Duchess’ friend says royal family knew about her mental health – follow live

Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, Kirby said she hadn’t yet watched the bombshell interview between the Sussexes and Oprah Winfrey, but had heard they revealed they had watched The Crown.

“It’s quite mad to think that they have actually seen it,” she said.

“That’s something that you always semi-imagine, but always thought ‘oh, they’re probably too busy to watch it.”

In the wake of Piers Morgan’s shock departure from Good Morning Britain, a video of him claiming he was ‘ghosted’ by Meghan has resurfaced.

Morgan left the ITV morning talk show yesterday evening after facing heavy criticism for his remarks about the Duchess of Sussex’s recent interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Now, a 2018 interview with Morgan has been shared on social media in which he recalls how he met the duchess in 2016 after they followed each other on Twitter in 2015.

“We had two hours in the pub, she had a couple of dirty martinis and pints – we got on brilliantly,” Morgan told The Late Late Show.

“Then I put her in a cab, and it turns out it was the cab that took her to a party where she met Prince Harry.

“The next night they had a solo dinner and that was the last I ever heard from Meghan Markle. I never heard from her again – Meghan Markle ghosted me.”

Former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan has advocated for “the power of free speech” in one of his first interviews since stepping down from the TV role.

Morgan’s departure was announced on Tuesday in the wake of criticisms surrounding his comments about Meghan Markle following the Oprah interview, which included him saying he didn’t believe her admission of having experienced suicidal thoughts.

Now, speaking to Sky News, Morgan has said: “I believe in freedom of speech. I believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. If people want to believe Meghan Markle, that’s entirely their right.

“I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth and I think the damage she has done to the monarchy and the Queen, at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital, is enormous.”

CNN journalist Don Lemon has said that the monarchy is “built on racism”.

Following Harry and Meghan’s sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, he said that he doesn’t believe “anyone who watched it, especially any person of colour, is surprised that the British family – that there is racism there”.

“That is what the monarchy is based on: heredity, hierarchy, a caste system, blood lines,” he added.

“The whole institution is built on a racist structure. So there should not be a ‘Oh my God, the British family is racist’ – of course they’re racist.

“That’s what the entire monarchy is built on – the racism, the family that is supposed to be in it only by birth. And so far by birth, it’s only been white royals on the British throne.”

In the wake of the Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this week, people are increasingly wondering whether countries in the Commonwealth will seek to drop the Queen as their head of state.

The Queen is head of state of 15 countries, apart from the UK, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, among others.

Dr Anna Whitelock, an expert on the history of monarchy and head of the history department at the Royal Holloway University of London, toldThe Independent that the Oprah interview may have “fuelled the fires of those [countries] that think the time has come to reassess their relationship with the monarchy”.

According to Gayle King, the host of CBS’s This Morning , Oprah has not been paying attention to the public’s reaction to her interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in the days since the conversation first aired.

Gayle and Oprah are very close friends, and, speaking about the way the interview has been received around the world, said that the broadcaster had apparently “not [been] paying attention to all of this”.

King made the claim during Tuesday’s episode of This Morning, where she said she called Winfrey on Monday to tell her “You know, this thing is blowing up,” according to the DailyMail.

Meghan’s close friend Janina Gavanker has said that “there were many email and texts to support” her claim that Harry’s family and household staff knew about the state of her mental health.

Speaking on This Morning, Ms Gavanker said: “I don’t know who knew, I know that the family and the staff knew.”

In the bombshell interview with Oprah, Meghan said she experienced suicidal thoughts and alleged that her pleas for help from the palace were ignored due to the optics.

“I did not know who to turn to,” she told Oprah in the interview that aired in the UK on Monday.

“One of the people I reached out to, who has been a friend and a confidante, was one of Diana’s best friends. Who else could understand what it is actually like on the inside.”

Should we abolish the monarchy? The subject has been trending on and off on Twitter ever since the bombshell Oprah interview aired in the US on Sunday.

Now, one writer argues that, regardless of what Harry and Meghan think, their revelations illustrate exactly why it is time to abolish the monarchy, writing that “there is no just world where a royal family exists”.

Writing in The Independent, Nylah Burton argues: “With its centuries-long connections to colonialism and chattel slavery, why do so many people think it’s a redeemable institution?”

Piers Morgan has been widely teased on social media for storming off the set of Good Morning Britain on Tuesday morning following a heated discussion with his colleague, Alex Beresford, about Meghan and Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.

It was then announced later on Tuesday that Morgan had left the show.

Now, two-time European Tour winner and world number 169 Eddie Pepperell was has offered his thoughts on the incident.

“I’d quite like to play with Piers Morgan in the Alfred Dunhill Links this year please,” he tweeted.

“We both like to drink, we’re both pretty active on Twitter. And we both like to walk off when things aren’t going well.”

Pepperell made the reference in relation to when he infamously walked off the gold course at the 2019 Turkish Open and was subsequently disqualified from the tournament.

The claims, as reported in The Times, said Meghan had faced a complaint in October 2018 from Jason Knauf, who at the time was the Sussexes’ communications secretary.

Responding to the allegations, Meghan’s spokesperson described them as the “latest attack on her character” and said she has been the target of bullying herself.

Now, Gavanker, who says she has known the duchess for 17 years, has gone on This Morning to defend Meghan.

“I know why someone had to leave and it was for gross misconduct,” she said of the allegations, after clarifying that she does not believe Meghan to be a bully.

“The truth will come out,” she added

The hashtag “BeKind” is trending on Twitter as people continue to call out Piers Morgan over his comments on Meghan Markle.

On Monday, the TV host, who has now stepped down from Good Morning Britain, said that he did not believe Meghan’s admission that she had experienced suicidal thoughts while in the royal family.

Now, social media users are urging one another to #BeKind, reusing a hashtag that surfaced in the wake of Caroline Flack’s death in February 2020.

“It’s funny this time last year Caroline Flack took her life and all the media said ‘be kind.’ Now it’s Meghan Markle saying she was suicidal it’s attention seeking? The whole be kind didn’t last long did it?” tweeted one person.

Geordie Shore star Holly Hagan shared the tweet, adding: “It’s only #bekind once the person is no longer here to be kind to”.

Since it was announced on Tuesday that Piers Morgan would no longer be working on GMB, there have been numerous reports on the extent of the complaints filed against his show following Oprah on Monday morning.

Now ITV’s Royal Editor, Chris Ship, claims that the duchess herself also sent a complaint to ITV.

He tweeted: “So … the Duchess of Sussex formally filed a complaint to @ITV on Monday. It’s thought to have been sent to the broadcaster’s CEO.

“Meghan raised concerns about how @piersmorgan’s words affect the issue of mental health and what it might do to others contemplating suicide.”

Morgan said on Monday’s show, “I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report”, including her suicidal thoughts.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

Omid Scobie, the royal journalist who co-authored the Finding Freedom book about the couple’s decision to step back from the royal family, has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today show to discuss the Oprah interview.

Scobie said that the interview carefully distinguished “between the institution of the monarchy and the Royal Family” and their “happiness within the institution [and] their feelings of being unprotected and not looked after”.  

He also said at the moment when Meghan revealed the conversation about Archie’s potential skin colour “jaws dropped” across the USA.

He said: “There was a moment across the entire United States where jaws dropped when Meghan went into detail about how a Royal Family member questioned or expressed concern about how dark Archie’s skin may be.”

And on the Queen, Scobie said: “We’d heard a lot of worry over the last few weeks that the couple might disrespect the Queen in this Oprah special, they may hurt her, in fact we discovered or heard more details about just how close they’ve been with her Majesty.”

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said the Oprah interview adds weight to the idea that Australia should cut ties with the British monarchy.

Turnbull told the Australian Broadcasting Corp: “It’s clearly an unhappy family or at least Meghan and Harry are unhappy. It seems very sad.

“After the end of the queen’s reign, that is the time for us to say: Okay, we’ve passed that watershed. Do we really want to have whoever happens to be the head of state of — the king or queen of the U.K., automatically our head of state?”

Turnbull met the duke and duchess of Sussex in April 2018 – during their Pacific tour – four months before he was replaced by current PM Scott Morrison.

The Queen is Australia’s head of state.

Meghan Markle’s friend and tennis player, Serena Williams, has come out in support of the couple following their interview.

Describing Markle as a “selfless friend”, Williams said on Twitter: “She teaches me every day what it truly means to be noble”.

“Her words illustrate the pain and cruelty she’s experienced.”

Rugby player Gareth Thomas also tweeted a picture of him and Harry, and said: “My definition of an amazing human being, is someone who is there for you when you are at your lowest.

“He was, and is still there. My choice is to love the man I know, and the decisions he makes.”

Leigh Anne Pinnock, of Little Mix, said on Instagram: “What people may wish to believe and view as a “privileged life” let this be a lesson to all of us.

“When you become known to the public there is no safety net to protect you from what people can fire out and say about you.

“We witness this all the time, particularly concerning women and more to the core, women of colour.

“Meghan has been dragged from the start and we have all witnessed it.

“I praise her strength and determination for speaking out on her experiences showing the underlying racism lying within the royal establishment.”

Speaking on Wednesday morning – following his departure from Good Morning Britain – Morgan told reporters: “I believe in freedom of speech, I believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. 

“If people want to believe Meghan Markle that is entirely their right.

“I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth and I think the damage that she as done to the British monarchy and the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible

“So if I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview then so be it…”

ITV announced on Tuesday that Morgan would no longer be hosting the breakfast show alongside Susanna Reid.

It said in a statement: “Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain.

“ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add.”

Now that Piers Morgan has left ITV and the palace has issued a response to the Oprah documentary, it’s time to come to terms with the fact that the truth about the royal family is worse than the rumours, writes Harriet Hall.

In the Independent, Hall writes: “The institution’s perpetual fear that they might be dismissed as irrelevant forms a central theme of each series of The Crown.

“And now, Harry has confirmed it was so, speaking boldly about the symbiotic relationship – the “invisible contract” – between the press and the royal family. He begged them to ‘call the dogs off’ and dismiss tabloid lies about Meghan. They chose not to.”

Piers Morgan has said that he stands by his comments about Meghan Markle that led him to quit his presenting role at Good Morning Britain.

On Wednesday, the broadcaster tweeted: “On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview.

“I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t,” Morgan wrote.

“If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions.”

The broadcaster tweeted his comments alongside an image of Sir Winston Churchill that is accompanied by the following quote: “Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.”

Morgan said on the programme that he didn’t believe Meghan when she told Oprah she had experienced suicidal thoughts while in the royal family, prompting widespread criticism from mental health campaigners and charities.

MP Holly Lynch is calling for MPs to take further action against press bullying women in the public eye.

Lynch also coordinated the letter from 72 female MPs to Meghan in 2019 that criticised the negative media coverage of the duchess that they said had “colonial undertones”.

Now, she has told the Guardian that she wants further action to be taken to protect women from being treated this way in the press.

“A lot of media outlets have not heeded those calls for a change, which is why we might start needing to think about a case to government about how we stop hounding women in public life and put them in a position where they feel suicidal,” she said.

Jameela Jamil has spoken out in light of the news that Piers Morgan will leave Good Morning Britain following his comments about Meghan Markle and the Oprah documentary.

Writing on Twitter, the actor said: “I almost killed myself a year ago because of Piers Morgan’s relentless campaign of lies and hatred against me last February. I’m glad I’m still alive today for many reasons.

“But watching him leave GMB today is right up there and has me feeling…” Jamil shared a GIF of herself flipping her hair on the Emmys red carpet.