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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Rebecca Russell

Other royal who had bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview - and slammed the family

Very few people will ever forget Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's sit-down interview with TV host Oprah Winfrey back in March 2021.

The couple referenced their lives within the Firm and their reasons for stepping back from their roles as senior royals.

They made claims that a member of the family was "concerned" about "how dark" Archie's skin would be and spoke about Meghan "having suicidal thoughts."

While their interview certainly created the biggest splash, they weren't the first British royals to sit down with Oprah to tell their story.

Sarah, Duchess of York has a close bond with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey and has been interviewed by her on a number of occasions over the years, the first being in 1996.

Prince Harry and Meghan spoke to Oprah in March 2021 (ITV)

Acknowledging that living in a palace may seem like a dream come true, Sarah said that life as a member of the Royal Family is " not a fairy-tale ."

"You didn't marry the fairy-tale, you married a man," she said at the time.

"You fell in love and married a man, and then you have to come to terms with the fairy-tale. Now it's not a fairy tale, it's real life."

Asked by Winfrey why she didn't just continue to "play the game," Sarah replied: "You could do that, and if that's what suits you, then that's what suits you."

She went on to talk about Princess Diana who was finalising her divorce from Prince Charles at the time, saying: "But Diana and I are like rivers, we want to learn more, we want to go around the corner, we are hungry for more."

Sarah, Duchess of York first sat down with Oprah in 1996 (Screengrab)

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The former royal's second appearance with Winfrey came shortly after the Prince and Princess of Wales married in 2011.

Referring to her lack of invitation, Sarah said: "It was so difficult. Because I wanted to be there with my girls … and to be getting them dressed and to go as a family. And it was also hard because the last bride up that aisle was me."

She revealed she was speaking to her family on the phone before they left for Westminster Abbey and explained what Prince Andrew said to her.

"He was saying, 'It's okay. Just remember we had such a good day. Our wedding was so perfect'. Because we're such a unit together. He made me feel very part of the day on April the 29th."

"I think what I felt was that I went through the phase of feeling so totally worthless and that [it] was quite right they didn't invite me,"

Speaking about Diana, Princess of Wales, Sarah said: "I really love the feeling that sort of Diana and I both weren't there," before adding that she believed Prince William's mother would have been "so proud of her son".

She added: "But I'm here to say how proud she would have been and Kate looked utterly beautiful."

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