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Queen to ignore Harry and Megan interview

Thomas HornallAAP
Harry and Meghan's conversation with Oprah Winfrey will be aired in the US on Sunday night.
Camera IconHarry and Meghan's conversation with Oprah Winfrey will be aired in the US on Sunday night.

The Queen will reportedly ignore the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's much-anticipated Oprah Winfrey interview.

Harry and Meghan's conversation with the talk show host, which has fuelled tensions within the monarchy, will air in the US on Sunday night before being broadcast on Britain's ITV on Monday.

London's Sunday Times says the monarch will not watch and is instead focusing on national issues. Royal courtiers, meanhile, have branded the interview a "circus".

The Sunday Express reports the Queen's mind is "only on duty and Philip".

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In extracts of the Winfrey interview released over past days, Meghan has criticised the constraints she faced as a working royal and said it was "liberating" to be able to "say yes" to a request for an interview.

She accused The Firm - as the royal family is sometimes known - of "perpetuating falsehoods" about her and Harry.

The Sunday Times reported royal advisers are "prepared to retaliate with fresh disclosures about the couple's behaviour if the monarchy is attacked".

Several members of the royal family will appear in their own television special just hours before Harry and Meghan, on BBC One.

The Queen, Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Countess of Wessex - will appear in the pre-recorded show, A Celebration For Commonwealth Day, which is marked on Monday.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will chat in a video call with Dr Zolelwa Sifumba, from South Africa, an advocate for the rights of frontline healthcare workers.

The Prince of Wales will pay tribute to the "extraordinary determination, courage and creativity" of the Commonwealth's people during the COVID crisis in a speech from Westminster Abbey.

It was at Westminster Abbey's Commonwealth Day service in March last year when the Sussexes were last seen with their family, sitting close to the Queen, Charles, Camilla and William and Kate.

A few months before that they had sent shockwaves through the monarchy by announcing they would be stepping down as working royals.

Buckingham Palace could also question the Duchess of Cambridge in its inquiry into bullying allegations made against Meghan, according to the Sunday Mirror, which claims aides will name Kate as a witness.

Meghan is facing accusations she drove out two personal assistants and that staff were "humiliated" on several occasions, with The Sun reporting the probe will focus on the Sussexs' tour of Australia in 2018.

The Duke of Edinburgh, 99, remains at the private King Edward VII's Hospital in London, where he was moved back to on Friday following a successful procedure on a pre-existing heart condition.

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