the couple did express their admiration and respect for the queen. buckingham palace has yet to respond to the allegations made. prince harry also said he felt let down by his father prince charles, who at one point was refusing to take his son's calls. also tonight... millions of children went back to school today following months of lockdown and home—schooling. in england's care homes, one nominated person can now visit a loved one. we meet some of those reunited after many months. and the schoolgirl left for dead by the taliban who went on to win a nobel prize has landed a multi—million pound television deal. and coming up in sport on bbc news... fourth—placed chelsea maintain their unbeaten record under thomas tuchel — jorginho with a penalty in a 2—0 win over everton. good evening. we start tonight with the story that's dominated news headlines around the world. the royal family and its advisers are reeling from a list of damaging allegations made by the duke and duchess of sussex in their extensive interview with oprah winfrey, which was broadcast on prime—time television in the usa overnight. while expressing admiration and respect for the queen, the couple were highly critical of other royals and their advisers for their alleged indifference to meghan�*s difficulties as she tried to adjust to her new life. she said she felt lonely and unsupported, despite appealing for help from palace staff. meghan went on to say she found life with the royals so difficult that at times she didn't want to be alive any more. and the duchess raised questions of apparent racism, saying an unnamed member of the royal family had wondered how dark her baby's skin might be. prince harry spoke candidly of the deep divisions in his family, and said he felt let down by his father, prince charles. so far, buckingham palace has not responded to any of the allegations, as our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. whatever the palace expected, the reality was worse, with meghan describing uncaring attitudes and a racist remark from a member of the royalfamily. it nearly broke her. so were you thinking of harming yourself, or were you having suicidal thoughts? yes. — this was very clear. wow. very clear and very scary. and, you know, i didn't know who to even turn to in that. these are the thoughts that i'm having in the middle of the night that are very clear and i'm scared. clarification. because this is very real. this isn't some abstract idea. this is methodical and this is not who i am. a particular low point had occurred in january 2019. the couple had attended an event at the royal albert hall. the duke and duchess of sussex! meghan said she was in tears for much of it. she had told harry that she didn't want to be alive any more. she said she had approached one of the most senior people in the palace seeking help. she says she was told there was nothing that could be done. rewind to a spring day in may 2018. it had all started with so much promise. though meghan admitted that she'd been naive at the time of her wedding to harry. she didn't, she said, fully understand what her role as a royal would involve. the queen quickly took her under her wing. there was a successful joint visit to chester. meghan said the queen had always made herfeel welcome. she loved being in her company, she said. but the relationship with catherine, the duchess of cambridge, was evidently more complicated. at one point, there were newspaper stories that meghan had made catherine cry. in fact, meghan said, it was catherine who made her cry but the palace never corrected the stories. it was a moment, meghan said, when things changed. listen, did you hearthat? and then to another extraordinary claim concerning their son archie. in the months before his birth, meghan said there had been discussions about his status and security, and, she says, there was a comment from a family member about the colour of his skin. in those months when i was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title. and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he is born. what? and you're not going to tell me who had the conversation? i think that would be very damaging to them. harryjoined his wife for the final part of the interview. he hinted that other family members had becomejealous of them after their visit to australia in 2018. things really changed after that, he said. and he said both his father and brother were trapped in the royal family. he was happy to have space from william, and he revealed a rift with his father. there's a lot to work through there. you know, i feel really let down because he's been. through something similar, i he knows what pain feels like, and archie is his grandson. but at the same time, of course i will always| love him, but there's a lot of hurt that's happened. l they were revelations of the kind that any family would prefer to keep private. many things remain unanswered, not least the identity of the family member who made the remark about archie's skin colour. on that, oprah winfrey has said who it wasn't. he did not share the identity with with me but he wanted to make sure that i knew, and if i had an opportunity to share it that it was not his grandmother nor his grandfather that were a part of those conversations. time heals all things, harry said at the end of the interview. tonight they issued a photograph of themselves with archie. they also disclosed in the interview that their new baby is a girl to be born in the summer. nicholas witchell, bbc news. we will talk to nick in just a few minutes. the interview has made headlines around the world and dominated the news agenda in many countries. the reaction has been mixed, with some expressing sympathy for the queen while others sided very firmly with harry and meghan. 0ur correspondent adina campbell has been assessing the reaction. her report contains some flashing images. when the duke and duchess of sussex turned up in brixton in south london three years ago, the crowds were buzzing with excitement. a sense of change on the horizon. today in the same spot, the mood is very different after the shocking revelations in the couple's latest interview. allegations of racism within the royal family, targeted at their son archie. i'm glad it came out. everyone knew it, it'sjust no—one talked about it, and it came from the horse's mouth. in this day and age, - no—one should treat someone different because of their skin colour. i this interview has thrown up big questions about racism in this country. many people feel those at the receiving end of racist abuse are either silenced or failed by those in positions of power. but some have questioned the timeline of these allegations. at the top of the interview, meghan makes this point and says she was pregnant with archie and this conversation happened, she was appalled, and then she said, "well actually, i wasn't there, harry told me about it." he comes in at the end of the interview and says, "yeah, it was a conversation that happened before we were married." so, i mean, if one was looking at this in a purely legal sense, it doesn't quite stack up. over in the states, it's the most talked—about story on american news networks. stunning questions about racism within the royal family. friends of meghan have come out in support. tennis star serena williams tweeted, "she teaches me every day what it means to be truly noble. her words illustrate the pain and cruelty she's experienced." while her co—star, patrickj adams on the tv drama suits said, "from day one, she was an enthusiastic, kind, cooperative, giving, joyful and supportive member of our television family." and this was what us youth poet laureate amanda gorman had to say. "meghan was the crown's greatest opportunity for change, regeneration and reconciliation in a new era. they didn'tjust maltreat her light. they missed out on it." but some royal biographers are not convinced by what the couple had to say. it was a very soft—serving, soapy interview in meghan�*s favour. nobody asked about her relationship with herfather, and nobody asked the astonishing fact that she had only one member of her family at a wedding. this is a woman who seems to make a habit of falling out with people. but none of meghan�*s real behaviour was questioned. it was an absolute exercise in torching the house of windsor, and i came away with a very distasteful taste in my mouth. there's no doubt that this interview has divided opinion about the couple. i think they've done the wrong thing and i'm sorry, really. she knew what she was getting to. and the bit about racism i don't believe that for one minute. - i'm not interested at all. one thing is clear, the conversation about race in the uk has yet again raised uncomfortable and tough questions. adina campbell, bbc news. what was striking for many was the breadth of issues covered in the interview with oprah winfrey, from the circumstances of their wedding in 2018 to race issues to mental health. 0ur correspondent sarah campbell has been taking a closer look at some of the questions raised. did the couple get married twice? well, there was surprise when meghan said in the interview that the couple had in fact been married for three days before we all saw them tie the knot in may 2018. clarification since then, the bbc has been told that in fact they had a private exchange of vows and meghan had incorrectly described it as a marriage, which legally it wasn't. was archie denied a title? going back to 1917, king george v decreed that only those in the direct line of succession could be styled a prince, so that's charles, william and george, and the rules were modified again to include george's siblings. and to make matters even more complicated, when charles does become king, archie and any siblings will automatically be styled prince and princess because they will be grandchildren of the sovereign. was archie given security protection? security is always a sensitive issue for the royalfamily because it's provided by the metropolitan police, and therefore paid for by the taxpayer. working members of the royalfamily are eligible for royal security detail. but once you step back, as the sussexes did last year, they could no longer expect it to be paid for, at least not by the taxpayer. the row with kate. who made her cry? —— who made who cry? this relates to the bridesmaid dress fitting. the story that appeared in the press over and over again is that meghan said or did something to catherine the duchess of cambridge to make her cry. meghan in the interview said it was the other way round. that catherine made her cry. now, why is this important? well, meghan says it's because the narrative was wrong, it painted her in a bad light and nobody corrected it. archie's skin colour. which family member asked? oprah winfrey says this was one of the most surprising claims in the interview, that a member of the royal family in conversation with harry expressed concern about the colour of the couple's child. neither harry nor meghan would say who that person was, but prince harry apparently made clear it wasn't the queen or the duke of edinburgh, leaving the big question — who was it? sarah campbell reporting there. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell is with me. the headlines today for the royal family have been bleak enough. longer term, what is the potential for damage? it is longer term, what is the potential for damage?— for damage? it is bad, certainly in the short term. _ for damage? it is bad, certainly in the short term. tens _ for damage? it is bad, certainly in the short term. tens of _ for damage? it is bad, certainly in the short term. tens of millions i for damage? it is bad, certainly in| the short term. tens of millions of people around the world have heard these shocking allegations. buckingham palace have said nothing. i suspect the palace recognises there is nothing it can say at the moment in this fevered atmosphere that will be able to compete with the compelling narrative that has been set out. it is just not going to cut it, to point out there was a team of dedicated officials led by women who worked very hard to support meghan and to make the sussexes success. what people will remember is the callousness, indifference and alleged racial slur. could meghan have been accommodated within the british royal family? accommodated within the british royalfamily? she made no bones of the fact she was naive, she had no idea of what was expected of her. and there are people who doubt whether she was ever entirely serious about being a working royal. we are now never going to know. supporters of the monarchy, the majority, will rally behind the queen. 0pponents majority, will rally behind the queen. opponents of the majority, i have no doubt, will point to this episode, point to that interview. they will rub their hands and point to them as further evidence that this institution has become or is becoming something of an anachronism. and it might be thought to be rather curious that it is thanks to two members of the family deciding to do this interview that that has arisen.— deciding to do this interview that that has arisen. nicholas witchell, thank yom — let's return to our main story. millions of school children in england have returned to their classrooms for the first time this year. it follows months of home schooling because of the pandemic. mass covid testing is under way in secondary schools where teenagers are also wearing face coverings in class. it's the first step in the easing of the lockdown in england that has been in place since january. some primary school children began returning to school in northern ireland today — whilst some younger pupils in wales and scotland have already gone back. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys has the story. 0k, early years, welcome back! come on in! this is a moment of suchjoy and relief. and that's just the parents. but of course, it's massive for children too. this is the chance to get back to normal. it is a wrench, and there were a few tears. but for working parents, it's also a reprieve. i've got three at home. so ot's been full on, and a business, but they need to see their friends, they need to learn, they need to spend some time apart from each other. i don't know about yours, but they are driving each other a little crazy. they have terribly - missed their friends and their education, so coming back | today for them is just amazing. | let's get some mud in for the worms. yeah, let's get some mud. straight back to the joy of playing together, the teachers keeping an eye out for the anxious ones. shall i put some more on the soil for you? i we knew there were children who might be a little - bit wobbly, and already parents knew that and they were pairing them up with friends - to walk through together. it will be nice to be in front of them - and teach and do what we are meant to do, really. - the year 6 class, naming everything they've missed. basically, i'm looking forward to doing english, and ijust miss my friends. it was really fun at home, but i've missed playing out in the playground with my friends. sometimes, when you get stuck. on work, you don't have someone there that can always i help you, but at school you're sure that somebody will be able to give you a hand. - across england, children returning to classrooms, to bubbles in norfolk, in cornwall an outside story, while teenagers in lancashire wore masks in class for the first time. in worthing, this school was testing two year groups, the first of three supervised tests at school. if you get a positive test result from these supervised tests in school, you simply have to self—isolate. but once teenagers are doing these tests at home, if you get a positive result, you are then asked to have a pcr lab test. if the lab test is positive, you self—isolate, but if the lab test is negative, you can come straight back into school. if i had to self—isolate again i would be pretty gutted. for these year 11s, being back is crucial to getting gcse grades. i'm happy to come into school as long as we know that everyone is negative, because all it takes is for one person to not follow the rules outside of school and then ruin it for the majority. everyone hoping schools are back for good. interruptions if we have to face them, we have learnt a lot about how to do that best. but for us, the continuity, getting them back in that habit, getting them in front of the teachers who know them best who therefore can make the bestjudgments on their grades is vital for us. at every age, a first step towards normality. branwenjeffreys, bbc news, worthing. let's have a look at the latest daily figures on the pandemic. they show 11,712 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. it means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the past week is 5,889. 65 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. but just the usual warning butjust the usual warning that number is often lower after the weekend. on average, 206 people have died every day in the past week from covid. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 124,566. and now to the vaccination programme — more than 164,000 people have had their first dose of a vaccine in the latest 24—hour period. that takes the overall number of people who've had their firstjab to more than 22.3 million. and more than 1.1 million people have now had both doses of the vaccine. the temporary nightingale hospitals in england, which were opened in conference centres and other venues last year, will be closed down from april. two will continue in london and sunderland as vaccination centres. more than a third of the adult population have now had their first vaccination, but new figures show there is still a degree of hesitancy about the vaccine among some communities. 0ur health editor hugh pym is here. what is the extent of it? a survey for the office _ what is the extent of it? a survey for the office of _ what is the extent of it? a survey for the office of national- for the office of national statistics in england, wales and scotland carried out between mid january and early february asking adults questions about what they felt about the vaccines and the headline finding is that 91% of adults were positive towards it, in other words had had it, or were planning to have it. but when it comes to hesitancy questions were asked about that, that means people who didn't want to have it, or were unlikely to have it, or didn't know, there is quite a lot of variation. so first of all, in age groups we can see a chart here and over on the left you can see the youngest age group, 16—29, 17% were hesitant, a lot more than over at the far right—hand end, the older groups. then ethnicity, and the next chart here shows the views of different ethnic groups and you can see black, or black british adults, 44% were hesitant, more than other groups. the survey also showed that in the most deprived areas in england, there was more than double the amount of hesitancy as in the least deprived areas. so i think a lot of food for thought for health officials and policy officials as they try and reach as many adults as possible with this programme. hugh . m, possible with this programme. hugh ' m, thank possible with this programme. hugh pym. thank yom _ possible with this programme. hugh pym, thank you. hugh _ possible with this programme. hugh pym, thank you. hugh pym with the latest analysis. as we said, today's return to school is the first step in on the path to ease the lockdown in england. university students are also returning today, but only those on practical courses. two people from different households can now meet outside for recreation, not just exercise, such as a cup of coffee. such as a cup of coffee, for example. and one nominated person can visit loved ones in care homes, but they'll need to wear personal protection, and keep contact �*to a minimum'. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt has been speaking to one man in north west london, who was able to meet his wife face—to—face for the first time in a year. a quick test in the care home car park. just be nice, be gentle. ready? then more waiting, but not long now before trevor salomon will be able to hold his wife yvonne's hand for the first time in a year. she has early onset dementia. every day i wasn't able to see herjust meant that we were losing a bit more of her, so i'm hoping today, my number one objective is to get her to smile and laugh. half an hour later and armed with a negative test result as well as flowers, trevor can finally make his way into yvonne's care home. cheering after covid cases and lockdowns... hello, chaps! welcome back. ..this small step towards normal life is a small moment of celebration for staff, too. thank you! the new guidance allows just one regular visitor, tested and wearing ppe, for each resident. knock, knock, knock! at first, yvonne doesn't seem to recognise her husband's voice. mrs salomon. then she sees him. turn around. she giggles turn around. they are not meant to hug, but for 64—year—old yvonne, in a world constructed by alzheimer's, that has no meaning. it was lovely. she did want to hug me at one point, and i let her. it was just very brief. i didn't want to push her away, that would have just been terrible. and the joy has been obvious in many homes. here in scarborough, anne thompson was reunited with her 91—year—old mother, kathleen. at last, i'm in. it wasjust lovely. in fact, we all got rather emotional. i got more response than i would get from her normally through the window. even now, a few care homes remain extremely reluctant about opening their doors in this way. some say they are still studying the official guidance, which they only received four days ago, others want all the residents to have a second dose of the vaccine first. one of the uk's largest care providers, barchester, says some its homes are delaying close—contact visits while they study the guidance, and this independent home in leeds also wants to wait a little longer. i don't want to introduce covid now, so i would rather wait _ until they've had the second - vaccination, probably two weeks after that, and then hopefully, - you know, we can start the visiting as per the guidance. but many families are pushing for more restrictions to be lifted, and for those who have been able to spend time with the people they love, this has been a day to savour. alison holt, bbc news. proceedings have started in the us in the trial of the police officer charged with the murder of george floyd — whose death lead to widespread black lives matter protests last year. derek chauvin appeared in court in minneapolis sitting to the right of his lawyer. butjury selection and the start of the trial has been delayed while the judge considers a request — from prosecutors — to reinstate a charge of third—degree murder — which chauvin�*s lawyers oppose. myanmar�*s ambassador in britain has called for the release of his country's detained leader aung san suu kyi and the ousted president. there were more violent protests today following last month's military coup. the ambassador�*s call came after a meeting with the foreign secretary dominic raab who praised him for his courage in speaking out. here, detectives investigating the disappearance of a woman in south london say they remain "open—minded as to all possibilities". 33—year—old sarah everard hasn't been seen since last wednesday evening after she left a friend's house in clapham. police are asking people near to where she was last seen, to check their dash cams and door bell footage. the main financial backer of one of the uk's biggest steel firms has collapsed into administration putting 5,000 jobs at risk. the specialist bank greensill capital was the main lender to a big business empire which includes liberty steel. our business editor simonjack is with me. what has happened here? not a household name, _ what has happened here? not a household name, greensill- what has happened here? iirrt —. household name, greensill capital, but it could have implications for thousands of steel working jobs in places like rotherham, stocksbridge, newport, motherwell and elsewhere, and in part because it is to do with this man, sanjeev gupta, who became known as the saviour of steel, he defied sceptics by buying up plants that no one thought could be run profitably in the face of competition from china. everyone wanted to know how he did it. he did it in part with the help of this man, lex green silk and a friend of david cameron, who by the way worked for him until this afternoon, anyway. and this man lent short—term specialist loans to sanjeev gupta her to keep his empire going. this man's company today went into administration, greensill capital. curtains for greensill capital. does that mean curtains for those steel jobs? it is syrian enough that kwasi kwarteng, business secretary, had an emergency meeting yesterday with the boss of liberty capital, one of his companies, but what the future held and it is also serious enough that unions are meeting tomorrow with liberty to find out what the threat to uk jobs are. liberty to find out what the threat to ukjobs are. in the liberty to find out what the threat to uk jobs are. in the short term, liberty says we have the money we need, apart from mr greensill but that view is not widely shared, there are grave concerns from unions and tonight the government says it is monitoring the situation very closely. is monitoring the situation very closel . . ~ is monitoring the situation very closel . ., ~ , ., is monitoring the situation very closel . ., ~ ,, ., is monitoring the situation very closel. ., ,, ., ., closely. thank you, simon jack, our business editor. _ malala yousafzai was a school girl when was she was shot in the head by the taliban in pakistan in 2012 for campaigning for girls�* education. she was flown to england for treatment where she has remained as an activist and the youngest person to win the nobel peace prize. she's now signed a multi—million pound deal with the streaming service apple tv+ to make her own programmes. she's been speaking to our arts editor will gompertz. she was the child activist who was shot by the taliban in 2012, survived, and became an international star, rubbing shoulders with the most famous people on the planet. now, 23—year—old malala yousafzai, orjust malala, as she's become known, joins the sussexes and the 0bamas as the latest high—profile campaigning public figure to sign a multi—million—pound deal with a streaming service. apple tv+ in this instance. i will be covering lots of things from comedies to documentaries to movies to tv dramas, and i am a big fan of sitcoms. i have watched very old sitcoms from blackadder. will this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy, sir? how could you possiblyl know that, blackadder? it's classified information! malala, that's a large swathe of broadcasting you're talking about and there's only you. how are you going to go about it? well, you know, small but mighty. i believe that we can get there. i want to inspire women and girls to believe in themselves, step forward, and make the change that they want to see happen. one child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. 0ftentimes when you don't see a person of your background, of your skin colour, on the stage in these fields, you underestimate yourself. you think that you may not be able to do that, to do that work. so i think when we have more role models it will encourage us to believe in ourselves. and the world is in a state of flux at the moment. this is a world you'll be reflecting, i assume in your tv programmes. are you optimistic or are you pessimistic?