Prince Harry says split from royal life has been ‘unbelievably tough’
LOS ANGELES — Prince Harry says the process of separating from royal life has been very difficult for him and his wife, the former actress Meghan Markle.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the British prince, who is also known as the duke of Sussex, invoked the memory of his late mother, Princess Diana, who had to find her way on her own after she and Prince Charles divorced.
“I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side, because I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like for her going through this process by herself all those years ago,” Harry said of his mother, adding: “Because it’s been unbelievably tough for the two of us.
“But at least we have each other,” Harry said in a clip from the interview special, which showed a photo of Diana holding Harry as a toddler. She died in 1997 of injuries suffered in a car crash in Paris.
The interview is scheduled to air Sunday on CBS and the following day in Britain.
Harry and Markle sat side by side opposite Winfrey, holding hands during the interview, which was conducted in a lush garden setting. The couple lives in Montecito, where they are neighbors of Winfrey.
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Markle, who recently announced that she is pregnant with the couple’s second child, wore an empire-style black dress with embroidery. Harry wore a light gray suit and white dress shirt, minus a tie.
As an actress, Markle starred in the TV legal drama “Suits.” She married Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson at Windsor Castle in May 2018, and their son, Archie, was born a year later.
The brief promotional clip was one of two that aired Sunday during CBS’ news magazine “60 Minutes.” Winfrey’s questions and comment were predominant in the other clip, including her statement that “you said some pretty shocking things here,” without an indication of what she was referring to. Markle was not heard from in the clips.
The couple stepped away from full-time royal life in March 2020, unhappy over media scrutiny and the strictures of their roles. They cited what they described as the intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media toward the duchess, who is African American.
The duke and duchess shut down rumors of a Netflix docuseries after a report suggested the project would allow the former actress to show “the real her.”
It was agreed that the situation would be reviewed after a year. On Friday, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the couple would not be returning to royal duties and that Harry would give up his honorary military titles — a decision that makes formal, and final, the couple’s split from the royal family.
The pair confirmed that “they will not be returning as working members of the royal family. “
A spokesperson for the couple hit back at suggestions that they were not devoted to duty.
“As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
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