LONDON (Reuters) — Meghan, Britain’s Duchess of Sussex, said she had given an in-depth interview to talk show host Oprah Winfrey to be aired on Sunday because she was now free to speak for herself after she and husband Prince Harry quit their royal duties.
Meghan, 39, and Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Harry, 36, surprised the royal family in January last year by announcing they would step down from their official royal roles to forge a new, independent life in California.
The split was confirmed last month, and, in the last week, the couple and Buckingham Palace have engaged in a war of words, amid claims of lies, bullying and smears.
“I’m ready to talk,” Meghan, a former American actress, told Winfrey in an excerpt shown on television network CBS on Friday ahead of Sunday’s broadcast, as she explained why she had agreed to the interview.
“As an adult who lived a really independent life to then go into this construct that is different than I think what people imagine it to be, it’s really liberating to be able to have the right and the privilege in some ways to be able to say yes.”
Harry and Meghan married in May 2018, becoming global celebrities combining British royalty and Hollywood glamour.
But less than two years later, they stepped away from official duties, saying the media intrusion was overbearing. Meghan later revealed she felt “unprotected” by the monarchy while pregnant with son Archie.
Their decision to give the interview to Winfrey has been criticized by some newspapers as hypocrisy, flying in the face of their stated desire for privacy.
“We have the ability to make our own choices in a way that I couldn’t have said yes (to a previous request for an interview). That wasn’t my choice to make,” Meghan told Winfrey, a guest at their wedding, in Friday’s excerpt.
FILE – In this June 11, 2016 file photo, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II waves as she watches the flypast, with Prince Philip, to right, Prince William, centre, with his son Prince George, front, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge holding Princess Charlotte, centre left, with The Prince of Wales standing with The Duchess of Cornwall, and Princess Anne, fourth left, on the balcony during the Trooping The Colour parade at Buckingham Palace, in London. The timing couldn’t be worse for Harry and Meghan. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will finally get the chance to tell the story behind their departure from royal duties directly to the public on Sunday, March 7, 2021 when their two-hour interview with Oprah Winfrey is broadcast. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland, File) 
FILE – In this Tuesday, July 10, 2018 file photo, members of THE royal family gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, with from left, Britain’s Prince Charles, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan the Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate the Duchess of Cambridge, as they watch a flypast of Royal Air Force aircraft pass over Buckingham Palace in London. The timing couldn’t be worse for Harry and Meghan. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will finally get the chance to tell the story behind their departure from royal duties directly to the public on Sunday, March 7, 2021 when their two-hour interview with Oprah Winfrey is broadcast. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) 
FILE – In this Tuesday, July 10, 2018 file photo Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry stand on a balcony to watch a flypast of Royal Air Force aircraft pass over Buckingham Palace in London. The timing couldn’t be worse for Harry and Meghan. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will finally get the chance to tell the story behind their departure from royal duties directly to the public on Sunday, March 7, 2021, when their two-hour interview with Oprah Winfrey is broadcast. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
“It’s really liberating to be able to have the right and the privilege in some ways to be able to say yes … to be able to just make a choice on your own and just be able to speak for yourself.”
Winfrey said she had first asked Meghan for an interview in early 2018.
In a previous excerpt, the duchess told Winfrey that Buckingham Palace had been guilty of “perpetuating falsehoods” about her and her spouse.
Earlier this week, the Palace said it would be investigating allegations that Meghan had bullied former members of staff, saying it was very concerned about the claims.
The interview comes as Harry’s 99-year-old grandfather, Prince Philip, is in hospital, where he underwent a successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition on Wednesday.
“There’s absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the situation is toxic,” royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Reuters. “All of this will define their relations with the royal family for the foreseeable future. It’s extremely perilous.”
