UK royals to praise health workers before Meghan, Harry

LONDON: Senior members of Britain’s royal family are to show a united front on Sunday praising the efforts of global health workers before the airing of a tell-all interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Just hours ahead of the screening of the interview, which has strained relations between the royals and sparked a transatlantic public relations war, Queen Elizabeth and other senior family members will appear in a programme celebrating the Commonwealth.

Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, his eldest son William and their wives Camilla and Kate will pay tribute to the world’s frontline workers in the Covid outbreak.

Charles will commend the "extraordinary determination, courage and creativity" shown by the people of the Commonwealth -- an association of nations from the former British Empire -- while fighting the disease. He will also say the outbreak has shown how "human health, economic health and planetary health are fundamentally interconnected", emphasising that climate change is another "existential threat" which "knows no borders".

William and Kate, formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will speak with South African doctor and health activist Zolelwa Sifumba about the rights of healthcare workers.

"It’s sad, almost, that it’s taken the pandemic for the public to really back and support all those working on the front line," Kate will say.

Messages will be broadcast from London’s Westminster Abbey, where last year at the Commonwealth Day service Meghan and Harry made their last appearance before giving up royal duties during an acrimonious split from the family.