Ex-senior royals Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey will not be cancelled even if Prince Philip's health worsens, The Mirror reported citing sources. A TV insider suggested in comments to the edition that CBS will go ahead come rain or shine, after selling "millions of dollars worth of advertising around the interview", but bosses know about the fragility of the Duke's health.
Another reason for the reportedly highly unlikely delay is that "they [CBS] have no loyalty to the Royal Family", although "some feel as though they do to Harry and Meghan".
"For it to run if Philip's condition worsened would be like setting off a diplomatic bomb. It would be grossly insensitive and hugely disrespectful", the source claimed.
The assumptions come as Harry and Meghan were urged to demonstrate more empathy, think more of Philip, who will turn 100 in June, and delay the airing of the tell-all sit-down.
Senior royal sources earlier said, as cited by the British media, that the family was "pretty appalled" by the idea of the recorded chat with Oprah Winfrey being broadcast while Philip is being treated in hospital. Separate reports have it that the Queen was "blindsided" by Harry and Meghan's announcement of a "tell-all" interview with Winfrey.
Yet, it remains unclear if Harry, 36, has appealed to Winfrey or CBS producers to postpone its airing.
Two trailers promising "shocking" royal revelations hit screens as the still unwell Duke was moved to another London hospital for heart checks and further treatment for an infection. He was initially taken to hospital for a then unspecified reason on 16 February, with his doctors saying he is responding well to the therapy and is in "good spirits".
In the newly released trailers, Harry sits with his pregnant wife in what has been claimed to be the garden of their £11 million Montecito home in Santa Barbara.
Tenderly holding his wife's hand, Harry is heard claiming he cut his ties with the UK and senior royal duties because he feared "history repeating itself" after the death of his and Prince William's mother, Princess Diana.
"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 going through this process by herself all those years ago", he says in the trailer.
Responding to Oprah's earlier question about if they were "silent or silenced", the Duke reportedly says it has been "unbelievably tough" for both of them, but "at least we had each other". The host at some point says to Meghan that her situation was "almost unsurvivable... sounds like there was a breaking point".