Meghan Markle and Prince Harry did not hold back discussing what they suffered privately while being working senior members of the royal family. One of the most surprising confessions the couple detailed was the "invisible contract" that the royal family has with the British tabloids in order to guarantee positive coverage—the very same tabloids that have been mounting a years-long smear campaign against him and Meghan.
"There is this invisible contract behind closed doors, behind the institution and U.K. tabloids," Harry explained. "Well, to simplify it, it's a case of if you, as a family member, are willing to wine, dine, and give full access to these reporters, then you will get better press. I think everybody needs to have some compassion in that situation. There is a level of control by fear that has existed for generations," he revealed.
"Who's controlling whom?" Oprah asked. "It's the institution, from our point of view—the public."
"The institution survives based on that perception," Harry said.
"The relationship is symbiotic: one lives or thrives because the other exists," Oprah said.
"There's a reason these tabloids have holiday parties at the palace," Meghan said. "There is a construct that's at play there and because of the beginning of our relationship, they were so attacking and inciting so much racism, really, it changed the risk level because it wasn't just catty gossip. It was bringing out a part of people that was racist in how it was charged and that changed the threat; that changed the level of death threats, that changed everything."
