Queen’s statement was ‘genius’ says Katie Nicholl

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made several shocking claims in their interview with the US TV legend, which drew millions of viewers in the UK and across the Atlantic. Buckingham Palace issued a statement the day after it aired in the UK instead of giving a knee-jerk reaction as soon as it aired in the US. This meant the Queen was able to give everyone time to watch it and for the initial reaction to subside slightly, while also giving the Palace time to come up with the perfect phrasing.

The statement read: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

“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.

“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

Pod Save the Queen is hosted by Ann Gripper and features Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers.

Mr Myers said the Queen waiting a couple of days was a “wise move” because it meant that Britons had had a chance to watch the interview, and she could take her time to prepare the perfect statement.

He added that Her Majesty “didn’t want to pour petrol on the fire”, and waited for the initial impact of the interview to cool somewhat.

The Queen was reportedly shown a statement that had been prepared and ready to go up straight away, but refused to sign off on it.

Mr Myers argued that “experience paid dividends”, a subtle reference to previous royal dramas, possibly related to Princess Diana and her infamous interview with BBC Panorama.

Mr Myers said: “I think if you look at the Queen’s statement and that’s why they took two days to actually respond to it, and I think that was the wise choice.

“Certainly experience paid dividends in this instance because the Queen didn’t want to pour petrol on the fire.

“I understand that there was a statement that had been prepared and that she wasn’t prepared to sign off on it and I think that was a wise choice.”

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The interview first aired in the evening of Sunday 7 on CBS in the US, which was at 1am Monday morning in the UK.

However, for those watching in the UK, it was not on until the evening of Monday 8 on ITV.

The Queen’s statement was released on Tuesday 9.

Mr Myers said: “I had said initially when we were having our meetings on Monday ‒ well we’re going to get a reaction, and my call was I think they will wait until the British public have seen it.

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“Because what is the point in putting out a statement ‒ I mean it was on from 1am to 3am, people were only seeing the commentary around it, and it’s easy to get caught up in the whole media storm of it.

“But another 12 million people saw it in Britain, many more people will have seen it on clips or read the commentary or watched it on catch-up and they were right to take their foot off the gas a little bit and try and calm everyone’s tensions.

“And I think the statement does do that, I mean it’s only 60-odd words long, and perhaps in its briefness that’s the genius of it.

“However, I still don’t think it settles the matter.”

In contrast, Ms Gripper argued that the interview itself very much did “pour petrol on the fire”.

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Oprah With Meghan and Harry was on ITV at 9pm on Monday March 8. You can watch the full interview on the ITV Hub.

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