The Queen and Kate Middleton's BBC show appearance to air same day as Meghan and Harry's Oprah interview

The Queen and Kate Middleton special BBC TV show to air same day as Meghan and Harry's Oprah Winfrey interview

• The Queen and Kate Middleton plan to star on a special BBC TV show set to air the same day as Meghan and Harry's Oprah Winfrey interview
• The Sussexes and the royal family look set to compete for ratings
• This royal news comes as it's revealed the Queen and Prince Philip could part ways after his 100th birthday

The Queen and Kate Middleton plan to make special appearances on an upcoming BBC show which is set to be aired on the same day as Prince Harry and Meghan's 'tell-all' Oprah Winfrey interview.

Her Majesty the Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge will deliver special messages as part of a special BBC One programme to mark the Commonwealth Day Service which has been forced to cancel this year.

The annual celebration, which was one of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first royal engagements last year before they quit the royal family to move to LA, will not go ahead this year due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.

Instead, the Queen will share her message during a special TV programme called A Celebration for Commonwealth Day. But the royals are set to steal the limelight from Meghan and Harry, whose show titled Oprah with Meghan and Harry, is aired at 8pm Eastern Time on 7th March, which is around 1am on Monday morning in the UK.

Announcing the Commonwealth Day TV show, the abbey tweeted, 'We're really pleased to tell you that BBC One will broadcast A Celebration for Commonwealth Day on 7 March. The special programme replaces this year's Commonwealth Day service which is unable to go ahead due to the pandemic, and will include a special message from HM The Queen.'

Westminster Abbey has confirmed that other members of the royal family will also take part in the programme including Prince Charles, both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Sophie Wessex.

The tweet added, 'Presented from the Abbey by Anita Rani, the programme will feature music and readings from across the Commonwealth, and reflections from The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Countess of Wessex.'

The Sussexes 'tell-all' interview is expected to cover Meghan's brief time in the royal family and go into detail about her decision to quit. And it's claimed the show could even touch on her family feud after it reports Oprah's people asked for footage of This Morning interview with Meghan's sister Samantha Markle.

It's understood the Oprah chat has already been filmed but is currently being re-edited after Prince Harry and Meghan announced last week that they would not be returning to work as working members of the royal family.

Meghan is expecting her second child with her husband Harry and no doubt fans will be waiting to see if their son Archie, one, makes an appearance on the show.

Meanwhile, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, who will lead prayers for the Celebration of the Commonwealth Day, added, "The Commonwealth Service is one of the Abbey’s most important annual services, but as it is not possible to gather here, we have seized the chance to take the celebration well beyond these walls.

"We are so pleased that this rich and vibrant BBC programme with the Royal Family and the Abbey at its heart will celebrate our global connections at a time when we are all so physically isolated."