MEGHAN’s showbiz pal Oprah Winfrey sprang to her defence tonight revealing she “1,000 per cent” backed her move to ditch the royal family.
US chat queen Oprah, 66, denied being the first person Harry and Meghan spoke to about Megxit and insisted the move had been discussed among royals for months.
Fellow Meghan pal and TV anchorwoman Gayle King, 65, also backed the Sussexes after the two TV stars were stopped by a reporter while out walking in New York yesterday.
It was unclear whether Meghan had authorised her powerful pals to speak up for her.
Oprah said: “I support them 1000 per cent. I support them because I believe that when you have thought about this as long as they have.
“In the Queen’s statement, take note, this has been going on for months.”
She went on to praise Prince Harry’s speech on Sunday night at Sentebale charity dinner in which he spoke of his “great sadness” at leaving the royal family.
Oprah added: “When he gave the charity statement for Sentebale, the last line of his statement where he said, he had to make the decision to back away from his family in order to move forward in peace with his new family.
“I don’t know how they came up with those words, but who doesn’t feel that?
“I don’t think anybody else has any right to say anything, when a person has sat and thought about what is the best decision for him and his family.
“And when he makes that decision…none of us have any right to say anything about that.”
Gayle – 65-year-old chief anchor for CBS News – also blasted claims that the couple left The Queen and senior royals in the dark about their plans to split.
She said: “Prince Harry didn’t make that decision in a vacuum. There were a lot of conversations.”
“That’s why I thought it was very unfair to say that the Queen was blindsided.”
The TV stars – close pals of both Meghan and her mother Doria Ragland – extraordinary intervention came when they were stopped in the street by a US website reporter.
Prince Harry has been working with Oprah on a new Apple TV Plus streaming service series on mental health.
Gayle spent time with the couple at Frogmore as they awaited the birth of Archie and both were guests at Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
Claims that Meghan briefed five pals to hit out at her father in a US magazine are at the heart of her privacy court battle with the Mail on Sunday.
