CBS/Daily Mirror/Daily Mail
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said racism from UK tabloids was part of why they moved to LA.
- The tabloid front pages following their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview reinforce their point.
- This should be a watershed moment for the media, like how the paparazzi changed after Diana's death.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey was not short of bombshells.
It was one of the most viewed broadcasts on both sides of the Atlantic in recent years, drawing in 17.1 million in the US and 12.3 million viewers in the UK, and dividing people around the world.
Whether viewers side with Harry and Meghan or the British royal family, there's one group that undeniably comes off badly in the interview: the British press, and specifically the tabloids.
The media's racist treatment of Markle has been well documented, specifically how she has been lambasted for the same things which garnered Kate Middleton praise.
Harry told Winfrey he was warned that the UK media would "destroy" his life, and he himself believed "the UK press is bigoted, specifically the tabloids."
Another claim from the interview was that the royal family was working with the tabloids, with Harry saying that they would wine and dine journalists and invite them to a "holiday party" to ensure favorable coverage.
"There's what's termed or referred to as the 'invisible contract' behind closed doors between the institution and the tabloids, the UK tabloids," Harry said. "To simplify it, it's a case of if you as a family member are willing to wine, dine, and give full access to these reporters, then you will get better press."
Harry also said it "hurts" that no member of the royal family had ever condemned the tabloid's treatment of his wife.
The reaction to the interview proved Markle and Harry's points
The morning after the dramatic interview aired in the UK on Monday night, the tabloid front pages seemed to confirm exactly what Markle and Harry said.
The Daily Mirror called the Oprah interview "the worst royal crisis in 85 years," apparently forgetting that Prince Andrew is facing sexual abuse charges.
-BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 8, 2021
"What have they done?" asks the Daily Mail front page. "Toxic accusations. Incendiary racism claims against their family. Palace left reeling and Queen, 94, in emergency talks," it said.
-BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 8, 2021
And in an article on the Mail Online, Markle was referred to as a "suicidal race-victim."
"So sad it has come to this," reads the front page of the Daily Express.
-BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 8, 2021
But by reporting on the interview in this way and sympathizing with the royal family, the tabloids prove Harry and Markle's points. Rather than apologizing for contributing to a woman being on the brink of ending her life, they continue to attack the couple.
Buckingham Palace has also been accused of having double standards surrounding Andrew and Markle, as Insider's royals reporter Mikhaila Friel reported. The palace said it was investigating claims that Markle bullied royal staff, but no such investigation has taken place into the allegations surrounding the Duke of York.
A US lawyer for some of the women who say they were victims of Jeffrey Epstein has said that the royal family is using Markle's bullying allegations as a way to distract from and protect Andrew.
"Allegations about him are far worse than the allegations about Meghan Markle. Prince Andrew was a working royal when he became a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, who was a sexual predator," said Gloria Allred, as Insider's Bill Bostock reported.
Royal commentators are also shocked by the treatment of Markle and Harry
US-based royal commentator Kristen Meinzer told Insider it was "incredibly shocking" and "dismaying" to see how different the media coverage of Markle and Harry is in the UK compared to the US.
"I think the vitriol is quite shocking to most of us in the US," she said. "I'm not saying that we do things perfectly in terms of mental health here, but I think the general consensus is that if someone tells you they wanted to kill themselves, that we should believe them."
Royal commentator and expert Richard Fitzwilliams believes Markle's "ceaseless attacking" by the media has taken on another dimension than that of the late Princess Diana due to social media and trolls.
"Any public figure faces and will always face intense scrutiny from the national press," Fitzwilliams told Insider. "When it comes to the tabloids, the pressure can feel relentless."
In other words, it doesn't matter if you're wealthy or famous - it's inevitable that this pressure would affect your mental health.
Fitzwilliams went on to point out that while there's a symbiotic relationship between the tabloids and their subjects, things are getting better. After Diana died, for example, stricter press regulations were introduced and there was a significant change in the behavior of, and attitude towards, the paparazzi.
Tim Rooke, who has been an official royal photographer for over 25 years, told TIME in 2017: "I went to take photographs outside Buckingham Palace the day after she died and got abuse from members of the public who didn't realize I was an official photographer. It was quite a shock."
Harry and Markle's Oprah interview could - and should - provide a watershed moment for the media. But if the front pages today are anything to go by, nothing's changed yet.
Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.