Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, accused Britain's royal family of raising concerns about how dark their son's skin might be and pushing her to the brink of suicide, in a tell-all television interview that will send shockwaves through the monarchy.
Flora Bradley-Watson reports.
MEGHAN MARKLE: "I didn't want to be alive anymore." Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, has accused the British Royal Family of racism, lying and pushing her to the brink of suicide.
The bombshell revelations were made during a highly anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on CBS on Sunday.
Meghan, whose mother is Black and father is white, said the Royal Family refused to make her son a prince because they were concerned about the color of his skin.
MEGHAN MARKLE: "So we have in tandem the conversation of, you won't be given security, he's not gonna be given a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born." The Duchess said she was naive before she married into the Royal Family in 2018, and that things got so desperate she had suicidal thoughts and considered self harm.
OPRAH WINFREY: "Did you hear this one about you making Kate Middleton cry?" MEGHAN MARKLE: "This I heard about." OPRAH WINFREY: "You heard about that?" MEGHAN MARKLE "That was a turning point." Meghan said the reverse had happened...that Kate had made her cry.
She also accused the royal institution of not only failing to protect her against malicious claims, but lying to protect others.
The comments risk inflaming an already tense relationship between Meghan and Harry on one side, and the British monarchy on the other.
Last year, the couple stepped down from their royal duties to build a new life in the United States.
To their detractors, they want the glamour of their positions without the dedication it requires or scrutiny it brings.
While their supporters view the monarchy as an outdated institution that has lashed out against a modern, biracial woman, with undertones of racism.
Harry was also interviewed by Oprah.
He said he left the Royal Family because he wanted to avoid history repeating itself, in reference to the media's behavior before the death of his mother Diana in 1997.
He added that his father stopped taking his calls during the build-up to the announcement he was leaving.
Harry said that if it hadn't been for Meghan he wouldn't have been able to step away from the Royal Family because, like his father and brother, he was trapped.
Lifetime executives in America are developing a project focused on the royal couple, titled Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace.
Lifetime executives in America are developing a project focused on the royal couple, titled Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace.
