On the day that England begins the long walk out of lockdown, the first tiptoe steps back towards normality are pushed from the front pages by one story and one story alone. The interview given by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Oprah Winfrey is everywhere and that’s before it even airs in the UK.
In fact, only the i newspaper and the Financial Times don’t feature either an image of Harry and Meghan or some reference to the story on their front pages. Elsewhere, it’s wall to wall royalty and not the kind of coverage the Windsors usually aspire to.
The details of the interview were still coming through as the first editions of the UK papers went to the presses but there is plenty to keep them hot. Many editions take The Queen’s message to the Commonwealth as a starting point although her words are often carried alongside images of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex speaking to Oprah.
”Queen highlights duty as Meghan speaks out” says the Times with an image of the Monarch delivering her Commonwealth Day message. The Telegraph opts for ”Queen stresses importance of family, despite divisions” alongside a still of the Sussexes with Oprah. A close up of the same photo is on the front of The Guardian which takes ”Royal Catch: broadcasters bank on Harry and Meghan ratings boost” as its first angle on the story.
Things get more personal in the tabloids. The Daily Express has a photo of The Queen on Commonwealth Day with the headline ”Queen: Duty and family unite us” but its sub heading reads ”that’s public service for you, Harry and Meghan…not a self serving TV chat with Oprah”. The Daily Mail takes a similar line, using a photo of Meghan in her TV appearance alongside one of the Queen and the headline ”As royals face fallout from Harry and Meghan’s bombshell interview….Queen tells Commonwealth what real service is.”
The Mirror opts for another family angle, saying ”Charles & William’s immense sadness….royals anguish over Harry and Meghan chat after attempts to heal the rift”.
The Sun has more details of the interview itself, with a close up image of The Duchess of Sussex and the headline ”Megs: I felt suicidal”, a reference to the revelation made by Meghan in the chat that she had thought about suicide during her time in the Royal Family.
However, the Daily Star takes a different approach. ”Fights…camera, action” says a headline over a photo of Harry and Meghan. ”A publicity shy couple appear to be auditioning for Notting Hill 2 in a TV chat with Oprah” the paper continues, blanking out the faces of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
