Meghan Markle Explains Reasoning Behind Tell-All Oprah Interview

With just days to go before Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex is getting candid about their decision to speak out. The “intimate conversation” is set to debut on Sunday, and a new clip released by CBS Friday morning found Markle explaining that she and her husband now have the “ability to make our own choices” in a way that they couldn’t have while still acting as working members of the royal family.

Sitting down with the famed media mogul for the open discussion, Markle and Winfrey reflected on a previous request for an interview ahead of the actress’ 2018 wedding to Harry. Winfrey revealed that she called Markle in “February or March” of 2018 asking her to do an interview, but at the time, Markle was forced to turn the interview down, the Suits alum revealing, “I wasn’t even allowed to have that conversation with you personally… There had to be people from the firm sitting there.” Now, a year after she and her husband announced they were stepping back from their royal duties, Markle said “so many things” have and changed and they “have the right and the privilege” to make decisions for themselves.

“We have the ability to make our own choices in a way that I couldn’t have said yes to you then. That wasn’t my choice to make,” she told Winfrey. “So, as an adult who lived a really independent life to then go into this construct that is different than I think what people imagine it to be, it’s really liberating to be able to have the right and the privilege in some ways to be able to say yes… to be able to just make a choice on your own. And just be able to speak for yourself.”

The upcoming interview will mark the couple’s first joint interview since they became engaged and will also come less than a month after Buckingham Palace confirmed the couple had officially resigned from their royal duties. Announcing their decision to step back in January 2020, Markle and Harry explained they made the decision “after many months of reflection and internal discussions.” In other previews for their interview with Winfrey, Harry hinted at concern over “history repeating itself,” referencing his late mother Princess Diana and the tumultuous relationship she had with British tabloids. Markle, meanwhile, revealed in another clip that her and her husband’s relationship with the Palace wasn’t healthy, alleging the Palace perpetuated “falsehoods” about them.

Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special is being teased as a “no subject is off-limits” interview covering a “wide-ranging” array of topics. It is scheduled to air Sunday on CBS at 8 p.m. ET. Prior to the interview, Queen Elizabeth is expected to give a speech in the U.K.