Meghan fallout
Worrisome ‘race issue’
Queen Elizabeth II finally broke her silence Tuesday about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive TV interview, saying the “issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning” — although “recollections may vary.”
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,’’ the British monarch said in a statement addressing the couple’s Sunday-night sit-down with Oprah Winfrey.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,’’ the queen said. “Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members.”
Harry and Meghan shattered royal protocol by publicly griping about life behind the royal curtain.
Markle claimed that Prince William’s wife, Kate Middleton, once made her cry. Harry discussed his strained relationships with his dad. Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William.
And both leveled the most troubling accusation — that someone in the royal family expressed “concerns” to Harry about “how dark” their son Archie’s skin would be.
Harry said racism was a “large part’’ of why he and Meghan fled the UK.
But neither Harry nor Markle would publicly name the alleged royal racist — leaving it to Winfrey to later add that Harry told her only that it wasn’t the queen or her husband, Prince Philip.
The palace, under the queen’s directive, was taking its time issuing a statement because it is terrified that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will name the person if the family challenges them, insiders told the Evening Standard.
“There is a lack of trust,” a senior palace source told the Standard.
One wrong move “could lead to the Sussexes naming names and it blowing up again,’’ the source said, referring to the royal scandal.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles surfaced Tuesday for the first time since the bombshell interview to tour a pop-up COVID-19 vaccine center in London. A reporter asked him, “Sir, what did you think of the interview?”
An apparently uncomfortable Charles, 72, wearing a a face mask, gave a “nervous chuckle’’ and kept walking, the UK’s Mirror reported.
A royal household source told the Standard, “You could say the boss [Charles] feels let down by what the Sussexes have said.
“The prince is proud of the diversity of this country and believes the diversity of Britain’s modern society is its greatest strength.
“He wholeheartedly believes that our country owes a huge debt of gratitude to the rich diversity of cultures that make up our society and going forward is at the heart of what we can be as a nation.”
Harry had said during the blistering interview that he felt his father, the heir to the British throne, “really let him down,” while griping about being cut off financially.
The senior palace source told the Standard that Charles has “supported the duke and duchess more than he would care to say.”
Still, “The feeling is it will be better to try to build bridges with the couple and to embrace them,’’ the source said.
“However, this incendiary interview has caused pain and division.
“For Harry to say he feels ‘let down’ seems a little rich when you consider what he has done. The Duke of Sussex continues to say he respects his grandmother, but he has ridden roughshod over the institution she represents.”