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The world was agog, some in tears, some in synchronised toe-curling, as the Duchess of Sussex and her husband shared their sufferings with Oprah Winfrey. In America 17 million watched; in Britain 11 million. The Duchess spoke of Disney’s Little Mermaid; seeing it, she had exclaimed: ‘Oh my God she falls in love with the prince and because of that she loses her voice.’ She said that three days before her wedding at Windsor, she had been married ‘in our backyard’, with just three of them, including the Archbishop of Canterbury. She said she had considered suicide and that the royal family had taken her passport, keys and driving licence. She said there had been ‘concerns and conversations about how dark his [her son Archie’s] skin might be when he’s born’; Ms Winfrey later said the remark was not made by the Queen or Duke of Edinburgh. Buckingham Palace said: ‘The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.’ Piers Morgan left ITV’s Good Morning Britain after 41,015 complaints were made about his saying: ‘I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle.’
Children returned to school. Secondary pupils were to be tested for coronavirus three times in a fortnight and then at home. First-dose vaccinations totalled 21,796,278 by the beginning of the week, more than 40 per cent of the adult population. The Foreign Secretary summoned a representative of the EU after Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, wrongly claimed that Britain had an ‘outright ban’ on exports of vaccines. At dawn on 7 March, total UK deaths (within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus) stood at 124,419, including 1,542 in the past week, down by 34.1
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