Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey lasted two hours and included bombshell revelations, but many more were left on the cutting room floor.
Winfrey revealed in a chat with CBS on Monday that there were more than 200 minutes of footage in total, sharing some of the previously unseen conversations.
On 'blindsiding' the Queen
In one section that was cut from the final interview, Prince Harry reveals he tried to visit his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in January 2020, upon his return from Canada, to discuss him and Meghan stepping down as senior members of the royal family.
He said that the couple sent the contents of a statement they released on January 8, 2020, to the palace in December, and had initially been invited to Sandringham to discuss it with the queen, who even suggested they stayed for dinner.
"The moment we landed in the UK, I got a message from my private secretary at the time ... cutting and pasting a message from the Queen's private secretary, basically saying 'please pass on to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that he cannot come to Norfolk. The Queen is busy, she's busy all week ... do not come up here’," he says.
When you are head of the firm, there are people around you that give you advice. And what has also made me really sad is that some of that advice has been really bad.
“So I rang her from Frogmore [Cottage, his then home] that night and said ‘I was thinking about coming anyway but I hear you are now busy’ ... I didn’t want to push because I kind of knew what was going on.”
“But doesn’t the queen get to do what the queen wants to do?” Winfrey asks.
After a long pause, Harry replies: “No, when you are head of the firm, there are people around you that give you advice. And what has also made me really sad is that some of that advice has been really bad.”
Winfrey said on Monday she felt it was important to share the story, as the couple were widely accused of “blindsiding the queen” with their shock announcement.
On the royal family's support
In more unused footage, Winfrey asks if anyone from the royal family had reached out to the couple to say they were sorry that they felt they had to make the move. Harry replies: “Sadly not.”
“The feeling is that this was our decision and therefore the consequences are on us,” he says.
He also says he is aware that circumstances were different for him and his older brother, Prince William, who is second in line to the British throne. “I’m very aware of this,” he says. “That my brother can’t leave that system. But I have.”
Winfrey also asks whether Prince Charles believes the British press created a toxic environment around the royal family.
“He has made his peace with it,” Harry replies.
“Why couldn’t you make your peace with it? I’ll ask you both that,” says Winfrey.
“Because this was different,” Markle replies.
When asked if she meant because of race, she says: “And social media. That didn’t exist [before]. It was like the wild, wild West, it spread like wildfire. Plus, my being American. It translated in a different way across the pond.”
On Meghan's family's 'betrayal'
In more cut footage, Meghan discusses her relationship with her father and the tell-all book her half-sister, Samantha Markle, wrote about her.
She said she felt her father, Thomas Markle, had not been honest with her about talking to the tabloids before her wedding in 2018 after she asked him if he had been working with journalists. The Duchess said reporters had moved into the house next door and across the street from him after tracking him down.
"He said, 'no, absolutely not'," she told Winfrey.
She also made it clear that she is not close with her half-sister, saying: “This is a very different situation than my dad, right?
"When you talk about betrayal, betrayal comes from someone that you have a relationship with. I don’t feel comfortable talking about people that I really don’t know.
“I grew up as an only child. The last time I saw her must have been at least 18, 19 years ago. And before that, 10 years before that.”
She says that Samantha “changed her last name back to Markle … only when I started dating Harry. So I think that says enough”.
The interview, broadcast on CBS on Sunday evening, was viewed by more than 17 million households in the US.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Teaching in coronavirus times
Company%20Profile
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
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Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
