When word of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey became public knowledge, many fans expected it to be a look at the couple's future.
So much has happened, both to the British royal family and the world at large, since Harry and Meghan stepped away from their roles as senior royals. For everything we know to be true, there are countless stories we still haven't heard.
The idea that the interview might have a salacious side came with the reveal that nothing was off the table in the interview. Royal fans readied themselves for some digs, but nothing like what we're now anticipating.
The latest teaser of the interview comes as Meghan, who is pregnant with her and Harry's second child after a miscarriage last year, is suddenly under investigation by Buckingham Palace.
The investigation comes after former staffers of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex allegedly came forward about Meghan's supposed bullying. The story coming out the week of the interview seemed a little too obvious for some, and the teaser that followed the news all but confirmed there's a royal war a-brewing.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are taking a stand. They're showing that they aren't going to take slights from the royal family quietly. We've seen that in the events that have unfolded in the last week, astonishing longtime followers of the House of Windsor.
On March 2, five days ahead of the couple's much-anticipated interview, The Times ran the stories of royal aides who had worked for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The aides accused Meghan of regularly bullying staffers to the point of tears, driving one to leave.
The article made a point of knowing these staffers felt like their story should be heard ahead of the Oprah interview.
Meghan refuted the claims in a statement shared by a spokesperson.
"Let's just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet," the statement read.
"It's no coincidence that distorted several-year-old accusations aimed at undermining The Duchess are being briefed to the British media shortly before she and The Duke are due to speak openly and honestly about their experience of recent years."
"In a detailed legal letter of rebuttal to The Times, we have addressed these defamatory claims in full, including spurious allegations regarding the use of gifts loaned to The Duchess by the Crown," the statement continued.
"The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma. She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good."
The "gifts loaned to the Duchess by The Crown" relate to a second story by The Times, which was slipped into the same article as the bullying claims. Meghan was accused of wearing a pair of earrings to a formal dinner in Fiji in 2018 that were a wedding gift from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. The event took place three weeks after he approved the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, per US intelligence reports.
At the time of the dinner, Meghan had told people that the earrings were borrowed. That's because of royal policy on receiving gifts from foreign heads of state. Any gifts any member of the royal family receives are considered property of the Crown and must be borrowed from the royal jewelry collection to be worn.
Even if it was the case that Meghan wore the earrings with some malicious intent or message of support, it wasn't a decision that happened in a vacuum. Royal aides, if not the Queen herself, would have been aware and let it happen.
Buckingham Palace initially declined to comment on the story. On Wednesday, the palace came out with a shocking statement, committing to investigate the claims against Meghan, which it found "very concerning."
An investigation into a royal for claims as such is unheard of, not to mention that the implication is that there could be truth to the matter.
"Accordingly our HR team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article," the statement read.
"Members of staff involved at the time, including those who have left the Household, will be invited to participate to see if lessons can be learned. The Royal Household has had a Dignity at Work policy in place for a number of years and does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace."
A few hours after the announcement, a second teaser for Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah was released. In the clip, Oprah asks Meghan how she feels about the royals hearing her speak her truth at this point.
"I don't know how they could expect that, after all of this time, we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us," Meghan says candidly.
"And if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean, there's a lot that's been lost already."
The chilling clip is kind of proven by the day's prior events. There are frankly a lot of media claims Buckingham Palace could investigate. Throughout the years, there's been troubling claims made about practically every member of the royal family, many of which one could argue merited investigations. The fact that the palace picked this claim at this moment makes it hard to argue Meghan was ever treated like any other member of the family.
Many will attack Meghan for this admission and the others that are sure to come in the interview. However, Meghan doesn't do the entirety of this interview alone. Harry also has some things to get off his chest, as we saw in the first teaser.
"My biggest concern was history repeating itself," Harry said, referencing the palace's lack of protection of or concern for Princess Diana.
"You know for me, I'm just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side. Because I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like for her [Princess Diana] going through this process by herself all those years ago because it has been unbelievably tough for the two of us, but at least we have each other."
Harry has alluded to the fact that Princess Diana was not protected by the royals before, but this may be the first time he really speaks on the matter in depth. Speaking of Princess Diana, whose tennis bracelet Meghan is wearing during the Oprah sit-down, many have noted this interview has a similar feeling to Diana's 1995 Panorama interview, where she made many candid admissions about herself and the royal family.
