After Oprah interview, CBS to release TV special with Gayle King on Queen's life without Prince Philip

CBS is about to release a special feature on Queen Elizabeth II's life and future without her husband Prince Philip, just weeks after the network caused a huge crisis in the royal family with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The programme, titled "The Queen Carries On: A Gayle King Special," is scheduled to be broadcast on the channel on Friday, May 14, at 8 pm ET. According to a press release, the feature will "look at [Her Majesty's] extraordinary life and reign," focusing on the "challenges and controversies, romance and heartbreak" that she has faced during her 69-year long reign, particularly the recent death of her husband of 73 years.

The special will feature interviews with former United States President Barack Obama, musician Sir Paul McCartney, royal author Tina Brown, and expert Wesley Kerr among others. Lady Anne Glenconner, a childhood friend of the British monarch who served as the maid of honor at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947, will also appear in the hour-long programme.

The special is being released just two months after Harry and Meghan's sit-down interview with Oprah, where they made a number of allegations against Buckingham Palace including that an unknown senior royal was concerned about the skin colour of their unborn baby. The sensational interview was released at a time when Prince Philip was in the hospital for an unknown infection and a pre-existing heart condition.

The Duke of Edinburgh passed away just around a month after that, and his funeral marked the first time Harry saw his family since his exit as a senior royal last year and his and Meghan's bombshell interview.

Prince Philip's recent death at the age of 99, and Harry and Meghan's CBS interview, will be part of the channel's new special. The press release read: "[The Queen is] now 95 and facing one of the most challenging chapters of her reign. She just lost her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, whom she called her 'strength and stay.' Her grandson, Prince Harry, and his wife Meghan Markle moved to California and are no longer working members of the royal family."

"They recently made allegations that The Palace did not support Meghan's struggles with her mental health or protect them from a predatory press," the statement further read. However, the channel did not mention that the accusations were made in its own programme.

Gayle King, who is presenting the new programme about the Queen, had been indirectly involved in the production of her friend Oprah Winfrey's interview with the Sussexes as well. Soon after the programme aired, it was King who reported on her show that Harry had "unproductive conversations" with his father Prince Charles and elder brother Prince William about the tell-all. The anchor later reported that Harry and Meghan had an agreement with CBS to not air the interview if the worst happened to Prince Philip.

In her new feature, King will also cover the "collapse of the fairy tale marriage of Diana and Charles" - and the aftermath of the Princess of Wales's "tragic death" 20 years ago, as well as the Queen's "role as grandmother to the two boys (William and Harry) Diana left behind."