Oprah Winfrey hopes Queen’s death will help Prince Harry and Meghan Markle make ‘peace’ with royals

Oprah Winfrey said she hopes that ‘burying the dead’ will help Prince Harry and Meghan Markle finally make ‘peace’ with the royals – one year after the couple’s explosive interview with the host appeared to contribute to the family’s falling out.

Prince Harry, 37, and Meghan, 41, have reunited with Prince William, 40, and his wife, Kate Middleton, 40, in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

The siblings’ relationship appeared to fracture after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they were stepping away from their royal duties and leaving the monarchy behind to relocate to the states in early 2020.

The couple, who are now raising their two kids, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, in a $14 million mansion in Los Angeles, California, later spoke out about their decision on Oprah’s show.

They made a series of bombshell accusations, including that an unnamed royal raised ‘concerns and conversations’ about how dark Archie’s skin would be before he was born, and that Kate once made Meghan cry over a flower girl dress before her wedding to Harry.

Now, the TV personality, 68, has spoken out about where Prince Harry and Prince William stand, and she said that she feels hopeful that the tragic loss of their grandmother could bring them back together.

‘I think in all families – you know, my father passed recently, this summer – and when all families come together for a common ceremony, the ritual of, you know, burying your dead, there’s an opportunity for peacemaking,’ she told Extra recently. ‘And hopefully, there will be that.’

The Queen, who reigned more than 70 years on the British throne, passed away ‘peacefully’ in her sleep at age 96 last Thursday, and her entire family have put on a united front in the wake of her death. 

The two brothers, along with their wives, visited the hoards of grieving fans lined up outside of Windsor Castle on Saturday, which marked the first time the foursome has been seen together side-by-side since March 2020.

During the Oprah interview, which aired in March 2021, Meghan addressed previous rumors that she had brought Kate to tears in the days before she married Prince Harry, explaining, ‘No, the reverse happened.’

While she didn’t share many details about the rift, she said the disagreement pertained to the flower girls’ dresses.

‘I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding, and she was upset about something,’ she told Oprah, adding, ‘It made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.

‘But she owned it, and she apologized, and she brought me flowers and a note apologizing.’

During the interview, Meghan also said she felt like she was ‘silenced’ by the royals, and that she was ‘given a very clear directive from the moment the world knew she and Harry were dating to always say, “No comment.”‘

‘I’ve always been outspoken, especially about women’s rights, and that’s the sad irony of the last four years – I’ve advocated for so long for women to use their voice,’ she continued.

She also said it felt like she wasn’t being ‘protected’ by them, while ‘other members of the family’ were.

‘It was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to understand that not only was I not being protected, but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family,’ she stated. ‘They weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.’

While she was pregnant with her first child, Meghan alleged that some of the royals voiced concerns about how dark Archie’s skin might look, since she is half black.

‘In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, we have in tandem the conversation of, he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,’ she said.

The couple did not specify who raised the worries over Archie’s skin color, but Prince Harry told Oprah privately that it was not the Queen or Prince Phillip.

Meghan also revealed that she had suicidal thoughts after joining the royal family, telling Oprah, ‘I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. That was a clear and real and frightening and constant thought.’

Earlier this year, a royal expert revealed to The Mirror that Kate found it ‘mortifying’ when Meghan spoke about her to Oprah, adding that she will ‘not forget’ how she was treated, but wanted to end their feud. 

Last December, a source also told People magazine that Kate was ‘really, really upset’ about the estrangement between the family.

Harry is ‘banned’ from wearing military uniform at final vigil for The Queen at Westminster Hall but Andrew is allowed to ‘as special mark of respect’

By Jack Wright for MailOnline

King Charles III‘s son Prince Harry has been banned from wearing military uniform if he attends the final vigil for Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Hall – but the monarch’s shamed younger brother Prince Andrew will be allowed to don his Armed Forces outfit ‘as a special mark of respect’ for their late mother, it has been claimed today.

Royal sources have said the disgraced Duke of York – a Falklands War veteran who exiled from public life amid the fallout from his role in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal – will be entitled to wear military colours if he attends the ceremonial event on Wednesday.

However, Meghan Markle’s friend and preferred journalist Omid Scobie claimed that the Duke of Sussex – who has also seen military action by serving two tours of Afghanistan – has been banned from wearing his uniform at all ceremonial events during mourning for Her Majesty. 

‘I understand that, unlike Prince Andrew, Prince Harry will NOT be allowed to wear uniform at the final vigil in Westminster Hall. No doubt a huge blow for the Duke of Sussex, who served for 10 years and this morning spoke of the Queen being his ”commander-in-chief”’, he tweeted this afternoon.

The Queen will lie in state at Westminster Hall from Wednesday at 5pm until 6:30am Monday 19 September, the day of the state funeral. 

A ceremonial procession is due to take place, which will see the Queen’s coffin travel from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster for the lying in state. Her coffin will be closed and will rest on a raised platform, called a catafalque, in the hall and will be draped in the Royal Standard with the Orb and Sceptre placed on top. It will be guarded around the clock by a vigil of units from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, the Household Division, or Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London. 

Buckingham Palace has yet to confirm what time the vigil will take place and which royals will attend the event, though it is believed that it will take place before the late monarch’s lying in state opens to the public that evening.

Working members of the Royal Family will wear uniform when present at five ceremonial events during the period of mourning the Queen.

These are the service of thanksgiving at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, the procession to Westminster Hall and service of prayer and reflection, the Vigil at Westminster Hall, and next Monday’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey and the committal service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.

Andrew gave up his HRH status and was stripped of all his honorary military roles, including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, over his friendship with Epstein and allegations made by one of the paedophile’s ‘sex slaves’ Virginia Roberts that the royal sexually abused her when she was a minor under American law – claims that culminated in a bombshell US lawsuit and a multimillion-pound out of court settlement. The Duke of York has consistently denied the allegations. 

Harry and Meghan were also stripped of their titles after they quit royal duties and left the UK for California. The ensuing Megxit saga, which has seen the Duke and Duchess of Sussex make a series of astonishing allegations against The Firm including claims of racism against Meghan and her unborn son Archie by an unnamed senior royal, has sparked a civil war in the House of Windsor and plunged the monarchy into one of its most severe crises.

The King described Westminster Hall as a ‘great hall’ which holds ‘reminders of medieval predecessors of the office to which I have been called’ during a speech given to MPs and peers in Parliament.

Charles’s address is the latest speech to take place in the hall, a location which has been used to mark momentous moments in British history.

It dates back more than 900 years and has witnessed the trials of Guy Fawkes and King Charles I, and the lying in state of William Gladstone, Sir Winston Churchill, King George VI and his wife, the Queen Mother.

Westminster Hall was built in 1097 under William II (Rufus), the son of William the Conqueror, and was completed two years later.

According to the UK Parliament website, the hall was created to impress William II’s new subjects with his power and the majesty of his authority.

It holds the title of Europe’s largest unsupported medieval roof and, despite a fire which destroyed the original Palace of Westminster and the dropping of a dozen German bombs in 1941, the hall still stands as a proud reminder of British history.

It measures 240ft long, 68ft wide and 92ft high. The roof was originally supported by two rows of pillars but in 1399 Richard II wanted to make the hall more impressive by making it unsupported.

It was a challenge met by carpenter Hugh Herland and architect Henry Yevele by building huge hammer-shaped oak beams and strengthening the walls.

In the 14th century the hall became a centre of London life, housing the law courts and selling a host of legal paraphernalia including wigs, pens and books. 

It was also the scene of the trial of Guy Fawkes and his fellow Gunpowder Plot conspirators in 1606, and King Charles I, who was tried for treason and beheaded in the 17th century.

During its use, Westminster Hall has twice escaped destruction, following the fire of 1834, caused by a stove overheating and which razed the rest of the Palace of Westminster to the ground, and during the Second World War when German bombers dropped a dozen bombs on the neighbouring House of Commons chamber in 1941.

It is reported in Brewer’s Politics that Tory MP Colonel Walter Elliot broke down the hall’s oak door after the bombing with an axe, shouting: ‘Let the pseudo-Gothic go. We must save the Hall!’

The historic roof and the hall were saved although Elliot could simply have opened the side door kept unlocked for emergencies.

Despite the hall being used as the location for several royals and former prime ministers to lie in state, the Queen’s husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, did not follow suit after his death in 2021.

In accordance with his wishes, the duke did not lie in state, however his death also took place during the Covid-19 crisis and at that point such mass gatherings were against the law.

The hall has also been used for celebrations to mark important moments in British history, such as the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, Golden Jubilee in 2002 and Diamond Jubilee in 2012. To mark her Diamond Jubilee, a stained glass window was installed in the hall.

The Duke of Sussex earlier released an emotional statement, promising to ‘honour’ his father as the new King.

Harry’s emotional statement also paid tribute to his grandmother’s ‘everlasting legacy’, saying: ‘You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over.’

He reflected on his ‘first meetings’ with the Queen, including ‘the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren’. And in a poignant final line referencing the late Duke of Edinburgh, he said: ‘We, too, smile knowing that you and grandpa are reunited now, and both together in peace.’

Harry also referenced his father, with whom his relationship is said to have been strained, saying: ‘And as it comes to first meetings, we now honour my father in his new role as King Charles III.’

The duke said: ‘In celebrating the life of my grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen – and in mourning her loss – we are all reminded of the guiding compass she was to so many in her commitment to service and duty.

‘She was globally admired and respected. Her unwavering grace and dignity remained true throughout her life and now her everlasting legacy.

‘Let us echo the words she spoke after the passing of her husband, Prince Philip, words which can bring comfort to all of us now: ‘Life, of course, consists of final partings as well as first meetings.”

He added: ‘Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings-from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren. ‘And as it comes to first meetings, we now honour my father in his new role as King Charles III. Thank you for your commitment to service. Thank you for your sound advice.

‘Thank you for your infectious smile. We, too, smile knowing that you and grandpa are reunited now, and both together in peace.’

Harry’s statement comes two days after the Prince and Princess of Wales put on a united front with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they joined forces on a walkabout at Windsor Castle over the weekend.

William and Harry have a well-documented troubled relationship but the death of their grandmother saw the rivals shelve their differences when, with their wives, they viewed floral tributes left to the late Queen.

It is understood the prince invited his brother to join them in meeting well-wishers outside the castle, and a royal source said William thought it was an ‘important show of unity’. Two years have passed since William, Kate, Harry and Meghan were together side-by-side in public, during the 2020 Commonwealth Day church service on March 9, 2020.

As the couple’s first engagement under their new titles, William and Kate were joined by Harry and Meghan as they inspected flowers and balloons before a walkabout at the castle on Saturday.

A royal source said the Prince of Wales asked his brother and his wife to join them in viewing the tributes.

The source said: ‘The Prince of Wales invited the Duke and Duchess to join him and the Princes of Wales earlier.’

The last time William was joined in public by his brother at Windsor Castle was at the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in April last year.

Both couples left in the same vehicle as the engagement, which lasted more than 40 minutes, came to a close. All four were dressed in black as they walked along the gates of the castle.

The crowd was heard chatting excitedly and taking photographs as William and Kate and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stopped to speak to each person at the front of the barriers.

The royal couples walked along separately from one another, with William and Kate speaking to people on one side of the road and Harry and Meghan speaking to people on the other side of the road.

Royal sources claim Harry ate dinner separately from William and King Charles on the night the Queen died, just days before the feuding princes reunited in an historic show of unity at Windsor Castle.

William and Harry have a well-documented troubled relationship but the death of their grandmother saw the rivals shelve their differences when, with their wives, they viewed floral tributes left to the late Queen.

But one royal insider told the Daily Mail’s Richard Kay that the warring brothers did not see one another at all at Balmoral on the evening of the Queen’s death – making their show of unity outside the castle even more extraordinary.

Instead of joining his father, King Charles and his older brother at Birkhall, Harry remained at Balmoral with the Queen’s other children – Andrew, Prince Edward and Anne, the Princess Royal.

‘Two dinners were being hosted on the royal estate that night and there was a clear divide: One was for the new king and his heir, the other was for the rest of the family,’ the source said. 

On the historic evening the nation was plunged into grief as the Queen passed away, Harry had faced a race against time to be at his grandmother’s bedside before she passed. 

The Duke had been due to speak at the Wellchild Awards in London that evening, but instead bolted north of the border as news of the monarch’s grave health became apparent.

With grief etched on his face, he finally arrived at Balmoral at 7.52pm, more than an hour after the Queen’s death was confirmed in a short, black-edged note from Buckingham Palace.

A royal source told the Telegraph’s Camilla Tominey that Prince William and Kate, the Princess of Wales, felt ‘the focus should solely be on this period of deep mourning and nothing else. The focus should only be on his late grandmother’.

It comes as the King promised ‘faithfully to follow’ the example of his mother in a speech in Westminster Hall as both Houses of Parliament gathered to express their condolence to the new monarch.

In a short response inside the hall after a formal expression of condolence from MPs and peers, the new King quoted Shakespeare as he spoke movingly of tributes and monuments to his mother inside the Palace of Westminster and spoke of feeling the ‘weight of history’ as he stood inside the historic room.

Speaking from a gilded lectern, Charles said: ‘I am deeply grateful for the addresses of condolence.’

He said the addresses ‘touchingly encompass what our late sovereign, my beloved mother the Queen, meant to us all’.

Charles once again reached for Shakespeare, after quoting from the play Hamlet in his address to the nation last week.

‘As Shakespeare says of the earlier Queen Elizabeth, she was ‘a pattern to all princes living’. As I stand before you today, I cannot help but feel the weight of history which surrounds us and which reminds us of the vital parliamentary traditions to which members of both Houses dedicate yourselves with such personal commitment, for the betterment of us all.’

Prime Minister Liz Truss, as well as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, joined MPs and peers on Monday morning under the cavernous timber roof of the ancient building in central London.

A fanfare of trumpets sounded as the King and Queen Consort, both dressed in black, arrived in Westminster Hall. The crowds in the hall stood to attention and only sat once the King had done so, before the Lord Speaker followed by the Speaker of the House of Commons made a formal address to Charles.

The King told the assembled audience that Parliament is the ‘living and breathing instrument of our democracy’ as he referenced the connections to ‘my darling late mother’.

In reply to addresses from both Houses of Parliament, Charles said: ‘Parliament is the living and breathing instrument of our democracy. That your traditions are ancient we see in the construction of this great hall and the reminders of medieval predecessors of the office to which I have been called and the tangible connections to my darling late mother we see all around us.’

Inside Westminster Hall, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle extended the sympathy of MPs to the new monarch, as well as pledging loyalty to the new King.

‘In 1988, we celebrated the 300th anniversary of the revolutions of 1688 to 1689,’ he told the King. ‘It is perhaps very British to celebrate revolutions by presenting an address to Her Majesty; but those revolutions led to our constitutional freedoms, set out the foundation for a stable monarchy, which protects liberty.’

The Lord Speaker also pledged his loyalty to Charles, as he praised the Queen’s ‘inspiring reign of deep and unparalleled devotion’.

Lord McFall read an address, unanimously agreed by peers, conveying ‘the deep sympathy felt by this House in the grief Your Majesty has sustained by the death of our late beloved Queen Your Majesty’s mother of blessed and glorious memory’.

In the address, he said: ‘To extend to all the royal family the deep sympathy of this house in their grief which is shared by all its members. To assure Your Majesty that the example of selfless public service, which our late sovereign displayed over her reign over 70 years, her untiring endeavours for the welfare of her peoples and her fortitude in adversity will ever be held in reverent, affectionate and grateful remembrance.

‘And to express to Your Majesty our loyalty to Your Majesty’s royal person and our firm conviction that under the blessing of divine providence Your Majesty will throughout your reign further the happiness and protect the liberties of all your peoples in all your realms.’

The King also referenced the connections between his historic surroundings and his mother, naming the various monuments to the Queen in the parliamentary estate.

The ceremony ended with both Charles and the Queen Consort standing as the national anthem was played.