Oprah Weighs In On Whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Should Attend the Coronation
She has known the couple as far back as their 2018 wedding.
Almost two years ago to the day—March 7, 2021—Oprah Winfrey permanently entered the royal family conversation, specifically when it comes to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. That day, of course, was the airing of the famous/infamous (you decide) television special Oprah with Meghan and Harry, and she has been closely associated with the couple since. (In all fairness, she knew the Sussexes long before March 2021—she was even in attendance at their wedding in May 2018.)
Now, the conversation continues, with Oprah’s BFF Gayle King asking the media mogul on CBS Mornings this week her thoughts on whether Harry and Meghan should attend King Charles’ upcoming Coronation on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London.
“It’s been reported that Harry and Meghan have received an invitation to the Coronation,” said King—who herself was in attendance at Meghan’s baby shower in 2019, per People. “Do you think they should go? Do you think they should not go? Is it something you’d like to comment on?”
Oprah’s response? “I think they should do what they feel is best for them and for their family,” she said. “That’s what I think. That’s what the bottom line—it comes down to: What do you feel like is the best thing for you?”
She then added with a smile: “They haven’t asked me my opinion.”
Before Netflix’s Harry & Meghan, before Spare, before Spotify’s “Archetypes,” and before interviews with The Cut, Variety, Anderson Cooper, Stephen Colbert, et cetera, there was Oprah. The 85-minute CBS special was Harry and Meghan’s first joint interview since stepping back as working members of the royal family in January 2020; at the time of the step back, Oprah told TMZ that she supported their decision, telling the outlet “I support them 1,000 percent. You know why I support them? I support them because I believe, when you have thought about this as long as they have—and even in the Queen’s statement [she] says, ‘This has been going on for months,’ these discussions have been going on for months—and when Harry said in that charity statement the other day [that] he had to make the decision to move forward in peace with his new family, who doesn’t feel what that takes to make that decision to give up everything you’ve known your whole life to say I’m going to choose this new life or what I believe to be the truest vision for myself?”
Ultimately, the jury’s still out on what Harry and Meghan will do about their Coronation attendance, as the RSVP due date looms.
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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.