The royal family is an institution steeped in tradition that now must look change in the face.
That seems to be the consensus after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey about life inside the royal machine. We learned some heartbreaking details of what transpired, from the couple's perspective. Those included some serious allegations regarding the royal family's handling of matters of race and mental health. Those concerns, in particular, are ones that royal fans and critics alike aren't letting go of.
LittleThings got the opportunity to chat with E! chief news correspondent and royal insider Melanie Bromley about everything that's gone down with the royals and what this means for the future. She also offered some hints on what to expect from the upcoming True Hollywood Story that looks back on Harry and Meghan's love story and ahead to their future. That episode airs Monday, March 22, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on E!
Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, royal experts have been busy looking to the different members of the family and their reactions.
E! chief news correspondent and royal insider Melanie Bromley has been among those marveling at the revelations from the interview. Not only did Melanie share her insights with LittleThings, but she also appears in the upcoming E! True Hollywood Story episode about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
"I'm kind of in shock that we're at this point," Melanie admitted. "Obviously, we've all been aware of this deteriorating relationship between Harry and Meghan and his family, but just the fact they were able to be so candid with Oprah was incredibly shocking to me."
Royal fans and experts alike were shocked, but were the royals? Melanie weighed in on how much of this information was new to the family as well.
"I think it would have been new to them. We haven't had that kind of explosive interview from a member of the royal family or somebody who has been in the inner circle since Diana in the 1990s," she noted.
"I think that was a huge reckoning for the royal family as far as Charles and Diana's divorce, all of the dirty laundry that aired in public through the tabloids and then what happened with Diana. I don't think they would have expected that Harry and his wife would be so open."
Melanie noted how few people around the royals ever feel comfortable speaking out, let alone speaking about specific conversations.
"We never quite know how much of what we hear is from actual conversations," Melanie pointed out.
"Having Harry and Meghan talk about these private moments so publicly, the royal family could not have prepared themselves for that."
Many took notice of the different levels of comfort Harry and Meghan had when speaking on certain subjects. Some have questioned whether the couple really understood the impact of what they were doing, which Melanie believes they did:
"Harry very much knows that the racism claim, for example, the damage that could do to the royal family moving forward. I think he's much more aware of the difficulty it's going to be for the royal family to get past this. The fact is, people can't forget about this when you take out a claim like that, when you take it out of the box there's no putting it back in, right?"
By speaking out, Harry and Meghan have put the royals in a situation that almost demands action, if not change:
"Traditionally, they do not talk about their private life. Whenever they can, they keep their statements about their work and responsibilities. What happened here was so damaging. They're not just representing one part of the population or the Commonwealth, they're representing everybody. This was so damaging that they had to speak out. I'm interested to see if we'll hear more. I do wonder if at some point, they're going to do their own, more royal version of the Harry and Meghan interview."
At the very least, the royals will have a need to improve public sentiment around Prince Charles yet again.
"It's important for Charles, he will one day be king," Melanie noted.
"It's important for him to prove to the world and to his subjects that this is something he can defend his family against, these allegations … There is going to be a long journey back from this."
"Historically, there are always question of, 'Should we be a monarchy or should we be a republic?'" Melanie pointed out.
"We have a family that's been in a position of power and privilege. It's because of a hereditary system. It's completely unique. For that reason, the royal family, popularity is all they have. That is something that's going to continue to be questioned, and interviews like this put a huge dent in that popularity and have people question the status quo and what we've had.
"On the other side, we wonder whether it's fair that we have people who have no choice about their future. They're born into this role and we just expect them to do it."
The changes that may be necessary as a result of this unprecedented moment don't just impact the immediate family members but the larger institution around them as well.
"Maybe how they used to do PR will have to change. Obviously, there will be a lot more noise and a lot more questions out there about the validity and justification about whether we do have a monarchy in its current form going into the next 10, 20, 30 years time," Melanie reflected.
"I feel very sorry for Harry and Meghan. I feel very sorry for everybody, but I also feel a lot of sympathy for the royal family too. I'd hate to have not any control over my own future and choices in my life."
There's also the matter of Charles' vision for the future. Melanie and many other experts have noted that Charles has pushed forward the idea of the slimmed-down royal family for some time. There have already been changes in recent years.
"Charles may be reading the room, thinking about the future of the royal family, slimming it down. The taxpayers are paying for them, and the less that they cost, the less questions there are as far as whether they should or shouldn't exist," Melanie noted.
"There's going to be some big changes, I think, when Charles becomes king, and there's going to have to be. I think it's going to be very difficult to happen during the Queen's reign. She's the most incredible monarch, she's been in her position for decades. But I do think there would be a valid reason to reevaluate their role in society in the future."
The year ahead holds many events where Harry was expected to attend. No one knows how easily that can happen after everything else that's transpired. It puts both sides in a delicate predicament.
"I think it's going to be incredibly difficult," Melanie shared.
"There is a lot of anger at the moment between the two different sides. It's very hard for everybody to, in this situation, put themselves in the other person's shoes.
"However, it would also be very damaging if Harry is disinvited to anything. I don't know if Harry will even want to go, if things are as bad as they seem. He has a great relationship with the Queen and Prince Philip, but to be in the same room with other family members that cause him hurt, it's difficult to predict. We're in uncharted territory."
LittleThings asked Melanie what to expect from the upcoming True Hollywood Story about the Sussexes.
"They can expect an insider look at this couple. They have had the most incredible story. Their love story is the stuff of fairy tales, and the stuff of love," she shared.
"We've all gone through a very difficult year, and this is a really uplifting story about two people who found one another and were able to support one another and help one another and create this incredibly family together and this incredibly union that's been history making.
"The True Hollywood Story is about that love story, it's about their journey together, it's about revisiting everything that happened between them, plus a lot more insider details that you haven't read or seen anywhere else. It's going to be a very engaging and exciting episode, and I can't wait for it."
