Meghan and Harry interview: Prince Charles laughs and jokes at first public engagements since Oprah revelations
Harry told Oprah Winfrey he felt "really let down" by his father and that the Prince of Wales stopped taking his calls.
Tuesday 9 March 2021 17:43, UK
Prince Charles has carried out his first public duties since the explosive claims from Harry and Meghan aired in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The Prince of Wales was first pictured at Jesus House church in north London where he saw an NHS vaccine pop-up clinic in action and later he visited nearby Skipton House to learn about the work being done by the NHS England and Ministry of Defence to enable the vaccine rollout.
He appeared in good spirits as he thanked people involved in the effort.
At the first, he was seen making people waiting for the jab laugh as he asked questions about how they were feeling and told them that he had already received his vaccine.
"I may be a little bit older [than you]," he answered one person.
A Sky News reporter, also at the church, asked the royal what he thought about the interview but he did not reply and was ushered out of the building.
At the second visit nothing was asked of him or his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall about the revelations and the only comment the prince was heard to make to a healthcare worker was: "You make us very proud - thank you."
Pressure is mounting on Buckingham Palace to respond to accusations of racism in the royal family following the explosive interview.
The couple claimed comments were made about the colour of the Sussexes' son Archie's skin before he was born.
Winfrey told US channel CBS, which aired the interview on Sunday, the couple were not prepared to publicly reveal who made the comments but said they were not made by the Queen or Prince Philip.
Crisis talks are likely to have been held since the couple's sit-down with Winfrey.
Private secretaries will have met and the matters will almost certainly have been discussed with the Queen and the Prince of Wales.
More than 11 million viewers watched the interview on ITV - and one of those viewers was Boris Johnson.
The prime minister's spokesman said: "He did [watch the interview] but you have the PM's words from the press conference last night and I won't be adding any further to what he said."
Mr Johnson had said on Monday that he had always had the "highest admiration" for the Queen but he would not comment on other Royal Family matters.
The spokesman also declined to comment on the White House's response to the interview, whether it may affect the UK's reputation around the world, or whether the nation has a duty of care to the monarchy.
What else did Harry say about his father?
During the interview which was shown in the UK on Monday night, Harry revealed he felt "really let down" by how his father handled his decision with his wife to leave the country and quit royal duties.
He admitted that the pair have been estranged but that he hopes to "heal" the relationship.
Harry said while in Canada, where they decided to quit their royal duties, he had "three conversations with my grandmother and two conversations with my father, before he stopped taking my calls".
He said Charles asked for him to put his plan "in writing", adding: "I put all the specifics in there, even the fact that we were planning on putting the announcement out on the 7th of January."
Asked why his father had stopped taking his calls, Harry said: "Because I took matters... by that point I'd took matters into my own hands.
"It was, like, I needed to do this for my family. This is not a surprise to anybody. It's really sad that it's got to this point."
When Oprah asked if Charles was now taking his calls, Harry said "yes" - suggesting they are now on speaking terms.
The Duke of Sussex also said he believed his father and brother are "trapped" in royal life and will never be able to escape.
Opinion split by age and politics
UK opinion on the royal rift is split along lines of age and politics, a survey has found.
Members of the public were asked by YouGov who they sympathised with more following the revelations in the Oprah interview.
On the whole 36% of people said they sympathised more with the Queen and the Royal Family, while 22% said their sympathies were more with Harry and Meghan.
However, when the respondents are broken down into ages it shows 48% of 18 to 24-year-olds sympathised more with the Sussexes, while only 9% of over-65s sided with the couple.
The survey found 55% of over-65s sided with the Royal Family compared to 15% of 18 to 24-year-olds.
The results also found how opinion was split depending on political allegiances.
While 64% of Conservative voters said they sympathised with the Queen, just 8% sympathised with Harry and Meghan.
In comparison, 15% of Labour voters sympathised with the Royal Family compared to 38% who sympathised with Harry and Meghan.