It is “not acceptable” for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to claim sections of the UK press is bigoted, according to the Society of Editors.
The couple discussed their treatment by the media during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in the US on Sunday night.
The breakfast show CBS This Morning has since aired unseen footage from the interview, which went on for more than three hours, in which Winfrey asked if the couple left the UK because of racism.
Harry replied: “It was a large part of it.”
#EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry reveals to @Oprah a “large part of” the reason he and Meghan left the UK was because of racism. #OprahMeghanHarry pic.twitter.com/ksAZWargg1
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 8, 2021
He recalled a conversation he had at a charity fundraiser in which he was told that the UK is “very bigoted”, and he said he replied: “The UK is not bigoted, the UK press is bigoted, specifically the tabloids.”
He added: “But unfortunately if the source of information is inherently corrupt or racist or biased then that filters out to the rest of society.”
The Society of Editors has blasted the claim, saying: “The UK media is not bigoted and will not be swayed from its vital role holding the rich and powerful to account following the attack on the press by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Executive director Ian Murray added: “It is not acceptable for the Duke and Duchess to make such claims without providing any supporting evidence.
“If it is simply the case the Sussexes feel that the press by questioning their actions and commenting on their roles when working as royals funded by the taxpayer were being racist then they are mistaken.
“In the case of Meghan Markle and her engagement and marriage to Prince Harry there was universal supporting coverage in the UK media which reflected the warmth shown to the couple by the British people.
Refuse to report
“But that warmth could not and should not mean the press should be expected to refuse to report, investigate and comment on the couple’s lifestyle and actions.
“It is a pity the couple did not mention in their interview the huge support the UK media has shown to the charitable works carried out by the Duke and Duchess.
“The UK press also played a large role in ensuring the prince’s service in Afghanistan went ahead, agreeing to an embargo on reporting his deployment to enable him to carry out his Army role in the Middle East.
“The UK media has a proud record of calling out racism and also being at the forefront of campaigns to support mental health awareness, another of the issues raised by the couple.”
Mr Murray said it is “unreasonable” for the couple to “conflate the legitimate coverage provided by the edited and regulated UK media with the wild west of social media.”
He added: “It is strange indeed, that the couple have attacked the UK media previously for alleged intrusion into their private lives yet have opened up on several occasions to media in the US, the latest event being yesterday’s interview with Oprah Winfrey which will play to a world-wide audience.
“The UK media has never shied away from holding a spotlight up to those in positions of power, celebrity or influence. If sometimes the questions asked are awkward and embarrassing, then so be it, but the press is most certainly not racist.”
Tabloid
The Society of Editors previously criticised the couple after they severed all dealings with Britain’s tabloid press.
The SoE has expressed regret over the announcement by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that they will boycott several UK newspapers. https://t.co/gxiYIkCp9M pic.twitter.com/O4O59t2SBk
— Society of Editors UK (@EditorsUK) April 20, 2020
In a strongly-worded letter to the editors of the Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail and Daily Express, Harry and Meghan said their new policy was “not about avoiding criticism” and that the media have every right to have an opinion on the couple, “good or bad”.
But the document went on to say: “What they won’t do is offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion.”
Their stance was criticised by the Society of Editors, which said the couple’s “actions here amount to censorship”.
Blowing up his family
The Duke of Sussex has been accused of “blowing up his family” by a senior member of Boris Johnson’s Government.
Lord Goldsmith made the comments following Harry and Meghan’s candid interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The Foreign Office minister said the revelations were aimed squarely at “Harry’s family”.
In the interview Meghan said that when she was pregnant with Archie, an unnamed member of the royal family raised “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born”.
The couple also suggested the royal family were jealous of Meghan and the duchess revealed she contemplated killing herself while pregnant.
ITV News’s royal editor Chris Shop said the pair “dropped bomb after heavy bomb on Buckingham Palace” in the interview.
But Lord Goldsmith responded “not ‘Buckingham Palace’ – Harry’s family” and appeared to blame the duchess for the situation.
“Harry is blowing up his family,” the peer said. “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”
His comments were in marked contrast with the Prime Minister, who was uncharacteristically reticent at a Downing Street press conference when asked about the royal crisis.
He said: “I have always had the highest admiration for the Queen and the unifying role that she plays in our country and across the Commonwealth.”
But on “all other matters to do with the royal family, I have spent a long time now not commenting on royal family matters and I don’t intend to depart from that today”.
Pressed on whether he believed the royal family was racist, he again refused to comment.
“I really think that when it comes to matters to do with the royal family, the right thing for prime ministers to say is nothing – and nothing is the thing that I propose to say today about that particular matter.”
Related: Royally tongue-tied? PM refuses to discuss if Royal Family is racist