Oprah Reacts To Meghan And Harry’s Royal Family Split

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are receiving some major backlash in the British press for their decision to relinquish their official duties with the royal family, but in the United States they have two very powerful allies.

Friends Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King have launched a defense campaign of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, claiming they have the right to do whatever they want as a married couple and parents to an infant. Oprah herself is continuing that defense and spoke to TMZ about it on Tuesday (January 21).

The celebrity news outlet caught up with Winfrey in New York last night. She says she supports the couple’s decision to split ”1,000 percent” and believes Prince Harry “did what he needed to do for his family.”

RELATED: Prince Harry Breaks His Silence On Leaving The Royal Family

“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 for him and his family, and then he makes that decision… none of us have any right to say anything about that,” said Oprah. “These discussions have been going on for months, so when you’ve thought about it for months…”

She also went on to praise Prince Harry’s speech on Sunday night at Sentebale charity dinner during which he expressed sorrow over having to put his royal family in any sort of difficult predicament. 

“When he gave the charity statement for Sentebale, the last line of his statement where he said, he had to make the decision to back away from his family in order to move forward in peace with his new family…” Oprah said. “I don’t know how they came up with those words, but who doesn’t feel that?”

She then praised Prince Harry his choice, saying: “Who doesn’t feel what it takes to make those decisions, to give up everything you’ve known your whole life, to say ‘I am going to choose this new life and what I believe to be the truest vision to myself?.’” 

“Who are any of us to stand in judgment of that?” Oprah continued. “That’s what I think.”

King, who was standing near Oprah during her quick interview with TMZ, added: “They didn’t make that decisions in a vacuum. There were a lot of conversations, and that’s why I thought it was very unfair to say that the Queen was blindsided.”

Oprah has notably been linked to Meghan and Harry and attended their May 2018 royal wedding. She has denied acting as an adviser for the couple.

Watch the full interview here.