HARRY, MEGHAN TALK ROYAL RIFT
LOS ANGELES — In a wide- ranging interview aired Sunday, Harry and Meghan described painful discussions about the color of their son’s skin, losing royal protection and the intense pressures that led the Duchess of Sussex to contemplate suicide.
The interview with Oprah Winfrey was the couple’s first since they stepped down from British royal duties, and the twohour special included numerous revelations.
Harry told Ms. Winfrey that he felt trapped by royal life and was surprised that he was cut off financially and lost his security last year. He also said he felt his family did not support Meghan, who acknowledged her naivete about royal life before marrying Harry, as she endured media attacks and false stories.
Meghan, who is biracial, described that when she first became pregnant with son Archie, there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.” The statement led an incredulous Ms. Winfrey to ask “What?” and sit in silence for a moment.
In a rare positive moment in the interview, Harry and Meghan revealed their second child would be a girl. The interview opened with Ms. Win frey gushing over Meghan’s pregnancy and lamenting that COVID-19 protocols kept them from hugging.
The interview aired Sunday night in the U.S., a full day before it will air in Britain. The revelations aren’t over: Ms. Winfrey teased additional bits of the interview would be shown Monday morning on CBS.
In response to a question from Ms. Winfrey, Harry said he wouldn’t have left royal life if he hadn’t married Meghan but that it was their relationship that revealed the strictures of royal life.
“I wouldn’t have been able to, because I myself was trapped,” Harry said. “I didn’t see a way out.
“I was trapped, but I didn’t know I was trapped,” Harry said, before adding, “My father and my brother, they are trapped.”
Harry acknowledged that he does not have a close relationship presently with his brother, William, who is second in line to the throne after their father, Prince Charles.
The prince disputed rumors he intentionally blindsided his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, with his decision to split. He suspects the rumors came from the institution.
“I’ve never blindsided my grandmother,” he said. “I have too much respect for her.”
Meghan, too, was complimentary toward the queen, despite saying at one point she realized some in the palace were willing to lie to “protect other members of the family.”
“The queen has always been wonderful to me,” Meghan said.
Ms. Winfrey at various points in the interview ran through headlines about Meghan and at one point asked about the mental health impact. Meghan responded that she experienced suicidal thoughts and had sought help through the palace’s human resources department but was told there was nothing they could do.
Meghan said she grew concerned about her son not having a royal title because it meant he wouldn’t be provided security.
The duchess said digesting everything during while pregnant was “very hard.” More than the “prince” title, she was the most concerned about her son’s safety and protection.
“He needs to be safe,” a teary- eyed Meghan recalled. “We’re not saying don’t make him a prince or princess, whatever it’s going to be. But if you’re saying the title is going to affect their protection, we haven’t created this monster machine around us in terms of clickbait and tabloid fodder. You’ve allowed that to happen, which means our son needs to be safe.”
Meghan said it was hard for her to understand why there were concerns within the royal family about her son’s skin color. She said it was hard for her to “compartmentalize” those conversations.
Sunday’s interview special opened with Meghan describing how naive she was about the ground rules of royal life before she married Harry nearly three years ago. “I didn’t fully understand what the job was,” she said.
She also noted that she did not know how to curtsy before meeting Queen Elizabeth II for the first time and didn’t realize it would be necessary.
“I will say I went into it naively because I didn’t grow up knowing much about the royal family,” Meghan said. “It wasn’t something that was part of conversation at home. It wasn’t something that we followed.”
Meghan said she and Harry were aligned during their courtship because of their “cause-driven” work. But she did not fully comprehend the pressure of being linked the prestigious royal family.