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Five thorny issues in Meghan and Harry's Oprah interview that could make for uncomfortable viewing

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will 'speak their truth' in the interview on US television on Sunday night  - Joe Pugliese/ Harpo Productions
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will 'speak their truth' in the interview on US television on Sunday night - Joe Pugliese/ Harpo Productions

The Royal family will assume the brace position as it awaits a stream of damaging revelations by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their Oprah Winfrey interview.

The slickly produced, dramatic teasers quashed any lingering hopes that the couple might stick to more mundane and diplomatic subject matters. Instead, they will tell “their truth”, lifting the lid on life behind palace walls in a manner no member of the family has done for decades.

The couple intend the interview to draw a line under their grievances and mark the end of that chapter of their lives, allowing them to finally look to the future. But in reality, the issues that they raise, the allegations they make, are expected to be explosive, with potentially serious and long-term implications for the monarchy.

Harry and Meghan
Harry and Meghan

These are the issues likely to form the main themes of the interview:

Racism

This is the theme that could cause the most damage to the Royal family and the one causing the most nervousness.

From the moment the Duchess arrived on the royal scene, the couple have claimed that press coverage has contained undercurrents of racism.

Commentators have lined up to blame criticism of all sorts of things on Meghan’s dual heritage.

The Duchess will almost certainly talk about race in Britain but more damaging would be claims that the royal institution itself was racist, treating the Duchess in a way different to others simply because of the colour of her skin.

The Duke has previously warned that institutional racism is “endemic”, and “has no place in our societies”.

Diana, Princess of Wales

The couple have likened their own treatment by the press to that of the Princess, comparing their own predicament to the public scrutiny she endured.

It has already been revealed that the Duke, in particular, will discuss his oft-repeated fear of “history repeating itself.”

He will say: “I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here, talking to you with my wife by my side because I can’t begin to imagine what it must’ve been like for her going through this process by herself all those years ago.”

It is not known how the Duke of Cambridge feels about his brother discussing their mother in this way. The Duchess is wearing a diamond tennis bracelet once owned by the Princess - a poignant choice given the subject matter.

Family rifts

No one can now deny the significant rifts that have developed over the course of the last two years between the Sussexes and almost all of their closest relatives.

While the couple are unlikely to name names in the interview, they are expected to allude to tensions with the Royal family and claims that the Duchess was not adequately welcomed or supported.

They also believe that palace aides have been leaking numerous stories about them to the press and blame them for the recent allegations of bullying. Ms Winfrey asks Meghan: “Were you silent or were you silenced?”

Mental health

The Duchess will describe her ordeal at the heart of royal life as "almost unsurvivable".

She is expected to go into detail about the impact that both the British press and the confines of the institution had on her mental health and specifically, her feeling that she felt she could not defend herself.

Meghan’s former Suits co-star, Patrick J Adams, claimed on Friday that she "forced to flee the UK in order (to) protect her family and her own mental health".

Meanwhile, the Duke told James Corden last month: "We all know what the British press can be like.. and it was destroying my mental health. I was, like, this is toxic."

The press

The Sussexes have waged war on the tabloid press since they became a couple, proving themselves unafraid to take legal action.

The Duchess will claim that the monarchy failed to defend her from relentless press intrusion and “inaccurate” coverage.

They have long complained that they have been treated unfairly by the press and believe their privacy has been repeatedly invaded.

Read More: What next for Prince Harry and Meghan after the Oprah interview?