Meghan, Harry and the Media: How a Hostile Relationship Produced an Oprah Moment

Dysfunctional families make for great television. That’s why the media love stories about divorces, sex scandals and warring political parties.

The Meghan and Harry show on CBS was destined to be a hit, just as Harry’s mother attracted huge audiences in the Diana era—and such soap operas have been a global phenomenon since King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry his twice-divorced American girlfriend. The Megxit melodrama has the added element of race, since she told Oprah Winfrey—who’s a very shrewd interviewer, for all the hugs and empathy—that Buckingham Palace was concerned her baby’s skin would be too dark.