'Brutal' Tabloids, an Early Scoop Impetus for Royals' Shocker?

Oprah Winfrey has a lot of pull—in Hollywood, in the media, maybe even in politics—but the talk show host, media exec, and philanthropist says she didn't have anything to do with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle deciding to ditch the UK and migrate across the pond, abandoning their key responsibilities to the royal family. Despite a source telling Page Six that Winfrey, who attended the couple's wedding in 2018, was in their ear to build their own brand, Miss O tells People she had nothing to do with any of this. "Meghan and Harry do not need my help figuring out what's best for them," Winfrey says. "I care about them both and support whatever decisions they make for their family." More on the royal hubbub from around the internet:

• A pressure-filled early announcement? The BBC notes the royal couple may have gotten wind that the Sun tabloid was about to print a story on their still-secret plans to move overseas and felt their hand forced. Sources confirm this backstory to the New York Times, which notes their abrupt public bulletin "caught the palace off guard."
• Working for a living: The Times also delves into how the pair will survive as they strive to be "financially independent" from the royal pocketbook. Some possibilities: Markle could go back to acting, they could strike book deals, or they could go on the lecture circuit.
• Harry, our newest American? Even with his cachet, it wouldn't be an easy route for the prince to become a US citizen if they move here. An immigration attorney tells the Guardian that even though Markle could sponsor her spouse so he could get a green card, it's not an instant done deal, and citizenship takes place later on. Plus, with the current state of immigration under President Trump, immigration processes over the past year have become "longer ... more burdensome, [and] more administratively messed up."

• Setting down roots: Rumors so far have the new parents considering Los Angeles, Toronto, or Canada's Vancouver for their new home. Of the three, however, only the latter would allow the two to "flee the tabs and live a more low-key life," writes John Mackie of the Vancouver Sun. In his hard pitch for the city, Mackie talks up its "booming film industry" (meaning Markle could easily find work); relative proximity to LA, where Markle's mom lives; and temperate climate. Plus, "Archie could grow up as a badass mountain biker or snowboarder on the North Shore."
• 'Brutal' treatment: The Washington Post takes a look back at coverage of the royal pair in the British tabloids. It's not a pretty picture, with initial positive articles on Markle eventually morphing into slams against her being American, divorced, and black; one Daily Mail headline once read: "Harry's girl is (almost) straight outta Compton." "I think it had a significant impact," gossip columnist Elaine Lui says. "Harry has hated the royal [press pool] forever. ... He blames a lot on the media for what happened to his mother."
• Racism gone rampant: Afua Hirsch of the New York Times, meanwhile, pays particular attention to Markle being a woman of color, proclaiming that "black Britons know why Meghan Markle wants out." Hirsch, herself a woman of color, notes that "many of us are also thinking about moving" out of the UK due to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "overtly racist" remarks, "a Brexit project linked to native nationalism, and a desire to rid Britain of large numbers of immigrants," among other things.
• God save the queen: How does Elizabeth feel about all of this? No one really knows for sure, but based on a recent sighting, TMZ says she has "stress written all over her face."

(More Meghan Markle stories.)