Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special

>> Oprah: NEARLY TWO BILLION PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE WATCHED

THEIR WEDDING.

FROM THE OUTSIDE, IT LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A FAIRY TALE

AND APPEARED TO SIGNAL A NEW DAY FOR THE MODERN BRITISH MONARCHY.

>> THIS COUPLE REPRESENTS EVERYTHING PEOPLE CAN CELEBRATE.

>> IT'S A WONDERFUL FAIRY TALE, IT'S...

>> Oprah: THEY BECAME ONE OF THE MOST TALKED ABOUT COUPLES IN THE

MEDIA.

THEN, IN JANUARY 2020...

>> THERE'S BEEN AN ALMOST SHOCKINGLY QUICK TURNAROUND.

>> Oprah: ...HARRY AND MEGHAN STUNNED THE WORLD WHEN THEY

DECIDED TO STEP BACK AS SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY.

>> MEGHAN SEEMS TO HAVE MOVED FROM THE NATION'S HEROINE TO THE

NATION'S VILLAIN.

>> Oprah: TONIGHT, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THEY TELL THEIR STORY.

I'M SITTING DOWN WITH MEGHAN.

I THINK WHAT WE REALLY HAVE GOT TO CLEAR UP HERE IS THAT YOU,

MEGHAN, ARE THE ONE WHO MANIPULATED, CALCULATED THIS

"MEGXIT."

AND LATER, HARRY JOINS US.

WHAT WAS THE TIPPING POINT?

DID YOU BLINDSIDE THE QUEEN?

>> HI, GIRLS.

>> Oprah: I ALSO VISIT THEM AT HOME, WHERE THEY'RE BEGINNING

THEIR NEW LIFE IN AMERICA.

WHOA!

>> Meghan: I KNOW!

>> Oprah: YOU REALLY ARE HAVING A BABY!

>> Meghan: WE'RE HAVING A BABY!

>> Oprah: THAT'S MORE THAN A BUMP.

>> Meghan: I KNOW.

>> Oprah: WOW.

>> Meghan: YEAH, I KNOW!

HI.

>> Oprah: HUGS, HUGS.

VIRTUAL HUG.

>> Meghan: I KNOW.

>> Oprah: YEAH, DISTANCE HUG.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE-- WE CAN'T HUG BECAUSE WE'RE PRACTICING--

>> Meghan: ALL THE THINGS.

>> Oprah: DOING ALL THE THINGS.

WE'VE BEEN SO STRICT.

EVERYBODY AROUND HERE LITERALLY IS DOUBLE-MASKED AND HAS FACE

SHIELDS.

BUT YOU LOOK LOVELY.

>> Meghan: THANK YOU.

SO DO YOU.

>> Oprah: PREGNANT AND LOVELY.

>> Meghan: THANK YOU, YES.

>> Oprah: DO YOU KNOW IF YOU'RE HAVING A BOY OR GIRL?

>> Meghan: WE DO, THIS TIME.

I WILL WAIT FOR MY HUSBAND TO JOIN US, AND WE CAN SHARE THAT

WITH YOU.

>> Oprah: OKAY.

THAT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT.

I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR.

SO, BEFORE WE GET INTO IT.

>> Meghan: ( LAUGHS ) YEAH.

>> Oprah: I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR TO EVERYBODY THAT EVEN

THOUGH WE'RE NEIGHBORS DOWN THE-- I'M DOWN THE ROAD, YOU'RE

UP THE ROAD...

>> Meghan: YEAH.

THIS ISN'T MY HOUSE.

THIS ISN'T YOUR HOUSE.

>> Oprah: THIS ISN'T MY HOUSE.

WE'RE USING A FRIEND'S HOUSE BECAUSE THEY HAD A VERY NICE

PERGOLA.

>> Meghan: BEAUTIFUL.

>> Oprah: THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN AGREEMENT.

YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO ASK.

>> Meghan: NO.

>> Oprah: AND THERE IS NO SUBJECT THAT'S OFF LIMITS.

>> Meghan: YEAH.

>> Oprah: AND YOU ARE NOT GETTING PAID FOR THIS INTERVIEW.

>> Meghan: ALL OF THAT'S CORRECT.

>> Oprah: ALL OF THAT IS CORRECT.

>> Meghan: YEAH.

>> Oprah: SO, YOU READY?

>> Meghan: I AM.

I THOUGHT THAT WAS IT.

I THOUGHT WE WERE DONE NOW...

>> Oprah: ( LAUGHS ) >> Meghan: ...WHEN YOU ASKED

ABOUT BABY, AND WE'RE GOOD TO GO.

>> Oprah: OKAY.

BUT I REMEMBER SITTING IN THE CHAPEL AND-- THANKS FOR INVITING

ME, BY THE WAY.

>> Meghan: YOU'RE WELCOME.

>> Oprah: SO, I WAS THERE ON THAT WEDDING DAY, AND I SO

RECALL THIS SENSE OF MAGIC.

I MEAN, I-- I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE IT.

AND WHEN YOU CAME THROUGH THAT DOOR, IT SEEMED LIKE YOU WERE,

LIKE, FLOATING DOWN THE AISLE.

WERE YOU EVEN INSIDE YOUR BODY AT THAT TIME?

>> Meghan: I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS A LOT, BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE

HAVING AN OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCE THAT I WAS VERY PRESENT FOR.

AND THAT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN DESCRIBE IT BECAUSE THE NIGHT

BEFORE, I SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT ENTIRELY-- WHICH, IN AND

OF ITSELF, IS A BIT OF A MIRACLE-- AND THEN WOKE UP AND

STARTED LISTENING TO THAT SONG, "GOING TO THE CHAPEL..."

>> Oprah: AH.

>> Meghan: ...AND JUST TRIED TO MAKE IT FUN AND LIGHT AND REMIND

OURSELVES THAT THIS WAS OUR DAY.

BUT I THINK WE WERE BOTH REALLY AWARE, EVEN IN ADVANCE OF THAT,

THIS-- THIS WASN'T OUR DAY.

THIS WAS THE DAY THAT WAS PLANNED FOR THE WORLD.

>> Oprah: EVERYBODY WHO GETS MARRIED KNOWS THAT YOU ARE

REALLY MARRYING THE FAMILY, TOO.

>> Meghan: MM.

>> Oprah: BUT YOU WEREN'T JUST MARRYING A FAMILY.

YOU WERE MARRYING A 1,200-YEAR-OLD INSTITUTION.

YOU WERE MARRYING THE MONARCHY.

WHAT DID YOU THINK IT WAS GOING TO BE LIKE?

>> Meghan: I WILL SAY, I WENT INTO IT NAIVELY...

>> Oprah: MM-HMM.

>> Meghan: ...BECAUSE I DIDN'T GROW UP KNOWING MUCH ABOUT THE

ROYAL FAMILY.

IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WAS PART OF CONVERSATION AT HOME.

IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WE FOLLOWED.

MY MOM EVEN SAID TO ME A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, SHE SAID, "DID-- DID

DIANA EVER DO AN INTERVIEW?" NOW, NOW, I CAN SAY, "YES, A

VERY FAMOUS ONE."

BUT MY MOM DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THAT, RIGHT?

>> Oprah: BUT YOU WERE CERTAINLY AWARE OF THE ROYALS.

>> Meghan: YEAH, OF COURSE.

>> Oprah: AND IF YOU'RE GOING TO MARRY A ROYAL, THEN YOU WOULD DO

RESEARCH ABOUT WHAT THAT WOULD MEAN.

>> Meghan: WELL, I DIDN'T DO ANY RESEARCH ABOUT WHAT THAT WOULD

MEAN.

>> Oprah: YOU DIDN'T DO ANY RESEARCH.

>> Meghan: NO.

I'VE NEVER LOOKED UP MY HUSBAND ONLINE.

I JUST DIDN'T FEEL A NEED TO BECAUSE EVERYTHING THAT I NEEDED

TO KNOW HE WAS SHARING WITH ME, RIGHT?

OR EVERYTHING WE THOUGHT I NEEDED TO KNOW HE WAS TELLING

ME.

>> Oprah: SO, YOU DIDN'T HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOURSELF OR

TALKING TO YOUR FRIENDS OR THINKING ABOUT WHAT IT'S LIKE,

WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO MARRY A PRINCE, WHO IS HARRY-- WHO YOU

HAD FALLEN IN LOVE WITH-- AND WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO BE A PART

OF THAT FAMILY?

YOU DIDN'T GIVE IT A LOT OF THOUGHT?

>> Meghan: NO.

WE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT WE THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE.

>> Oprah: YEAH.

WHICH IS?

THAT'S WHAT-- THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET.

>> Meghan: YEAH, I DIDN'T FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE JOB WAS,

RIGHT?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A WORKING ROYAL?

WHAT DO YOU DO?

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

I KNEW THAT HE AND I WERE VERY ALIGNED ON ALL OF OUR

CAUSE-DRIVEN WORK.

THAT WAS PART OF OUR INITIAL CONNECTION AND WHAT WE TALKED

ABOUT IN OUR-- THE BEGINNING OF OUR COURTSHIP.

BUT I THINK THERE WAS NO WAY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DAY-TO-DAY

WAS GOING TO BE LIKE.

>> Oprah: YEAH.

>> Meghan: AND IT'S SO DIFFERENT, BECAUSE I DIDN'T

ROMANTICIZE ANY ELEMENT OF IT.

BUT I THINK AS AMERICANS, ESPECIALLY, WHAT DO YOU KNOW

ABOUT THE ROYALS?

IT'S WHAT YOU READ IN FAIRY TALES.

>> Oprah: RIGHT.

>> Meghan: YOU THINK IT'S WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE ROYALS,

RIGHT?

>> Oprah: RIGHT.

>> Meghan: SO, IT'S EASY TO HAVE AN IMAGE OF IT THAT IS SO FAR

FROM-- FROM REALITY.

AND THAT'S WHAT WAS REALLY TRICKY OVER THOSE PAST FEW

YEARS, IS WHEN THE PERCEPTION AND THE REALITY ARE TWO VERY

DIFFERENT THINGS, AND YOU'RE BEING JUDGED ON THE PERCEPTION

BUT YOU'RE LIVING THE REALITY OF IT.

>> Oprah: MM-HMM.

>> Meghan: THERE'S A COMPLETE MISALIGNMENT, AND THERE'S NO WAY

TO EXPLAIN THAT TO PEOPLE.

>> Oprah: WELL, YOU KNOW, IN EVERY FAMILY, I THINK THINGS GET

SERIOUS WHEN YOU ARE BROUGHT IN TO MEET THE MOTHER OR THE

GRANDMOTHER.

>> Meghan: MM-HMM.

>> Oprah: AND IN EVERYBODY'S FAMILY WHO'S WATCHING RIGHT

NOW...

>> Meghan: YES.

>> Oprah: ...THE GRANDMOTHER IS THE MATRIARCH AND KNOWN IN MANY

FAMILIES AS "THE QUEEN."

>> Meghan: YEAH.

AND SHE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE I MET.

>> Oprah: IN YOUR SITUATION, IT'S THE QUEEN.

>> Meghan: THE REAL QUEEN, YEAH.

>> Oprah: THE REAL QUEEN THAT YOU'RE-- YOU'RE MEETING.

AND WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

WERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT MAKING THE RIGHT IMPRESSION?

>> Meghan: THERE WASN'T ACTUALLY A HUGE FORMALITY THE FIRST TIME

I MET HER MAJESTY, THE QUEEN.

I-- WE WERE GOING TO LUNCH AT ROYAL LODGE, WHICH IS WHERE SOME

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY LIVE.

SPECIFICALLY, ANDREW AND FERGIE AND EUGENIE AND BEATRICE WOULD

SPEND A LOT OF TIME THERE.

AND EUGENIE AND I HAD KNOWN EACH OTHER BEFORE I HAD KNOWN HARRY,

SO THAT WAS COMFORTABLE, AND WE WERE FRIENDS WITH THEM AS A