Meghan & Harry, you preach about kindness and understanding so use Oprah interview to build bridges

HERE’S a thought. Instead of the royals shaking in their shoes and global gossips salivating at the prospect of juicy revelations when Oprah Winfrey meets Meghan, how about we turn it on its head?

After all, Harry and Meghan preach kindness and understanding, so why don’t they use this extremely high-profile, 90-minute interview as a way to rebuild bridges and mend broken fences.

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Palace officials are said to be bracing themselves for a list of complaints from Meg­han, but this is an opportunity for her to really demonstrate she wants to heal old wounds.

Instead of settling scores, imagined or otherwise, this could be the perfect chance for Meghan and Harry to start afresh and to repair ties that have been so ruthlessly cut.

This week Megxit was finalised, with the couple officially quitting the Royal Family and being “stripped” of their honorary titles.

The Queen is said to be deeply saddened by it all and Harry is thought to be devastated at having his military titles taken away from him, and never wearing a uniform again, but it’s their choice.

They have been at pains to point out they still want to be of service, and one way to prove this is with a positive interview where they hold out an olive branch.

If, however, the two of them sit down on Oprah’s sofa and fall victim to her deceptively cuddly but relentlessly forensic examination and the results are an outpouring of woe and blame, it will mean there’s no going back to any kind of relationship with the royals.

We saw how upset Meghan was during the South African trip.

I felt sorry for her, but at the same time her unhappiness overshadowed all of the good work the couple did for incredibly important charities, especially those helping the impoverished victims of domestic violence and abuse.

She clearly found it very hard to settle down in the stifling world of royal protocol and duty and has my sincere sympathy, because neither could I.

She was also subject to a stream of disgraceful online racial slurs from a small but sadly very noisy, group of vile Neanderthals.

Meghan and Harry also suffered a miscarriage, which must have been horrendous, and makes the news of their pregnancy even more joyful.

They are young, strong, healthy, wealthy and deeply in love.

They have a delightful little boy, Archie, and live in a ridiculously glamorous and comfortable home in La-La Land and now there’s another baby on the way.

They are truly blessed and I hope this Oprah interview will reflect all of that and they both concentrate on all of the things they have going for them, rather than dwell too much on perceived slights and snubs.

I have always said it is a real shame Harry and Meghan left The Firm because they could have done so much good from within the Royal Family.

Meghan brought a freshness and sense of glamour with her that revitalised the rather stuffy Windsors, and the couple were enormously popular, with huge crowds turning up to see the bright and beautiful Meghan.

They could have done such a lot during this pandemic, especially in taking some of the burden from the shoulders of The Queen.

Her Maj is a formidable woman but she’s now in her nineties, and although we don’t want to think about it, she won’t be around for ever.

Her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip is currently under observation in hospital and she will be deeply concerned about him.

In times like these, even royals need their nearest and dearest around them and to have their full and loyal support.

It would be such a happy early birthday present for Prince Philip, who turns 100 in June, if his grandson were to give a positive, upbeat and warm interview about his family.

And if both Harry and Meghan stated they wanted to bring Archie back to see them all as soon as possible, and most especially his great granny and great grandad.

If the rules allow it would be the best possible family photograph to see them smiling together and celebrating such an important milestone as Prince Philip reaching his century.

After all, if this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the importance of family bonds and how much it means just to spend time with one another.

And what about Meghan’s side of the family?

She obviously has a very close relationship with her mum, who was the only member of her family to attend the wedding. But there’s a gaggle of other Markles who surely can’t all be hideous.

There’s no longer going to be that dreaded awkward courtroom meeting between Meghan and her estranged father, but at least if that HAD happened Thomas Markle would have had a chance to see his daughter.

The two of them haven’t been face to face since before her marriage and Harry has never actually met his father-in-law. It’s an extremely bizarre situation.

Anyway, I wish them both all the best in whatever they decide to do in the future and hope they have a happy, healthy baby.

And I have my fingers crossed that they will take the chance to use Oprah as a celebrity go-between to reconcile their differences with the royals, and to remember that Diana’s son and his wife and children will always be welcomed here.

Jossa way to beat trolls

AS well as being cowardly and spiteful, the online trolls attacking Jacqueline Jossa really ought to go to Specsavers.

This beautiful young woman has inexplicably been called “chunky” by one hideous a**ehole.

She is simply a small, healthy sized woman who has just lost half a stone through a sensible diet and exercise programme after putting on a few pounds during lockdown. Who hasn’t?

Jacqueline admitted the criticism affected her confidence – but has the perfect response to the trolls by looking utterly stunning and living a happy life.

Hanks flick brings 'home' true meaning

I HAVE just finished watching the always reliable Tom Hanks on TV in his latest film News Of The World.

It’s an interesting take on the traditional Western movie, with Hanks playing a post-Civil War former Confederate army captain who goes from town to town reading the news headlines to local people.

He’s basically a living, breathing, talking newspaper.

He meets an orphaned child – who has the eyes of a very old soul – and promises to take her “home”.

It’s slow, thoughtful and absorbing and makes you think about what “home” really means.

Is it a place, an idea or where the people you love happen to be living at the time?

I found myself pondering all of the above because lockdown has made me not just homesick but “people sick” too.

I miss my mum and dad and, like so many of us, haven’t been able to visit them in Scotland since last August.

I miss my dear friends and all those things we took for granted, like going to a football match and having a swift one in the pub afterwards.

I can’t remember the last time I just sat with a group of pals and laughed until it hurt, or sorted out our worries over a bottle of wine.

We are all bone weary of lockdowns and endlessly washing our hands, wearing masks and social distancing (although I am indebted to comedian Janey Godley for her invaluable advice to make sure we are “two Alsatians” apart from one another as I still find it hard to think in metric).

Despite being heartily fed up with it all, it’s VITAL we obey the rules in order to get out of these weird Groundhog Days and back to some kind of normality.

I’m counting the days until I can see all of the people I love, when I can go for a walk along the wild and wonderful Orkney coastline, run across the glorious white beaches of Harris in the Outer Hebrides and just meet pals for a pizza in a restaurant serving food on plates instead of in cardboard takeaway containers.

We will get there, we just need to be a little more patient.

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