The Queen’s response to grandson Harry and Meghan’s interview was ‘careful and constructive’

The Queen’s response to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview was undertaken ‘carefully and constructively’, former press secretary claims. Buckingham Palace today released a statement on the couple's interview with Ophrah Winfrey, which aired last night in the UK and Sunday night in the US. 

• The Queen will reportedly have been briefed on her grandson Prince Harry and Meghan’s “tell-all” Oprah interview before it happened. 
• The monarch’s former press secretary has suggested that Her Majesty would be ‘careful’ to take the time to consider any potential response.
• In other royal news, Meghan Markle's Oprah interview couldn't have taken place on any other day - this is why it had to happen now.

Nearly 24 hours after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Oprah interview aired in the UK, the Royal Family has released a statement commenting on the couple's revelations.

In a statement released by Buckingham Palace this evening, the palace said, '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. Whilst 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.'

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently announced they are expecting baby number two just days before it was confirmed that they would be taking part in the “tell-all” interview with Oprah. The royal couple has now permanently stepped down as working royals and their lives under the royal spotlight were the subject of this sensational TV special.

It was recently suggested that the Queen had not been given an advanced copy of Meghan and Harry’s interview prior to it airing in the US last night. The full interview includes Meghan’s admission that she struggled with her mental health in the first few years after her marriage and a shocking revelation about Archie that made Oprah gasp.

According to The Sun, Katie Nicholl - the royal editor of Vanity Fair - has suggested that royal aides had stayed up through the night to watch the couple’s astonishing interview and that the Queen would be briefed over breakfast the morning after the interview aired in the US. 

Prior to it airing in the US, it was also previously suggested that the Queen wouldn’t be watching the two-hour-long interview. Now Her Majesty's former press secretary Charles Anson has expressed his belief why the 94-year-old monarch did not rush to respond to anything Prince Harry and Meghan shared with Oprah.

He reportedly claimed on BBC Radio 4, “I think they'll want to take it carefully and constructively.

“The Queen's own view on Prince Harry and Meghan was that she was disappointed they wished to step back from public duties but was very much wanting to take account of their wish to lead a more private life, so they went to California very much with the family's best wishes."

This was certainly the sentiment recently expressed in the official Buckingham Palace announcement regarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to permanently step back as working royals.

The announcement ended with the heartfelt declaration, ‘While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much-loved members of the family.’

The couple settled in their new Californian home with son Archie after stepping back as senior royals last year. They are now preparing to welcome a new arrival, with some claiming that their baby could arrive in late spring or early summer 2021. Harry and Meghan even revealed their second child's gender during their Oprah interview.