Princess Diana’s former private secretary and chief of staff is drawing parallels to the past in regard toPrince HarryandMeghan Markle’s upcoming interview withOprah Winfrey.
Speaking withCNNahead of the highly-anticipated CBS sit-down,Patrick Jephsonsaid hesees similaritiesbetween the couple and Harry’s late mother.“Thirty years ago we were in acomparable situationwhere rifts were opening up within the royal family and it was starting to escalate,” he said, referring to Diana’s estrangement from the royal family after her split fromPrince Charles. “There were a lot of unhappy people involved then, I’m quite sure there are a lot of unhappy people involved now.”
“First and foremost, we should understand thatthis is a family rift,” Jephson added. “It has taken on a lot of the trapping of a big media PR story, but at the heart of this are real people really hurting and I hope that somewhere in the midst of the current back and forth somebody is putting down the seeds for eventual reconciliation, which has to come.”
Pointing to other parallels in royal history, Jephson noted that tell-all interviews don’t always have their intended effect.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Oprah Winfrey.Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions
As for healing any rifts within the family, Jephson said responsibility lies “with senior palace management” — which includes Harry’s father.
Jephson, Diana’s onetime most senior aide, said Charles has “examples from his own history of how these things can be made worse, and how they can be made better.”
“I hope that it will be intervention from all well-intentioned people to help Harry and Meghan settle in their new lives and help heal the wounds that arose through the way they departed,” Jephson added.
The Timesarticle was published just five days before Meghan and Harry’ssit-down interview. On Wednesday, the palace announced they willlaunch a probe into the allegations.
Get the premiere issue of PEOPLERoyalsfor glamorous new photos and inside stories royals fans haven’t seen or read elsewhere! Subscribe atpeopleroyals.com/launch
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.Chris Jackson/Getty
Asked whether the palace ever played “hardball,” Jephson replied, “I suppose if you start to employ PR experts they will do what their job is.”
“This is the way in which, combined with social media, what is essentially a family squabble turns into something potentially much more damaging,” he continued. “It is a matter of judgement how both sides use the media.”
“I hope some sort of investigation to establish how many factors went into creating this problem in the first place so that it can be avoided in future,” he added.
Can’t get enough ofPEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates onKate Middleton,Meghan Markleand more!
There “are far more important things we are focusing on,” a source added, referring toPrince Philip’s illness and his ongoing carefollowing a heart procedure, the calls that the Queen has been making about vaccinations and the ongoing business of state.
Apart from confirming that they didn’t know about the Oprah interview before the news was broken, the palace hasn’t commented on what is in the interview.
The CBS interview is expected to cover Meghan’s journey from stepping into life as a royal to marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work and facing intense public pressure. Harry will then join his wife to talk about their historic move to the U.S.
Oprah with Meghan and Harryairs Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBS.
source: people.com
