Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, respectively, claimed Buckingham Palace had “concerns” about how dark their son’s skin would be when he was born.
During an interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Sunday on CBS, Meghan said members of the royal family had “conversations” with Harry about the child’s skin tone.
“[There were] concerns and conversations about how dark [Archie’s] skin might be when he’s born,” she said.
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Winfrey pushed Meghan, who is expecting her second child, to elaborate, asking, “Who is having that conversation with you?”
The U.S.-born duchess declined to name anyone in particular, saying that identifying the individual or individuals who allegedly held these concerns “would be very damaging to them.” She did mention that the conversations were held with members of the royal family.
Winfrey then asked Meghan, who has a black mother and a white father, whether she thought the palace was “concerned that … he [would be] too brown.”
“I wasn’t able to follow up with why [these conversations occurred], but that if that’s the assumption you’re making, I think that’s a pretty safe one,” she replied.
Harry, who joined the interview later in the program, corroborated Meghan’s claim that there was talk about Archie’s skin tone, but he declined to elaborate.
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“That conversation I am never going to share,” he said, adding that the discussion was “awkward,” and he was “a bit shocked” by questions about what Archie would look like.
On Monday’s edition of CBS This Morning, Oprah revealed Harry asked her to share that neither his grandmother or grandfather were apart of those conversations.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, sat down with @Oprah in their first major interview since stepping away from royal duties.@Oprah joins us exclusively with her reaction on that revealing interview. #OprahMeghanHarry pic.twitter.com/M4oqmbKGfR
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 8, 2021
Meghan’s accusation comes amid public fallout between the couple and the rest of the royal family. After stepping down from royal responsibilities in an event popularly dubbed “Megxit” in January 2020, the Sussexes announced last month that they would not return as working royals, instead continuing to reside in Santa Barbara, California.
“As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role,” a spokesperson for the couple said in a statement. “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.”
In the wake of the announcement, Buckingham Palace released a statement saying the royals were “saddened” by the decision while adding that the two “remain much loved members of the family.”
Tensions continued to flare when former staffers to Meghan accused her of bullying, after which Buckingham Palace announced an investigation into the matter.
“We are clearly very concerned about allegations in The Times following claims made by former staff of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” the palace said in a statement. “Accordingly our HR team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article. Members of staff involved at the time, including those who have left the Household, will be invited to participate to see if lessons can be learned.”
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The Royal Collection Trust referred the Washington Examiner to the queen’s press office, which has not yet returned the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
