LONDON (AP) – Britain and its royal family absorbed the vibrations on Monday from a sensational televised interview by Prince Harry and Meghan, in which the couple said they were dealing with racist attitudes and a lack of support that the Duchess led suicidal thoughts.
In a two-hour interview with Oprah Winfreythe couple painted a very unflattering picture of life in the royal house, with a cold, indifferent disposition that they had to flee to save their lives.
Meghan told Winfrey that at one point “I just didn’t want to be alive” and had uncontrollable suicidal thoughts. She said she was seeking help through the palace personnel department, but was told there was nothing they could do.
Meghan, 39, admitted that at the start of her relationship with Harry, she was naive and unprepared for the constraints of royal life.
The former television star, who identifies as biracial, described when she was pregnant with son Archie, there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he is born.”
Harry confirmed the conversation and said, “I was a little shocked.” He said he would not reveal who made the comment.
The couple, known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced last year that they were ceasing their royal duties, citing the excruciating invaders and racist views of the British media. That split became official earlier this year, and the interview was widely seen as their first opportunity to explain their decision.
The implications for the interview – which aired Sunday night in the United States and will air Monday night in Britain – is only now starting to become apparent. Emily Nash, royal editor at Hello! Magazine, said the revelations left her and many other viewers “shocked”.
“I don’t see how the palace can ignore these allegations, they are incredibly serious,” she said. ‘You have the accusations of racism. Then you also have the claim that Megan was not being supported, and she even sought help from the HR team within the household and was told she couldn’t seek help. “
Anti-monarchy group Republic said the interview gave a clearer picture of what the royal family is like – and it’s not pretty.
“Whether in the interest of Britain or the interest of the younger royals, this rotten attitude must go,” said Graham Smith of the campaign group. “Some people will say ‘well you would say that’, but this interview has only served to highlight what many people have known for years: the monarchy is rotten to the core and does not reflect British values.”
Born a royal prince, Harry described how his wife’s experience had helped him realize how he and the rest of the family were trapped in an oppressive institution.
“I was trapped, but I didn’t know I was trapped,” said Harry. “My father and my brother, they are stuck.”
Meghan, he said, “saved me.”
The younger royals – including Harry, Meghan, Harry’s brother, Prince William, and William’s wife, Catherine – have campaigned for mental health support and awareness among their priorities. But Harry described a royal family completely unable to provide that support to its own members.
“For the family, they have a very much like ‘This is just how it is, this is how it is meant to be, you can’t change it, we’ve all been through it,’” said Harry.
The couple had faced severe criticism in the UK leading up to the interview. Prince Philip, Harry’s 99-year-old grandfather, is in a hospital in London after recovering from a heart procedure, and critics saw the decision to proceed as a burden to the Queen – even though CBS, instead of Harry and Meghan , a burden to the queen. dictated the timing of the broadcast.
In the United States, sympathy for the couple poured in after the interview. It will be screened in the UK later on Monday, where some see Meghan and Harry as a couple who put personal happiness above public duty.
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 has endured.”
“The mental health consequences of systemic oppression and victimization are devastating, isolating and all too often deadly,” added Williams.
Meghan – then known as Meghan Markle, who starred in the American TV drama “Suits” – married Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, in Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son, Archie, was born the following year.
Harry and Meghan held hands and sat across from Winfrey as she interrogated them in a lush garden. The couple live in Montecito, California, where they are Winfrey’s neighbors.
Harry said he had lived in fear of a repeat of the fate of his mother, Princess Diana, who constantly came to the attention of the press and died in a car accident in Paris in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi.
“What I saw was history repeating itself, but certainly much more dangerous – because then you add race and you add social media,” said Harry.
Both Meghan and Harry praised the support they had received from Queen Elizabeth II, Harry’s grandmother.
“The queen has always been great to me,” said Meghan.
But Harry revealed that he is currently in a bad relationship with his brother, William, and said his father was doing so badly that Prince Charles stopped his calls at one point.
“There’s a lot of work to be done there,” said Harry of his relationship with his father. “I really feel 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 a lot has been hurt. “
In a rare positive moment in the interview, Harry and Meghan revealed that their second child, who was due to arrive in the summer, would be a girl.