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Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry is still making headlines, as people try to untangle what was said, what was implied, and whether or not this was a justified attack on the Royal Family.

Many in Britain are up in arms, with the pack led by Piers Morgan who is so worked up that he can barely contain himself.

Utterly predictable.

Some of the confusion seems to centre on how the couple framed the inner workings of the Palace.

Meghan sang the Queen’s praises but also said that the ‘Institution’ and ‘The Firm’ were fundamentally toxic.

We’ve heard about ‘The Firm’ before. It was Diana’s term for the ‘Royal Family’. In this case, it appeared to imply something else.

Vox brought in an expert to unpack what each of those terms means.

The Firm

George VI, the Queen’s father, was the first to use the term to describe the family business. In this sense, historically, it refers to senior working members of the Royal Family.

In the interview, Meghan uses ‘The Firm’ and ‘The Institution’ interchangeably, which suggests that she isn’t referring to senior members of the Royal Family.

The Institution

The Queen is the head of ‘The Institution’. She is the Monarch and runs the show. So, while Meghan and Harry heaped praise on her, they were also criticising ‘The Instition’. I think everyone was confused.

The Royal Family

This refers to the family as a whole, but mostly to Senior Royals.

There are a few more things to get to grips with if we’re going to understand where the Duke and Duchess are coming from.

Buckingham Palace

You may have noticed that when something happens that warrants a response, Buckingham Palace steps in with a press statement.

That’s because the Palace is not only the seat of the monarchy, it’s also a working office, complete with an HR department.

Meghan says that she approached HR seeking help when she was depressed, and was denied it because she was not “a paid employee”.

It’s worth noting that the HR department would work the same as in any other company.

Why Was Harry’s Security Detail Removed?

Senior Royals are at greater risk than lower-level Royals and are therefore given taxpayer-funded security. Scotland Yard decides which Royals are given security.

What Meghan and Harry didn’t go into in the interview is that British taxpayers fund the police officers that are assigned to provide security. The couple was living in Canada as private individuals.

They then moved to the United States, and couldn’t justify to the British public why taxpayers would need to continue paying for their protection when they were no longer senior working members of the Family and living in another country.

You can read more, in more detail, here.

I hope that cleared things up a bit.

[source:vox]