A royal author has claimed that Meghan Markle declined a joint interview with Prince Harry during their time as working royals due to a secret agreement already in place with Oprah Winfrey, one that had reportedly been arranged two years before it aired.
The claim is made in journalist Valentine Low’s royal biography Courtiers, which explores the inner workings of palace staff and their experiences with senior royals. According to Low, Meghan had already committed to doing an interview with Oprah Winfrey as early as 2019, when she and Harry were still official members of the Royal Family.
The interview eventually aired in March 2021, over a year after the couple stepped down from royal duties, and sent shockwaves around the world with its explosive allegations about racism, mental health struggles, and royal family rifts.
Low reveals that during preparations for Harry and Meghan’s royal tour of southern Africa in 2019, royal aide Sam Cohen suggested they do an interview with a British journalist, namely Tom Bradby of ITV, a longtime friend of Harry. Meghan was reportedly resistant to the idea.
“Meghan in particular was reluctant at first; her attention was focused on the prospect of doing an interview with Oprah Winfrey,” Low writes. “At that point, it was slated for the autumn of that year.”
Though the couple eventually agreed to a sit-down with Bradby, they had one unusual request: they could not be interviewed together or appear in the same frame, a move believed to preserve the exclusivity of their yet-to-be-aired Oprah special.
“There was one proviso: he and Meghan could not do the interviews together, or be in the same shot. That would go against the deal with Oprah,” Low added.
The Bradby interview, though more subdued than Oprah’s, still drew significant attention. Meghan became emotional when discussing how few people had asked about her well-being as a new mother. Her candid response, “Thank you for asking, because not many people have,” became one of the most widely circulated moments from the segment.
According to Low, Meghan’s guarded approach and long-term media plans hinted that she and Harry were already exploring an exit strategy from royal life. He noted there was “nothing in the diary after the Africa tour”, suggesting uncertainty about their future roles.
Harry and Meghan eventually sat down with Oprah after their royal exit in a landmark 85-minute interview that rocked the monarchy. The couple made several bombshell claims, including allegations that a royal expressed concern over Archie’s skin tone, and that Catherine, Princess of Wales, made Meghan cry before the royal wedding.
The interview prompted a rare response from Queen Elizabeth II, who stated: “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning… while some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
The renewed focus on Meghan’s media strategy adds further context to the deep divide that once fractured the royal household—and possibly hints at why tensions remain years later.