Oprah Winfrey slammed for surprise comment after Queen’s death

Oprah Winfrey has been slammed for saying she hopes "burying the dead" will help Prince Harry and Meghan Markle make "peace" with the royal family following the passing of the Queen last week.

The TV host shared that she hoped the loss of their grandmother would bring Prince Harry and Prince William closer together again.

However, her comments have been met with backlash as many royal fans have pointed out that her bombshell interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex contributed to their falling out with the royal family.

"I think in all families - you know, my father passed recently, this summer - and when all families come together for a common ceremony, the ritual of, you know, burying your dead, there's an opportunity for peacemaking," she told Extra. "And hopefully, there will be that."

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Since Harry and Meghan decided to step down as senior members of the royal family, their relationship with his family has appeared fractured and only made worse by their bombshell interviews.

During their interview with Oprah, the pair claimed an unnamed royal raised "concerns and conversations" about how dark their son Archie's skin would be before he was born and that Kate Middleton made Meghan cry in the lead-up to her wedding to Harry.

Royal fans slammed Oprah for reinserting herself into the family's drama since she is considered to have widened the divide between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family.

"Oprah forgets she started this," one Twitter user wrote. "Maybe an apology from you Oprah would help with the peace making?"

"Amazing how people can't stand up for their own actions," another said. "Oprah fuelled the flame but won't admit it."

"Think it would be best if she said nothing at all," a third said.

"Disgraceful considering the pain her interview no doubt brought to the Queen in her final year," someone else said.

"Awful disrespectful statement," another agreed.

"Oprah trying to do a U-turn out of the [royal family] drama she fully soaked and bathed in last year..." one user added.

After the Queen passed away last Thursday, Harry, William and their wives surprised royal watchers by visiting mourning fans outside of Windsor Castle on Saturday, the first time the foursome were together since March 2020.

According to Daily Mail's Richard Kay, it was William who reached out to Harry to organise their joint outing, which is a huge breakthrough as the brothers have both blamed each other for the estrangement.

"That it [the reunion] happened at all is even more remarkable considering Harry’s apparent sidelining as events which unfolded in the hours immediately before and after the death of the Queen on Thursday," Kay writes.

William flew to Scotland with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward when they received news of the Queen's health. However, Harry was not with them.

It has been reported that Harry insisted Meghan join him, however, he was told Kate would not be joining William.

Harry then travelled to Balmoral alone, but just like William, Andrew and Edward, he didn't get there in time to say his final goodbye to his grandmother.

The Duke of Sussex joined Andrew, Edward and Princess Anne at Balmoral, while William was with Charles at his home.

"Two dinners were being hosted on the royal estate that night and there was a clear divide: One was for the new king and his heir, the other was for the rest of the family," an insider tells the Daily Mail.

It is believed that on the day, William texted his brother, suggesting they view the flowers together, proposing a time, which Harry acknowledged.

"It happened very quickly – remarkable really considering they didn’t see each other in Scotland," a source told the publication.

And despite reports that brothers came together due to a directive from their father, a royal source revealed this was "absolutely not the case", adding it was also false that William only acted after learning Harry was set to do his own walkabout among the crowds with a TV crew.

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