The interview given to CBS by Harry And Megan last August 4, the Duchess’s birthday, did not go as planned. An apparent success, with questions that the couple would never have expected and that, perhaps, they would have preferred not to answer, to avoid reopening hostilities with the royal family. Experts are also convinced that they have noticed tensions in the couple, in particular a certain intolerance on Meghan’s part.
The accusations against CBS
“…I haven’t really scratched the surface…but I think I would never want anyone else to feel that way, I would never want anyone else to have those kinds of intentions, and I would never want anyone else to not be believed…If me telling the story of what I’ve been through saves someone…it will have been worth it…”Meghan said during the interview with Jane Pauley, on the CBS Sunday Morning program aired on August 4, 2024. The Duchess spoke about the consequences of the bullying she would have suffered on social media, experiences already recounted in the ITV documentary Harry and Meghan. An African Journey (2019), in the interview with Oprah (March 2021) and in the panel “Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives. How Women Lead On and Off the Screen”, in Texas (March 2024). Many thought that Meghan had agreed to bring up those memories to launch a new dig at the royal familybut above all to present and make even more credible the project “The Parents Network”, prepared with Harry and the Archewell Foundation with the aim of supporting families of children who have suffered trauma through social media. Things would not be exactly like that.
Much more than “annoyed”
Royal expert Angela Levin revealed on the podcast “Dan Wootton Outspoken” that Meghan would have reacted with “nuisance” to Jane Pauley’s questions about “suicidal thoughts” had in the past. In fact during the interview the Duchess he specified that “he didn’t expect it” of having to return to the subject. However, according to the royal commentator, there would be much more than a simple disagreement: “After the interview was over (Meghan) would shout at the producers, very, very irritated by what she had been asked. You don’t want to do that to Meghan, because she wants to be in control (of the situation).”
Already during the meeting “it was clear that he couldn’t contain his anger, his fury.” It wasn’t just Pauley’s questions that allegedly caused her to get so angry, but also Harry’s attitude, as Angela Levin explained: “…He couldn’t stand Harry talking. He looked at him with such stern eyes and a terrible expression on his face, because he didn’t want him (the duke) to talk, I think.”
Body language analysis
Harry and Meghan’s body language, however, would tell a rather different story. Speaking to Mirror Expert Judi James has identified three signs that would show the Duchess’s true feelings: “When Meghan shares her story of suicidal thoughts, she makes the ritual gesture of touching her hair and smiles ironically, without joy, suggesting courage, (but still) polite.”
Touching your hair would express a certain nervousness, perhaps due to the unexpected questions. James then explained the second signal: “(Meghan’s) hand rests on Harry’s leg, as if seeking support, although he sits relatively still with his head tilted, looking at (the Duchess’s) face with what appears to be some concern.” Finally, the expert said, the prince “She looks at her fingers, rubbing them together in what looks like anxiety, as Meghan describes what she has ‘overcome’ after no one would believe her.”
Frictions in the couple
“At the moment (Harry) (feels lost…he’s unhappy…I think he’s in a very, very bad place”Levin ruled, certain that there are some differences between him and Meghan tensions. In truth, rumors have been circulating for some time about alleged friction between the couple, perhaps also a consequence of Harry’s confusion in the face of a new life overseas, very different from that of the court.
The latest experts in chronological order to address this issue, claiming that the prince would be dissatisfied with his experience in California, were Hugo Vickers and Tom Quinn, last July. The first, during the program The Sun Royal Exclusivehas even hypothesized a return of Harry to London, alone, “within ten years”, emphasizing: “I think (the duke) is quite angry… I think… he’s terrified of losing (Meghan) and, to be honest, he seems vaguely terrified of her. It’s a bit tricky to express…” The second commented to the Mirror: “During his first six months in the States Harry found everything new and stimulating, but the glamour had definitely faded…”.
The “bored” prince
The body language during the CBS interview would suggest a complicity between the Sussex which, however, royal experts continue to deny. Tom Quinn also reiterated to the Mirror: “Harry is increasingly bored and is looking back across the Atlantic to where most of his comrades in arms and his school friends live, whom he never sees, as they won’t visit him in the States, because they find Meghan difficult.” Actually both dukes “they find it difficult to get through the days and weeks, having not much to do.” But above all, Quinn stressed, the Duchess “it needs someone who is seriously determined to assert himself in the world. This has led to enormous tensions.”
“Harry deserved more”
These alleged frictions between Harry and Meghan would not only be the result of two different ways of conceiving success. Perhaps the Duchess expected something different from her marriage to the prince. In the book Catherine. The Princess of Walespublished by Rizzoli last August 1st, Robert Jobson explained: “It is said that one evening, when they still lived across the street from each other, at Nottingham Cottage, Meghan and Harry went for a drink with William and Catherine and Meghan was ‘astonished’ by the disparity between the two brothers. ‘I’m not saying Meghan was jealous, but she was surprised by how much more luxurious Harry’s brother lived than they did,’ a close source said. ‘Perhaps that was the start of all the tension between the two couples.’ Meghan was aware that William, as heir to the throne, was superior to her husband in the royal hierarchy, but she felt that Harry was still a royal prince and deserved more materially. She resented the disparity.”It is not excluded that this very gap be one of the causes of possible misunderstandings between the Sussexes.
Away from William and Kate
Reading and listening to the experts’ opinion about the tensions between the Sussexes, which are clearly visible in the video of the interview on CBS, the thought goes to the hypothesis that Meghan has never really accepted to stay one step behind the Princes of Wales and, above all, that this situation of inequality has arisen again, paradoxically, even now that the Duchess lives in California with Harry. It would be enough to think about the fact that the projects and interventions of William And Kate have a global resonance for their philanthropic nature, while the Sussexes’ initiatives, despite having almost the same media attention, are often accompanied by controversy. Indeed, sometimes they are considered only for the trail of criticism they bring with them. A condition that the dukes themselves would have created with their resignations from their official roles in January 2020, the publication of the book “Spare” and the bomb interviews. Perhaps Meghan hoped to gain greater credibility and popularity outside the court, away from William and Kate. This would be the biggest flaw of Megxit: continuing to think about what the heirs to the throne do or do not do.
“A disaster”
The impression is that Harry and Meghan are still in competition, albeit indirectly, with William and Kate. This, however, would penalize them, would not help them find their voice, their dimension. Indeed, it could exacerbate any conflicts between the couple, which came out during the interview on CBS. An occasion that, among other things, would have been handled incorrectly. According to Angela Levin, Meghan would not have willingly recalled the episodes of bullying she claims to have been a victim of. However, if the Sussexes are presenting a project to support the victims of this serious social problem, they can’t help but expect questions about their personal experience. They could have agreed to the interview, but it wouldn’t have been intellectually honest.
In his podcast Dan Wootton summed up the issue like this: “It certainly wasn’t a happy 43rd birthday for the Duchess of Sussex, was it? For their first interview since Oprah Winfrey…again on CBS with another American broadcaster and it was still a disaster.”