Joanna Lumley is ‘so sorry’ to the royals ‘we all love so much’ after ‘one-sided’ Harry and Meghan interview

Joanna Lumley has said she did not watch the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s ‘one-sided’ TV interview because she knew the royal family would not respond to allegations they made.

The actress, 74, told Jeremy Vine on his Channel 5 show she felt ‘terribly sorry’ about the whole situation.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey which aired on Sunday night in the US, Harry and Meghan made a series of bombshell claims about the rift between them and other members of the royal family.

Meghan claimed that she was denied help from palace officials when she approached them about experiencing suicidal thoughts, while she also revealed that a member of the family raised concerns about how dark their son Archie’s skin tone might be.

Lumley said: ‘It did seem to me a bit one-sided, because everybody knows that the royal family can’t really answer back. So I was anxious not to watch it actually.

‘I didn’t want to watch the programme and didn’t watch the interview programme, but you can’t avoid it because everybody’s talking about it.’

The Absolutely Fabulous actress added: ‘I feel terribly sorry about the whole thing.

‘I’m so sorry for that family who we all love so much.’

Lumley said the interview has ‘spread a bit of unease and unhappiness just when we should be spreading unity and positivism and lots of love’.

She said: ‘First the country, now the world is on fire thinking that this racism has gone on.

‘I don’t really want to talk about it because I know that so many people have got so many opinions and we are all working on half truths and ideas and feelings and I don’t think that’s really the way to have quite a serious debate about this serious subject.’

Lumley previously said on The Last Leg that the interview was ‘stirring up hatred’ and that she hates ‘squabbling in public’.

Following the interview, Buckingham Palace released a statement reading: ‘The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

‘The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.

‘Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.’

Prince William has since said he intends to speak to his brother, and added that the royals are ‘very much not a racist family’.

While Lumley didn’t want to watch the interview, many other celebrities have praised Harry and Meghan, including Beyonce, who commended Meghan’s ‘courage’. 

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