TV host defends release of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Oprah interview amid Prince Philip's illness

US TV show host Gayle King defended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from criticism over the release of their Oprah interview while Prince Philip was in the hospital.

The "CBS This Morning" host revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex recorded the interview before the Duke of Edinburgh was hospitalised. She said that the couple had a contingency plan had the 99-year-old royal's condition worsened.

"If something, God forbid, had happened to him, the interview would not have run at this particular time," King told a caller during her Sirius XM show "Gayle King in the House."

"But the interview was done and was scheduled before he went into the hospital. But a lot of people have raised that point," she added.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle faced criticism on the timing of the broadcast of their Oprah interview on CBS. Many urged the couple to delay the release considering Prince Philip's health.

One of those who questioned the couple was the duchess' father, Thomas Markle. He said they "should have waited or tried to wait." He added that they should have considered that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip may not exactly be able to handle the gravity of their revelations given their age.

In the Oprah interview, the Duchess of Sussex revealed that she called Her Majesty the Queen after she heard about the Duke of Edinburgh. She said she woke up to a note about his hospitalisation on the day that she filmed the second part of the interview.

"I just picked up the phone and I called the Queen just to check in. That's what we do," she said as she pointed out the casualness of the call, "It's like being able to default to not having to every moment go, 'is that appropriate?'"

Prince Philip was first admitted to King Edward VII hospital on Feb. 16 and later moved to St. Bartholomew's hospital in London. He was hospitalised for nearly a month and discharged Tuesday morning. He is now back home in Windsor Castle where he and Queen Elizabeth II have spent most of the lockdown period.