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Explosive Harry, Meghan interview reverberates across globe

Updated: 2021-03-09 10:21

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in this undated handout photo. [Photo/Agencies]

The allegations are especially damaging because many observers hoped Harry and Meghan would help the tradition-bound monarchy relate to an increasingly multicultural nation. In the early days of their marriage, Harry and Meghan joined William and his wife, Catherine, in projecting a glamorous, energetic image for the young royals.

That partnership was severed when Harry and Meghan left the country, saying they wanted to earn their own living and escape what they called intrusive, racist coverage by the British media.

But the interview brought that criticism into the palace itself, with the couple directing allegations of racism at an unidentified member of the royal family.

Meghan said that when she was pregnant with her son, Archie, Harry told her that the royal family had "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born".

Harry confirmed the conversation, saying: "I was a bit shocked". He said he wouldn't reveal who made the comment.

Meghan, 39, acknowledged she was naive at the start of her relationship with Harry and unprepared for the royal life. A successful actress before her marriage, she said she bridled at the controlling nature of being royal, squirming at the idea that she had to live on terms set by palace staff. This was compounded by the fact that the staff refused to help her when she faced racist attacks from the media and internet trolls, she said.

The situation became so difficult that at one point, "I just didn't want to be alive anymore," Meghan told Winfrey.

The implications for the interview — which was broadcast Sunday evening in the United States and will air in Britain on Monday night — are only beginning to be understood. Emily Nash, royal editor at Hello! Magazine, said the revelations had left her and many other viewers "shell-shocked".

"I don't see how the palace can ignore these allegations, they're incredibly serious," she said. 

The couple had faced severe criticism in the United Kingdom before the interview. Prince Philip, 99, is in a London hospital recovering from a heart procedure, and critics saw the decision to go forward as being a burden on the queen — even though CBS, rather than Harry and Meghan, dictated the timing of the broadcast.

In the United States, sympathy for the couple poured in. Tennis star Serena Williams, a friend who attended Harry and Meghan's wedding, said on Twitter that the duchess's words "illustrate the pain and cruelty she's experienced." 

Britain could be less forgiving once the full interview is broadcast, since some see the pair as putting personal happiness ahead of public duty.

The couple revealed their second child, due in the summer, would be a girl.

Both Meghan and Harry praised the support they had received from the monarch. "The queen has always been wonderful to me," Meghan said.

But Harry revealed he currently has a poor relationship with William and said things got so bad with his father that at one point Prince Charles stopped taking his calls.

"There is a lot to work through there," Harry said of his father. "I feel really let down. He's been through something similar. He knows what pain feels like. And Archie is his grandson. I will always love him, but there is a lot of hurt that has happened." 

Agencies via Xinhua

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