Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, have made light of Harry and Meghan’s bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, implying they were unaware of it.
“Oprah who?” Edward joked when asked whether they watched the controversial sit-down chat with the US chat show host, while Sophie responded: “Yes, what interview?”
The couple made the comments to The Telegraph Magazine, their first interview since Prince Philip‘s funeral in April.
Speaking seriously, the Countess of Wessex said the royals are “still a family no matter what happens, we always will be” despite the tensions that have arisen.
And she said it was “nice” that she had a “lengthy chat” with Harry after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, which was the first time he had been in the UK since stepping down as a senior working royal.
His grandfather’s death came just weeks after his and Meghan‘s explosive interview with Winfrey, in which they accused the royal family of racism and the institution of failing to support the duchess when she was suicidal.
In the two-hour chat, Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A Primetime Special, the couple made a series of bombshell claims – including Harry saying Prince Charles had at one point stopped taking his calls, and alleging he had been “trapped” in the royal system “like the rest of my family”.
The Wessexes did not comment further on the interview.
Speaking about Prince Philip’s funeral service, Sophie told the magazine it was “done beautifully” and with “minimum fuss – it’s what he would have wanted”.
The couple said the Queen had been “keeping busy” since her husband’s death, with Edward saying: “The job is not something you can walk away from, it just carries on relentlessly.”
They also said they were “flattered” to be taking on a more prominent role since Harry and Meghan’s move to California and pledged to continue Philip’s work through the Duke of Edinburgh award.
Speaking about their role in the monarchy, Sophie said: “We’ve plodded along doing what we’re doing, hopefully doing it well. And then all of a sudden there’s a bit of a hiatus and things have changed a bit.
“Naturally, the media are looking for people to fill the so-called void.”
She added: “If people want to pay more attention to what we’re doing, then great.”