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Today host Karl Stefanovic took aim at Meghan Markle once again on Monday, following reports her endless jibes at the Royal Family are taking a toll on the Queen.
The Channel Nine presenter, who is an outspoken critic of the Sussexes, called the former Suits actress a ‘D-grade celebrity’ – slightly misquoting claims made last week by ABC chair Ita Buttrose on rival morning show Studio 10.
He spoke out during a live cross with 9News correspondent Tracy Vo, who was reporting from Manchester, England, where Meghan and Prince Harry are due to attend a youth summit this week.
Today host Karl Stefanovic (left, with Allison Langdon, centre, and Tracy Vo, right) took aim at Meghan Markle once again on Monday, following reports her endless jibes at the Royal Family are taking a toll on the Queen
The couple’s visit to the UK comes as their relationship with the Windsors hits a new low following Meghan’s interview with U.S. magazine The Cut in which she claimed Harry was ‘losing’ his father Prince Charles amid their family feud.
It also coincides with a protection row that has seen the Sussexes hire their own bodyguards for the trip because British police will not provide them with security.
During her report, Vo summarised the couple’s itinerary in the UK and explained there were ‘no official plans’ for them to meet with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, or with the Queen or Prince Charles at Balmoral.
An unimpressed Stefanovic, 48, remarked: ‘Ita Buttrose said they’ve turned into D-grade celebrities. That’s about right, isn’t it?’
He spoke out during a live cross with 9News correspondent Tracy Vo (pictured), who was reporting from Manchester, where Meghan and Prince Harry are due to attend a youth summit this week. Vo said, ‘We’ve been hearing… that some people say they’re not welcome here’
Vo replied: ‘Well, we’ve been hearing here locally as well, guys, that some people say they’re not welcome here.
‘There’s a real divide in that support for Prince Harry and Meghan, so we’ll see how tomorrow pans out.’
Buttrose hadn’t actually called the Sussexes ‘D-grade’ celebrities during her appearance on Studio 10 last week, per Media Diary, but did say Meghan was ‘just a celebrity’ and accused her of making ‘provocative statements’ to attract attention.
‘I don’t want to be unkind, but she’s just a celebrity. There’s nothing wrong with being a celebrity, but she’s one of many – whereas once, she was a princess of the realm. [Now] she goes on about her business of being a celebrity,’ Buttrose said.
Stefanovic, who is an outspoken critic of the Sussexes, called the former Suits actress a ‘D-grade celebrity’ – slightly misquoting claims made last week by ABC chair Ita Buttrose (pictured) on rival morning show Studio 10
Buttrose (right, with Sarah Harris and Tristan MacManus) hadn’t actually called the Sussexes ‘D-grade’ celebrities during her appearance on Studio 10 last week, but did say Meghan was ‘just a celebrity’ and accused her of making ‘provocative statements’ to attract attention
Later in the broadcast, Today co-host Allison Langdon spoke to The Daily Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers about the security row surrounding the Sussexes’ UK trip.
She suggested the couple was to blame for the protection fears as they had made themselves such controversial figures by relentlessly criticising the Royal Family since their move to the United States.
‘Is security tight because Meghan dumped on the Royal Family again and people aren’t happy?’ she asked.
Later in the broadcast, Today co-host Allison Langdon (left, with The Daily Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers) suggested the Sussexes were to blame for the protection fears as they had made themselves such controversial figures by relentlessly criticising the Royal Family
Myers said it was more likely the couple’s ‘paranoia’ was behind their push for more security, but Langdon pressed ahead, saying: ‘I think it’s only unsafe for them because they keep unloading, don’t they?’
It comes as The Queen is said to not want to be ‘on tenterhooks’ all the time waiting for the ‘next nuclear bomb’ from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Harry and Meghan are back in the UK this week for the first time since returning for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June.
The couple will appear at events in London and Manchester, as well as jetting off to Germany to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seen at St Paul’s Cathedral in June
Reports suggest the pair touched down on British soil on Saturday but a spokeswoman for the couple declined to confirm their arrival.
The trip comes just days after Meghan’s wide-ranging interview with The Cut in which she said it takes ‘a lot of effort’ to forgive and hinted that she can ‘say anything’.
In the interview, running to more than 6,000 words, Meghan said that ‘just by existing’ she and Harry were ‘upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy’ before they stepped down as senior working royals.
An article by Sunday Times royal editor Roya Nikkhah includes a quote from a royal source which says it is hard to see that what Harry and Meghan are doing ‘would equate to the values of the Queen, who has never encouraged people to discuss deeply personal family relationships in public’.
When stepping away from their roles as senior royals, Harry and Meghan promised that ‘everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty’.
It comes as The Queen (right) is said to not want to be ‘on tenterhooks’ all the time waiting for the ‘next nuclear bomb’ from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (left)
The newspaper reported a source who knows the Queen well said: ‘She doesn’t want to be on tenterhooks all the time, waiting to see what the next nuclear bomb will be – that will take its toll.’
Meanwhile, a friend of the Prince of Wales is quoted as saying that Charles is ‘completely bewildered by why his son, whom he loves deeply, feels this is the way to go about managing family relationships’.
A royal source, who was involved in the negotiations around Harry and Meghan’s departure, told the paper the couple’s ‘star power’ requires an association with the royal family ‘and the fuel on those flames is the family discord’.
Another palace source told the newspaper: ‘Ultimately, they are bashing the institution that has put them in the position they’re in, the longevity of that strategy is not sustainable.’
Harry and Meghan have taken part in a number of interviews since their departure from royal life, including a controversial sit-down with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
A source who knows the Queen well said: ‘She doesn’t want to be on tenterhooks all the time, waiting to see what the next nuclear bomb will be – that will take its toll’
They accused the Royal Family of racism, claiming an unnamed royal made a racist remark about Archie before he was born, and that the institution failed to help a suicidal Meghan.
The Duchess of Cambridge was publicly singled out by Meghan for allegedly making her cry in the run-up to the wedding.
Whilst in The Hague for the Invictus Games earlier this year, Harry did an interview with NBC’s Today show in which he appeared to issue a veiled warning to those closest to the Queen, saying he wanted to make sure his grandmother was “protected” and had “the right people around her”.
He did not elaborate on whether he was referring to royal aides or members of his family, but his comments are likely to have deepened the rift with his father and his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, as well as perplexing palace officials.
Meghan has also been interviewed by US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres while Harry has been interviewed by James Corden, host of the US talk program The Late Late Show.
A friend of the Prince of Wales (pictured) is quoted as saying that Charles is ‘completely bewildered by why his son, whom he loves deeply, feels this is the way to go about managing family relationships’
During The Cut interview, Meghan said she was told there was the same jubilation in South Africa when she married Harry as there was when Nelson Mandela was freed from prison.
A royal source told The Sunday Times: ‘The whole thing is just staggering.’
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Harry and Meghan will head to Manchester on Monday for the One Young World summit, an event which brings together young leaders from more than 190 countries.
The couple will then head to Germany for the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023 One Year to Go event which is taking place on Tuesday, before returning to the UK for the WellChild Awards in London where Harry will deliver a speech on Thursday.
It is not known whether Harry and Meghan will visit the Queen in Balmoral during their trip.
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