LOS ANGELES (AP) – In an extensive interview aired Sunday, Harry and Meghan described painful palace discussions about the color of their son’s skin, the loss of royal protection and the intense pressure that considered the Duchess of Sussex to commit suicide.
The interview with Oprah Winfrey was the couple’s first since retiring from the royal service, and the two-hour presentation included numerous revelations that could resonate on both sides of the Atlantic.
Harry told Winfrey that he felt trapped by royal life and was surprised that he was cut off financially and lost his safety last year. He also said he feels his family does not support Meghan, who acknowledged her naivety about royal life before marrying Harry as she endures tabloid attacks and false stories.
Meghan, who is bisexual, described that when she was first pregnant with Archie, there were ‘concerns and conversations about how dark his skin could be when he was born’. The statement led Winfrey to ask in disbelief, “What?”
While Winfrey sat in silence, Meghan said she struggled to understand why there were concerns within the royal family about her son’s skin color. She said it was difficult for her to compartmentalize those conversations.
Meghan, the actor formerly known as Meghan Markle, who starred in the TV drama ‘Suits’, said she was worried about her son not having a royal title because it meant he would not get security not.
Meghan said it was very difficult to process everything during her pregnancy. More than the “prince” title, she feels most about her son’s safety and protection.
“He needs to be safe,” a teary-eyed Meghan recalled. ‘We do not say do not make him a prince or princess, whatever it is. But if you say that the title is going to affect its protection, we did not create this monster machine around us in terms of clique and tabloid feed. You allowed that to happen, which means our son has to be safe. ‘
The interview aired a full day in the United States before being broadcast in Britain. The revelations are not over yet: Winfrey teased untouched pieces of the interview, would be shown on CBS on Monday morning.
In a rare positive moment in the interview, Harry and Meghan reveal that their second would be a girl. The interview opened with Winfrey storming over Meghan’s pregnancy and lamenting that COVID-19 protocols keep them from cuddling.
At various points in the interview, Winfrey went through headlines about Meghan and at one point asked about the impact on mental health. Meghan replied that she had experienced suicidal thoughts and sought help from the human resources department at the palace, but was told they could do nothing.
“I was really ashamed to say it at the time and sorry to have to admit it to Harry, especially since I know how much loss he suffered,” she said. ‘But I knew I would do it if I did not say it. And I just did not, I just did not want to live anymore. ”
Harry also said that Meghan’s treatment and his relationship with his family had lasting consequences.
“There’s a lot to work through,” Harry said of his relationship with his father. “I feel really disappointed. He has been through something similar. He knows how pain feels. And Archie is his grandson. I will always love him, but there is a lot of hurt that happened. ”
Harry said the royal family cut him off financially in early 2020 after he planned to retire from his roles. But he was able to afford security for his family because of the money his mother, Princess Diana, left behind.
In response to a question from Winfrey, Harry said he would not have left royal life if his wife had not been. He said their relationship revealed the rigors of royal life.
“I would not be able to, because I was trapped myself,” Harry said. “I did not see a way out.
“I was trapped, but I did not know I was trapped,” Harry said before adding, “My father and my brother, they were trapped.”
Harry admitted that he does not currently have a close relationship with his brother William, who is the heir to the throne after their father, Prince Charles.
Harry disputes rumors that he deliberately blinded his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, to his decision to split. He suspects the rumors are coming from the institution.
“I have never blinded my grandmother,” he said. “I have too much respect for her.”
Meghan, too, was complimenting the queen, though at one point she said 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.
Sunday’s interview specialist opened up with Meghan and described how naive she was about the basic rules of royal life before marrying her husband, Harry, almost three years ago. “I did not quite understand what the job was,” she said. She also noted that she did not know how to bid until she met Queen Elizabeth II for the first time, not realizing that it would be necessary.
“I would say I went naive about it because I did not know much about the royal family,” Meghan said. “It was not something that was part of a conversation at home. It was not something we followed. ”
Meghan said she and Harry were aligned during their courtship because of their ‘case-driven’ work. But she did not understand the pressure to be linked to the coveted royal family.
“There was no way to understand what the day-to-day would be like,” she said. “And it’s so different, because I did not romanticize any element of it.”
The couple were married in May 2018 at Windsor Castle, and their son, Archie, was born a year later. Harry and Meghan’s departure from royal duties began in March 2020 over what they described as the intruders and racist attitude of the British media towards the Duchess.
At the top of the interview, Winfrey said that no topic is off limits and that Meghan and Harry are not paid for the special prize.
In Britain, maintenance is considered a poor timing. It airs while Harry’s 99-year-old grandfather Prince Philip remains in hospital in London after undergoing heart surgery.
It is unclear what public reaction the queen and other family members will have to Sunday’s interview. The British newspaper Sunday Times, citing an anonymous source, reported that the Queen would not be watching it.
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Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report.