The Stakes for Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s Oprah Interview, Explained

When the world sits down to watch Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey this weekend, many will view it as a compelling Sunday evening diversion. The anticipation of the couple revealing all over two hours is, perhaps, a bit like waiting for the finale of a drama that has had you gripped all week.

There can be no doubt that the viewing figures will be astronomical, and the magnitude of the revelations may very well be as great—but the stakes are the highest of all. It could well determine who will win this battle for public opinion, now being waged between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and ‘The Firm.’

I almost laughed today, thinking back to reporting two years ago on the Cambridges (Prince William and Kate Middleton) and the Sussexes splitting their households, and how it was happening as a natural progression, because the couples were on “different paths.” It was what was being briefed at the time, and of course was not untrue. But what was not said then, and has become very clear since, is that there was significant turmoil and misery behind the scenes.

In contrast, we are now in possession of—by modern-day standards, at least—an extraordinary amount of information about what has gone on behind closed doors. Meghan and Harry have already been vocal in short interviews; there have been court documents full of details; and now usually tight-lipped aides have even come forward to tell their story anonymously to the Times. The…