BBC star Mishal Husain slams Meghan Markle for claiming that her engagement interview was 'orchestrated'

LONDON, ENGLAND: In her 2022 Netflix docu-series with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, unleashed a series of explosive revelations about the Royal Family, with BBC journalist Mishal Husain among those caught in the fallout.

Husain subsequently criticized Meghan and Harry's Netflix series for its involvement in the controversy surrounding the Sussexes' claims.

Mishal Husain responds to Meghan Markle's criticism

BBC star Mishal Husain conducted the television interview that aired after Meghan and Prince Harry's 2017 engagement. However, the former actress described Husain's meeting with the couple as an "orchestrated reality show."

In the six-episode documentary, which premiered its first three episodes on the streaming service in 2022, Meghan maintained that their 2017 BBC interview regarding their engagement was "orchestrated" and "rehearsed."

An official royal source added that Meghan was upset because the renowned Radio 4 host "lacked empathy and warmth" during the interview.

It was reported that Meghan would have favored Oprah Winfrey, another American, to be chosen for the job, per Daily Mail.

The always polite Husain, however, has now felt compelled to address the Duchess of Sussex's criticism, saying that she was left dumbfounded by the attack.

According to Husain, Meghan and Harry seemed to have carefully planned their statements about their intentions, suggesting that they were not merely unsuspecting victims of a coordinated Establishment plot.

"When the Duchess of Sussex said that my engagement interview with her and Harry was an 'orchestrated reality show' I didn't know what to make of it," Husain wrote in the Saga magazine's August issue.

"They seemed to have thought through what their new lives would be like and what marriage would mean for her life in particular," she added.

Husain added that there was no indication of the turmoil ahead. "There was nothing that pointed to what would happen. It was two people who were full of joy in each other and life," she said.

During Husain's interview, the BBC's director-general, Lord Hall, dismissed Meghan's complaint after the Netflix series aired, stating that it was "simply untrue" to claim the interview was staged.

Following Meghan's accusations of racism within the Royal Family, Husain used a line from the late Queen Elizabeth's reply.

On the 'Today' show, Husain remarked sarcastically, "Recollections may vary. But my recollection is definitely that I was asked to do an interview, and I did the interview."

BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell slammed Meghan Markle's 'absurd' claims

Earlier, BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell described Meghan Markle's allegation that someone was "out to destroy" her as "absurd."

He cited Meghan's claim that "no matter what I did they were still going to find a way to destroy me" from the first three episodes of the Netflix documentary, per Daily Mail.

Regarding the Duchess' accusation, Witchell remarked, "The first point who is they she is referring to? I think it is the palace but most particularly the press."

"But the idea that anyone was out to destroy her frankly I think is absurd and simply does not stand up to proper and reasonable scrutiny."

During his appearance on News at Six, the broadcaster's royal journalist Witchell called the docuseries "relatively benign so far."