Oprah Winfrey noted Queen Elizabeth II’s death could be an “opportunity for peacemaking” among the royal family.
Winfrey spoke briefly during a conversation at the Toronto Film Festival about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “bombshell” interview and the possibility that the two could reconcile with Prince William and the rest of the royal family.
“Well, this is what I think, I think in all families – you know, my father passed recently, this summer, and when all families come together for a common ceremony, the ritual of, you know, burying your dead, there’s an opportunity for peacemaking. And hopefully, there will be that,” she told Extra while promoting her upcoming documentary about Sidney Poitier.
PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE MIDDLETON MAKE SURPRISE APPEARANCE WITH PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE
Winfrey was less forthcoming in an interview with Gayle King of “CBS Mornings.”
“I do not get into people’s family matters,” she told King when asked about the opportunity for reconciliation between Prince Harry and Prince William.
“Everybody who has experienced some challenges in their families with in-laws or brothers or sisters knows how difficult some of those situations can be, and I’m sure that you know for the royal family it’s no different,” she continued. “Nobody consults me about their family business, so I try to stay out of people’s family business.”
The talk show host went on to talk about the “surprises” that occurred during her 2021 interview with Prince Harry and Markle. The couple spoke for the first time about their decision to step back from their senior roles in the royal family.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
“I was as surprised about the bombshell interview as everybody else,” Winfrey explained to King. “I was doing an interview to offer them a platform to tell their story about why they left and that was my number one intention was just clarity on why did you leave.”
“And so, some of the things that were revealed in that interview came as a surprise to me and those surprises are now referred to as bombshells, but I didn’t set out to do a bombshell interview,” she continued. “I set out to do an interview, have a conversation, that would allow them to tell their story.”
Prince Harry and Markle spoke to Winfrey about why they chose to leave their roles in the royal family during the interview in 2021.
One revelation included in the interview was that conversations were had about the skin tone of Markle and Prince Harry’s first child Archie. The couple did not name who made the comments, but Prince Harry did note at the time that it was not Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Philip.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex officially stepped back from their royal roles in 2020.
Despite rumors about a continuing royal riff, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle joined Prince William and Kate Middleton to view floral tributes outside Windsor on Saturday. The brothers’ grandmother Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Prince William, who was given the title of Prince of Wales after his father became King Charles III, reportedly extended the invitation to Prince Harry and Markle.
It is unclear if Markle will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral with Prince Harry on Sept. 19.