What the papers say – March 8

All but two mainstream national dailies carry front page angles on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Oprah interview, while warnings over the reopening of schools and news on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe also feature.

With first editions published before the Oprah interview aired in the US, the Daily Mirror splashes on the “immense sadness” felt by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge over the Royal rift and the Oprah interview.

The Daily Star takes a typically dismissive view of the Sussexes under a headline of “Fights, camera, action!”

The Daily Express adopts a similar approach to the couple’s “self-serving” interview, above a main lead saying care homes will be blacklisted if they do not allow residents’ relatives inside for visits.

And the Daily Mail previews the predicted “fallout from Meghan and Harry’s bombshell interview” while splashing with the Queen’s Commonwealth Day message which the paper says detailed “what real service is”.

The Times also reports on the Queen highlighting “selfless dedication to duty” while leading on an urgent call for more Government funding from NHS chiefs.

Meanwhile, The Guardian reports on condemnation from the head of the UN’s humanitarian affairs office for Britain’s decision to cut its foreign aid funding, and on fresh charges against British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Iran.

The Daily Telegraph also has the latter story, alongside its lead on a warning from teacher unions for pupils to wear face coverings in school.

Metro takes a more upbeat approach to the reopening of schools, calling it the “first step in the road map back to normality”.

But there is another call for caution as schools go back on the front page of the i, this time from the creator of the Oxford vaccine.

That paper and The Independent are the only mainstream titles to completely ignore the Royal soap opera on their front pages, with the latter leading instead on Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and a warning for teachers from Ofsted about a “mental health crisis” amongst Britain’s pupils.

And the Financial Times says the ECB’s banking watchdog has quizzed Europe’s lenders about their level of exposure to the stricken Greensill Capital and its key client GFG Alliance.

PA