LONDON (AP) – Prince William insisted on Thursday that his family is not racist as he became the first member of the British royal family to speak out on allegations of intolerance by Prince Harry and Meghan, his brother and sister-in-law.
William made the comments in response to questions reporters shouted at him while visiting a school in East London. While members of the royal family often ignore such questions, William took the opportunity to address the explosive allegations that have turned the monarchy upside down.
“We’re not a racist family at all,” William said as his wife, Kate, walked next to him.
Buckingham Palace grapples with silent criticism after Harry and Meghan claim Duchess was victim of racism and harsh treatment during her time as a working member of the royal family. The palace tried to respond to the charges, made during an interview with US TV host Oprah Winfrey, with a 61-word statement that critics called “too little, too late.”
William, second to the throne after his father, Prince Charles, said on Thursday that he had not spoken to Harry since the interview, “but I will.”
Harry and Meghan ran away from royal duties last year and moved to California, where they said they wanted to escape the pushy British media and live a normal life.
Meghan, who is biracial, said in the interview that as a working member of the royal family, she was so isolated and miserable that she had suicidal thoughts. She also said Harry told her that a member of the royal family had expressed “ concerns ” about her baby’s skin color before the birth of their son Archie.
William and Kate toured School 21 in Stratford, East London, while the children returned to classes. The visit was also intended to mark the rollout to high schools of a mental health project Kate launched in elementary schools in 2018.
Follow AP’s coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan’s interview at https://apnews.com/PrinceHarry