‘Saddened’ royal family breaks its silence
Buckingham Palace broke nearly 48 hours of silence Tuesday about a bombshell interview with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, saying, “The whole royal family is saddened” and expressing concern about the issue of racism the couple had raised. Assertions that a member of the royal family had raised concerns about the skin color of the couple’s son, Archie, and that a desperate Meghan had contemplated suicide dominated national discussion in Britain, where the interview with Oprah Winfrey was broadcast Monday evening. On Tuesday, Piers Morgan, the co-host of “Good Morning Britain” on ITV news, who came under attack for saying he “didn’t believe a word” of the interview, resigned, the network said. Britain’s communications regulator received more than 41,000 complaints about his comment, it said.
The two developments capped a day of nearly uninterrupted coverage around the interview, which observers say may have damaging and long-lasting consequences for the reputation of the royal family.
In a brief statement, Buckingham Palace said the issues raised by the couple, “particularly that of race,” were concerning. It didn’t deny the allegations and said that “while some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.” In saying that the allegations would be addressed privately, it also indicated that the family would deal with the aftermath of the interview, and the bruised relationship that Meghan and Harry exposed, behind closed doors. Yet the front pages, podcasts and countless analyses and opinion pieces about the interview heralded days, if not more, of national discussion ahead in Britain.
British media questioned who had made the racist comment about the couple’s son. Winfrey indicated after the interview that Harry had asked her to let the public know that it was neither Queen Elizabeth II, nor her husband, Prince Philip.