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While Gayle King may not have scored an exclusive interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for her CBS special airing Friday night, reports that her friendship with them has given her U.S. network unique, behind-the-scenes access to the couple could complicate their already rocky relationship with the British media.
According to the Daily Beast, the U.K. media has grown increasingly anxious about being “sidelined” by the Duchess and Duke of Sussex in favor of major U.S. networks such as CBS, raising questions about whether media resentment will fuel further negative coverage about the couple.
The U.K. media already has accused the couple of misleading them on the timing and circumstances surrounding the May 6 birth of their son, Archie Harrison, Daily Beast writer Tom Sykes added. The press was specifically put off by the royal family announcing early that morning that Meghan was in labor when it was eventually learned she had given birth eight hours earlier.
Further anxiety among the media arose this week when reports circulated online, alleging that King had enjoyed a cozy visit with Meghan and Harry at their home at Windsor Castle, shortly before Meghan gave birth, the Daily Beast said. Speculation simmered over whether King’s tête-à-tête with the couple at Frogmore Cottage was part of her special, “Meghan and Harry Plus One,” though Page Six also reported that the visit wasn’t filmed.
The Daily Beast subsequently reported that King’s visit with Meghan and Harry never took place, but CBS has probably seen their star anchor’s connection to the couple as useful in promoting their special.
The network put out a statement this week promising that “Meghan and Harry Plus One” would provide new insight into “how the couple has adapted to their new lives together and how they have navigated the positive and negative aspects that come with being royal.”
Notably, the special features interviews with close friends of Meghan, who have never before spoken on the record, as King notes in a clip from the special. In talking to King about how the U.S.-born former TV actress is adjusting to life in the royal family, the friends have pointedly denied reports, which started in U.K. tabloids, that she is “difficult,” according to a clip released by CBS.
A crying Daniel Martin, Meghan’s longtime friend and makeup artist, told King, “I think because I know her so well and I know she doesn’t deserve all this negative press.”
Martin also insisted there is “no truth” to headlines that have portrayed his friend as “Duchess Difficult.”
These tabloid stories described the former Hollywood star as pushing to wear a certain tiara for her wedding and causing sister-in-law Kate Middleton to break down in tears during a bridesmaid’s dress fitting for Princess Charlotte. Other stories have claimed that Harry had a falling out with Prince William because the older brother — and future king — didn’t immediately embrace Harry’s idea of marrying a woman he only had dated for about a year and whose middle-class California background probably didn’t prepare her for life as a royal.
Both the British and American media also have devoted headlines to criticism of Meghan’s lavish baby shower in New York City in March. King was among the celebrity guests at the intimate party, which was hosted in a $75,000 hotel suite by Serena Williams and Amal Clooney. Royal experts said the shower was “over the top” and in “poor taste.”
King’s special, of course, appears to offer a much different view of Meghan and Harry, which is why the duchess likely allowed her friend King to speak on camera with her other good friends.
Fans of Meghan and Harry will probably say that King’s special offers the fair and balanced coverage the couple have long deserved. Fans, as well as media critics, also have accused the British tabloids of being racist and sexist in some of their stories about Meghan, who is biracial.
Actress Janina Gavankar, another of Meghan’s friends who spoke to CBS, talked about how “awesome” it is that the royal family is bringing a child of color into the world.
“There’s still a lot of us who didn’t even grow up with dolls that look like us,” Gavankar said. King nodded in agreement.
Gavankar and Martin also talked effusively about what a great mother Meghan will be, with Martin adding that the duchess will probably make her own baby food.
“She’s gonna be such a good mother,” Gavankar said. ‘I think she will be very low maintenance. I think that she will be very hands-on.”
If the British media feels sidelined by Meghan and Harry giving King access to their friends, it also may be that some royal courtiers will resent King’s special allowing Meghan and Harry to further assert their popularity.
Lainey Gossip wrote last month about “junior minds” among palace staff, playing their “courtier games,” and leaking negative stories about Meghan to quash her popularity — which has threatened to overshadow that of William and Kate. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the “courtier games” continue after King’s special.
But for Meghan and Harry, King’s special still provides a global platform for them to present themselves in a way they no doubt want to be seen.
In promoting the special, CBS called Meghan and Harry are “a very modern couple” and said they have “inspired hope about the modernization of the monarchy and sparked new conversations about race, feminism, and press coverage.”
