us but at least we have each other”.
He explained the reason behind the move to the US was because he feared “history repeating itself” after the death of his mum Diana, Princess of Wales.
It’s feared the interview could detail the rift between Meghan and Kate Middleton as well as deepen tensions between Prince Harry and William.
TV insiders predict there will be further revelations in the programme.
One experienced US TV producer said: “It’s not like a movie where all the best bits are in the trailer.
“In programmes like this, they keep the real bombshells for the show.”
Palace aides though are keen not to start a war, as one source told the paper: “Only one side seems to be firing.”
The Palace previously had to deal with the fall-out from a tell-all interview when Princess Diana spoke to Martin Bashir for a Panorama programme 25 years ago.
In the explosive interview she famously said there were “three people in this marriage”.
Aides though say there is a crucial difference between the two interviews because this time Harry and Meghan’s departure has already happened.
Ahead of the bombshell interview, the Queen is due to address the nation, along with other senior royals, as she marks Commonwealth Day.
In the build-up to the interview accusations of bullying have been made against Meghan.
Buckingham Palace has launched an investigation into the claims with the probe focusing on the bust-ups between the Duchess and her aides during a royal tour of Australia.
At one point Meghan is claimed to have lost her temper with an assistant and a hot drink was thrown.
A source said: “The Australia tour is one of the most important in the royal world but there have long been allegations of rows with staff.
“If these assistants come forward it will form the centre of the Palace’s bullying probe. It was a critical time.”
Meghan denies allegations of bullying.
