Meghan: Royals ‘worried about Archie’s skin tone’
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex have accused the royal family of worrying about how dark their baby’s skin would be and revealed the former actress was once on the verge of suicide in an explosive television interview which will rock the monarchy.
The couple also used the tell-all with American talkshow host Oprah Winfrey to announce their next child would be a girl and pinpoint the 2018 tour of Australia as a turning point in their now toxic relationship with the royal family.
The highly anticipated interview contained far more grave allegations than expected and risks morphing into the most damaging scandal to hit the monarchy since the death of Princess Diana in 1997.
In the biggest bombshell, Meghan claimed there were concerns within the royal family about how dark the skin would be of their first child, Archie.
Meghan said the concerns were relayed to Harry but declined to name the member of the family because it ‘‘would be very damaging to them’’.
Asked whether there were concerns that her child would be ‘‘too brown’’ and that would be a problem, Meghan told Winfrey: ‘‘If that is the assumption you are making, that is a pretty safe one.’’
Harry also lashed out at his family for failing to publicly defend Meghan against what he said was racist coverage of his new wife in the British tabloid media.
‘‘Over 70 female members of Parliament called out the colonial undertones of articles written about Meghan but nobody in my family said anything over the course of three years,’’ he said.
He suggested the family did not speak out because they were worried about losing support from the press.
Asked about the conversation over Archie’s skin tone, Harry said he would never disclose the details. ‘‘At the time it was awkward. I was a bit shocked.’’
‘‘There were some real, obvious signs before our marriage that this was going to be hard.’’
‘‘Over 70 female members of Parliament called out the colonial undertones of articles written about Meghan but nobody in my family said anything over the course of three years.’’ Prince Harry
In another candid moment, Meghan revealed she had contemplated suicide while pregnant with Archie. She worried about telling Harry but eventually confided in him. ‘‘I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it,’’ she said. ‘‘I just didn’t want to be alive any more.’’
Meghan said her mental health problems accelerated after the couple’s tour of Australia in 2018.
Prince Harry also told Oprah that he and Meghan raised taking a ‘‘step back’’ from royal duties by spending time in New Zealand.
‘‘Those tours . . . I’m sure they have beautiful pictures and it looks vibrant and all of that is true . . . but it is also really exhausting and I was fried and I think it just hit me so hard because we were making it look like everything was fine,’’ Meghan said.
The duchess went to ‘‘one of the most senior people’’ in the royal household to get help but was told that would be a bad look. She then went to the royal household’s human resources department.
‘‘They said there is nothing we can do for you, because you are not a paid member of the institution,’’ Meghan recalled.
She ultimately sought support from an unidentified friend of Princess Diana.
‘‘It takes some much courage to admit that you need help – to admit how dark of a place you’re in,’’ Meghan told Winfrey.
Loneliness and mental health issues are themes aired by other royal brides in the past such as Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sarah, Duchess of York.
Asked how his late mother would think about his split from the royal family in January 2020, Harry replied: ‘‘I think she would feel very angry about how it’s turned out, but at the same time she would want us to be happy.’’
The duke reserved some of his toughest criticism for Prince Charles, revealing the heir to the throne stopped taking his son’s calls in the weeks ahead of the public announcement of Harry and Meghan’s resignation as working members of the royal family.
‘‘There’s a lot to work through there,’’ Harry said of the relationship with his father.
‘‘I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like, and Archie’s his grandson.
‘‘At the same time I will always love him. But there’s a lot of hurt that has happened. I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship.’’
He also described his relationship with Prince William as one of ‘‘space’’.
‘‘Time heals all things, hopefully,’’ he said.
The feuding brothers are expected to reunite in public this July for the unveiling of a memorial to their late mother at Kensington Palace to mark what would have been her 60th birthday.
Harry said the royal family had cut him off financially but they were being supported by money left by Diana.
Earlier, Meghan also confirmed a rift between herself and William’s wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, triggered by a pre-wedding dispute over a bridesmaid’s dress. – Nine