The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s planned interview with Oprah Winfrey could be the “final straw” for the wider Royal Family, according to an extraordinary warning from a royal expert.

Meghan and Harry are due to appear on a 90-minute ‘CBS Primetime Special’ hosted by the US talk show legend next month. Ms Winfrey is a close friend of the couple and attended their 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle.

CBS said the interview, which will be broadcast on March 7, will be “wide-ranging” and “intimate”. However, there are concerns the interview may prove to be the “final straw” for senior Royal Family members.

Meghan and Harry sensationally stepped down from frontline royal duties in March 2020 and moved to North America.

Writing for the Daily Telegraph commentator Allison Pearson warned tensions between the Sussex’s’ and other royals could escalate due to the interview.

She wrote: “The Oprah interview could turn out to be the final straw.

“Until now, the Windsor’s have treated Harry with kid gloves, leaving the door open for him to resume Royal duties if things went wrong.

“Yesterday, Palace sources suggested the Sussex’s are set to lose their last Royal patronages, a mark of displeasure if it’s true.

“How much longer can they hang onto their Royal titles if they use them to become talk-show-circuit celebs, undermining the monarchy that made them?”

There are reports Meghan and Harry could lose royal patronages, which are granted by The Queen, but Buckingham Palace is refusing to confirm.

This would be the result of “practical considerations”, in particular how far the couple now lives from Britain, rather than as a direct response to the Oprah interview.

On Sunday a spokesman for the Sussexes’ announced Meghan is pregnant.

They said: “We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big bro.