Like millions of others, I watched the Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Sunday night. There’s nothing like some palace intrigue to sate one’s appetite for juicy gossip. Unfortunately, the interview came up short in a number of ways. Most importantly, Meg seemed to have ulterior motives for doing the interview.

Apparently, Oprah is close to the unhappy couple. She proved her friendship by tossing softball questions at the twosome and giving Meg a chance to talk about her background. Everybody watching knew that her mixed ancestry was going to be a major topic of conversation. But never during the multi-hour discussion did Meg or Harry name names. The viewers and the world want to know which members of the Royal Family are bigots. This omission has created a great deal of skepticism about what was said during the lengthy interrogation.

Oprah’s interview started out with a huge issue (not). Did Meg make Kate Middleton cry? I’m sure the world was waiting anxiously to find out whether Meg was unkind to her sister in-law about something, that brought her to tears. Well, it turns out, if you believe Meg, Kate made Meg cry about dresses the younger children were wearing during Meg’s wedding. Kate has since apologized and sent flowers. Thank goodness that crisis is now behind us.

Meg reviewed a laundry list of hurtful things perpetrated by her new relatives and the palace staff. She said that her in-laws were very concerned about the color of her son Archie’s skin before he was born. Meg was virtually imprisoned for many months and was unable to leave the palace and visit with her friends. And most disturbing was a claim that the palace hierarchy was refusing to provide security to Harry and his family because they were decreasing their role in the Royal Family.

It should be pointed out that kind words were expressed about the Queen and Kate, while Charles and William, not so good.

Meg is a self-proclaimed advocate of women’s rights, which she was unable to pursue after her marriage because of Palace protocols. She said the authorities did little to protect Harry’s family, including her, from venomous attacks and lies in the press.

By the end of the interview, I wanted to hear the ultimate gossip. Who mistreated Meg and why didn’t Harry come to her rescue? She refused to identify anyone, but often times referred to the strict group that manages the affairs of the Royal Family.

After all the nickel and dime nonsense came to an end, I began to wonder what the practical reasons were for the existence of the Royal Family? [Keep in mind I am a viewer of the acclaimed series The Crown.] Does anybody really care what Queen Elizabeth says, including fellow Brits? What function does the Royal Family serve? Do they influence UK politics or policies? Do they ever attend important summit meetings with world leaders?

For her tireless efforts, the Queen receives an annual stipend of $97.2 million, which was recently doubled, and she has accumulated a net worth of $350 million. I wonder if she pays income taxes like her subjects. The entire British monarchy has a net worth of $88 billion. Do these people deserve this money for making public appearances and hosting galas? The people of the British Commonwealth should ask themselves what value added they’re getting for their money.

Probably the most important item during the interview was Meg revealing that she had suicidal thoughts while she was cooped up at the Palace for many months. This was a terribly sad and shocking revelation. She finally admitted to Harry that she was suffering from severe depression and was unable to get help from the Palace staff. This turn of events was a significant reason why Meg and Harry decided to separate from the Royal Family. I’m sure the experience of his mother weighed heavily on the prince.

I can’t help but offer my opinion of Harry and his performance during the Oprah Winfrey scoop. It seems as if Oprah was more interested in what Meg had to say about Royal life than Harry. Moreover, Meg was interviewed alone for the first half or more of the program and spoke often during the time that Harry was answering questions. Frankly, unless Harry was trying to prevent serious blowback from his Royal relatives, he appeared to be guarded in his responses about sensitive issues. In fact, I would even classify his performance as unimpressive, an empty suit of armor.

At some point the Royal Family is going to have to address the issues that Meg brought up during the interview. I suspect Meg and Harry’s immodest lifestyle will be at issue as well as their need to provide security for their own family. It’s really difficult to have sympathy for people that get paid millions for representing their family. It seems like Meg will not be a long-term member of the Royal family from my viewpoint.