Oprah Winfrey comes to Prince Harry, Meghan's defense: 'I support them 1,000%'
Prince Harry has the full support of one of his high-profile friends, Oprah Winfrey, in his and his wife Duchess Meghan's decision to no longer be working members of Britain's royal family.
"I support them 1,000%," Winfrey told self-described "street journalist" Adam Glyn in New York City this week.
Winfrey, who attended Harry and Meghan's 2018 wedding, said the decision has been a long-time coming, citing Queen Elizabeth's statement that said Harry and Meghan's new roles were announced “following many months of conversations and more recent discussions."
"Everyone take note when the queen says this has been going on for months, that these discussions have been going on for months," Winfrey said. "When you’ve thought about it for months and what Harry said in that charity statement … the last line of his statement where he said that he had to make a decision to back away from his family in order to move forward in peace with this new family, I don’t know how they came up with those words but who doesn’t feel that?"
"Who doesn’t feel what that takes to make that decision?," Winfrey said. "To give up everything you’ve known in your whole life to say I’m going to choose this new life for what I believe to be the truest vision for myself. Who are any of us to stand in judgment of that?"
Winfrey was referring to a speech Harry gave Sunday night -- just over 24 hours after the queen's statement -- at a benefit for his charity Sentebale.
"What I want to make clear is we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you," Harry said in his speech. "Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible."
"I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am," he said. "But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life."
Beginning this spring -- Harry and Meghan, who are currently in Canada with their 8-month-old son Archie -- will no longer use their HRH titles, will not receive public funds for royal duties, will no longer represent Her Majesty on overseas tours and will spend "the majority of their time" in North America, according to Buckingham Palace.
When asked whether Harry's decision to leave his royal life behind was inspiring, Winfrey replied, "I won’t even say inspiring. I’m saying he did what he needed to do for his family. That’s all I will say about that and I don’t think anybody else has any right to say anything."
"When a person has sat and thought about what is the best decision I’m going to make for my family and then he makes that decision, none of us have any right to say anything about that. That’s his decision for his family," she said.
Winfrey also spoke up for Meghan last year when she and Harry decided to skip royal tradition and keep the details of Archie's birth private.
"Oh my God! I'm so proud of her decisions," Winfrey told Entertainment Tonight. "To be able to stand up and say, 'This is what I really want for my baby and my family and now I'm going to do it a different way when it's been done that way for a thousand years,' I'm just so proud of her."
Winfrey's new comments about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's future come as she and Harry are teaming up on a multi-part documentary series on mental health for Apple TV.
When Kensington Palace announced the partnership last April, Harry said he was "incredibly proud" to be working with Winfrey on the series. He also confirmed the pair had been developing the project together for "several months."
Apple announced its multi-year partnership with Winfrey to produce original programming last June.
A release date for the documentary has not yet been confirmed.
Royal watchers have cited the partnership with Apple and Winfrey as an example of the potential future commercial projects Harry and Meghan could take on as they fulfill their pledge to become "financially independent."
Buckingham Palace has said that Harry and Meghan will "continue to uphold" Queen Elizabeth's values in their future endeavors.
"While they can no longer formally represent The Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty," the palace said in its statement.
Editor's note: Adam Glyn was incorrectly identified in a previous version of this report.
