Buckingham Palace issues important message after Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Interview
A day after Oprah Winfrey’s explosive interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the British royal family has issued a brief statement.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” it said.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
It concluded: “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
The statement comes less than two days after the two-hour Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special — which aired in the U.S. on Sunday and in the U.K Monday — sparked headlines, reactions and condemnation around the world, as the two royals laid bare the inner workings of the royal family and their various reasons for wanting to leave “the firm,” as Markle called it.
Among the most widely discussed claims, and one that caused the biggest reaction from Winfrey, was that there had been conversations and “concerns” in the royal family about the skin color of couple’s babies, a revelation that sparked widespread accusations of racism.
In the interview, Harry said he wouldn’t name the parties involved, but Winfrey later said that he had told her that it wasn’t either Queen Elizabeth or Prince Philip.
“[Prince Harry] did not share the identity with me, but he wanted to make sure that I knew and, if I had an opportunity to share it, that it was not his grandmother nor his grandfather that were a part of those conversations,” she said.
The interview has dominated the news cycle across Monday and Tuesday. Many experts acknowledged that the seriousness of the claims made by both Markle and Prince Harry would force the royal family — which usually remains steadfastly quiet on almost all internal matters — to respond.
