‘A golden prison’: Foreign media savage royal family after Meghan and Harry interview

‘The script for the new series of The Crown is already here: written and even performed’

It is the “bombshell” interview that has made headlines around the world.

On Sunday evening, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed all about their unhappiness with the British royal family in an explosive two-hour-long CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey

Harry and Meghan made revelation after revelation about the problems they had faced within the family. Meghan detailed allegations of racism, bullying and described her own mental health issues.

The Duke said he had been “cut off” financially by the palace, and that Prince Charles had stopped taking his calls. In contrast, Meghan explained that the Queen had “always been wonderful” to her.

Reactions to the interview have not been confined to the UK and US. Media across the globe reacted to the CBS special, with many making scathing remarks about how the British royal family have once again been caught up in a scandal.

In France, Le Monde said the British royal family had “suffered a new crisis”.

Another French newspaper, Libération, also focused on the effect that the revealing interview would have on the royal family, claiming the controversy could “overwhelm” the royals.

Libération went on to make a series of scathing remarks about the royal family, calling them a “trap,” a “bottomless well from which it is impossible to escape,” as well as a “golden prison”.

The paper said that within “The Firm” every “initiative or personal view is erased.” The article then went on to describe the tears that the couple shed during the interview and the anger and sense of abandonment that they said they feel on the “other side of the Atlantic”.

Meanwhile, Spanish newspaperEl Pais called the interview “one bomb after another for two hours”. It also underlined how Meghan felt the palace had been “concerned” about the colour that her son’s skin would be. 

The article accused the Queen of not wanting to listen to the couple’s cry for help, saying that “unlike the millions of viewers, it is she who has no interest in listening.” This comes as a host of other papers have reported that the Queen has apparently no intention of watching the interview.

In Australia The Sydney Morning Herald called the interview a “top-rating drama”.

It went on to describe the interview a “performance” and said that it was a “triumph” with Meghan “painting the royal family as cold-hearted racists”. It also called Meghan a “homecoming queen,” the United States’ “most marketable celebrity”, even comparing her to Kim Kardashian.

German newspaperBild gave a more factual, bullet point-style rundown of the interview, also comparing the allegations to bombs. The article described how lonely and suicidal the Duchess of Sussex became as a member of the royal family. It also noted that she was unable to leave the house “often for months”.

Meanwhile in Italy, La Repubblica speculated how much the couple would make for their appearance.

The article finished with a withering remark: “The script for the new series of The Crown is already here: written and even performed.”