The event was expected.
On Sunday evening, the American channel CBS broadcast a very long interview given to host Oprah Winfrey by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan.
The opportunity, in particular, to review the reasons for their departure from the British royal family.
This speech was widely followed in Great Britain and the United States, but not only.
In France too, the main information to take away from the interview made the headlines.
The subject attracts as long as the interview will even be broadcast in
prime time
on TMC this Monday.
Philip Turle, British journalist and columnist for France 24, explains where this fascination comes from.
Why are the British royal family thrilling crowds all over the world, even where the monarchy has long since disappeared
?
There are several reasons.
The first is the longevity of Queen Elizabeth II.
It is the longest reign in the history of Great Britain.
Next year, she will celebrate her 70 years on the throne, she will be 95 in April… There aren't many people who remember the days before the queen.
And then, she's a traveling history book!
All heads of state dream of being received by Elizabeth II, because she has known everyone: John F. Kennedy, General de Gaulle and René Coty, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela… She has a tremendous political experience .
So he's someone who is passionate about his longevity, his experience.
The other reason is that Britain was the biggest empire in the world.
The Queen is still the Head of State of several countries around the world.
She is therefore much more famous around the world than if she were just the Queen of England.
That's why when you think of a royal family in the world, it's automatic, the Briton who comes first, and not the Grimaldis, nor the Belgian or Danish royal families ...
What is most passionate about the British royal family,
happy events
or scandals
?
There is nothing better for the royal family than a wedding.
It fascinates the planet, it is broadcast in front of billions of viewers around the world.
It’s a great way to sell Britain, it’s the perfect postcard, it’s Prince Charming and Princess’s dream.
It is also a great promotion for tourism in Great Britain.
So it's positive for the royal family and for the country.
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VIDEO.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle charge the royal family
Conversely, can scandals tarnish the image of the family or make it less attractive
?
Scandals have two effects.
On the one hand, we realize that the royal family is like the others, it is not above the problems that any family can encounter: divorces, arguments, people who do not get along. more ... But we also realize that somewhere the royal family is unwavering.
Even if it has to overcome problems - and there have been several in recent years: the death of Diana, the fire in Windsor, the departure of Harry and Meghan ... - the royal family is bouncing back, finding solutions.
These are not necessarily ideal solutions, but they allow the monarchy to get by.
And that's almost entirely thanks to the Queen herself.
So it is to her that we owe the secret of longevity and success
?
Elizabeth II was 10 years old when her uncle Edward VIII abdicated in 1936. She remembers that time very well, as her father did not want to become king.
And she, too, was not destined to be queen.
She remembers her sister, who wanted to marry a divorced man and couldn't.
She lived all the difficulties of couple between Diana and Charles.
And she understood one thing is that, even if it has to modernize, what always wins over everything else, over family problems, is the perpetuation of the monarchy.
This is what is most important and the queen puts that in front of all the other problems.
We see him with Harry and Meghan.
It has modernized, because it let them go, but on condition that they do not keep the privileges that were granted to them as members of the royal family.
She loves them, she tells them
you are still family.
But, for whatever you want to do, there are conditions.
And the condition is that the monarchy has the preference and that it
survives
.
What did Americans think of Meghan Markle's arrival in the British royal family
?
For Americans, that one of their compatriots can join the British royal family, it is a success, it is like entering a fairy tale.
Has The Crown series had an impact on the perception of the British Royal Family
?
The Crown may have changed the view people had of the royal family.
It was quite revealing for a lot of people.
But I think that it was taken at face value by part of the spectators, who knew nothing about the crown.
For example, after the last season [which features the failure of the marriage between Diana and Prince Charles and the latter's relationship with Camilla, Editor's note], the Duchess of Cornwall's Twitter account
was interrupted because of the many insults she received.
You can watch The Crown to get a basic idea of what the Royal Family is like, but you have to take that with a grain of salt.
It's still a TV series, not a documentary.
