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Meghan and Harry Oprah interview live: couple claim palace failed to protect them Meghan and Harry Oprah interview live: couple claim palace failed to protect them
(32 minutes later)
Duke and Duchess of Sussex speak of personal rifts with other members of the royal family in two-hour special with Oprah WinfreyDuke and Duchess of Sussex speak of personal rifts with other members of the royal family in two-hour special with Oprah Winfrey
Children’s minister Vicky Ford has also spoken to BBC Breakfast, saying there is “no place for racism in our society” after the Duchess of Sussex said an un-named royal raised concerns about how dark their son Archie’s skin tone might be before he was born. She said that she had not seen the interview but added: “There’s no place for racism in our society and we all need to work together to stop it.”
Children’s minister Vicky Ford has spoken to Sky news about the interview. The shadow education secretary Kate Green also told the broadcaster that claims of racism in the royal family are: “Really distressing, shocking”. She added that they must be “treated by the palace with the utmost seriousness and investigated”.
The Duchess of Sussex said she phones the Queen “just to check-in”. Meghan suggested that stepping down as working royals meant she and Harry did not have to follow royal protocols and could react to family events, like anyone else.
During her interview with Oprah Winfrey, she recalled the first time she met the Queen, describing it as “lovely and easy”.
Meghan said when the Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to hospital: “I just pick up the phone and I call the Queen - just to check-in.
“That’s what we do, it’s like being able to default to not having to every moment go ‘Is that appropriate?’.”
Meghan told Winfrey that “everyone welcomed” her to the royal set-up. She said the Queen gave her “some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace” for the pair’s first joint engagement together, and that the monarch also shared her blanket while travelling together between visits.
Meghan said the first time she met the Queen at a lunch at Royal Lodge, Windsor, Harry asked her if she knew how to curtsey.
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That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. Thanks for following along.That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. Thanks for following along.
Phew. A lot happened. In a nutshell: extraordinary revelations interspersed with soothing scenes featuring rescue chickens.Phew. A lot happened. In a nutshell: extraordinary revelations interspersed with soothing scenes featuring rescue chickens.
Oprah interviewed the couple briefly at their Santa Barbara home. The interview took place in and around a chicken coop. Oprah held a carton of eggs. Meghan held a small wire basket of eggs. A sign on the chicken coop said “Archie’s chickens”.Oprah interviewed the couple briefly at their Santa Barbara home. The interview took place in and around a chicken coop. Oprah held a carton of eggs. Meghan held a small wire basket of eggs. A sign on the chicken coop said “Archie’s chickens”.
Proof:Proof:
New parts from the interview will air on Monday morning starting at 7am US Eastern Time on Monday, CBS says, on the show “CBS This Morning” (the show co-hosted by Oprah’s close friend Gayle King).New parts from the interview will air on Monday morning starting at 7am US Eastern Time on Monday, CBS says, on the show “CBS This Morning” (the show co-hosted by Oprah’s close friend Gayle King).
In case you missed this important take:In case you missed this important take:
Bryony Gordon, the British journalist and mental health campaigner who interviewed Prince Harry about his own mental health in 2017 – when Harry revealed that he sought counselling after 20 years of bottling up his grief over his mother’s death – has tweeted her support for Meghan.Bryony Gordon, the British journalist and mental health campaigner who interviewed Prince Harry about his own mental health in 2017 – when Harry revealed that he sought counselling after 20 years of bottling up his grief over his mother’s death – has tweeted her support for Meghan.
Gordon called the revelations that Meghan at one stage felt she “didn’t want to be alive any more”, which the duchess shared during the Oprah interview, “incredibly brave, let alone to an audience of billions”:Gordon called the revelations that Meghan at one stage felt she “didn’t want to be alive any more”, which the duchess shared during the Oprah interview, “incredibly brave, let alone to an audience of billions”:
Also, Oprah:Also, Oprah:
Here is the short version of what we learned from Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry:Here is the short version of what we learned from Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry:
Meghan said that she reached a point where she “just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very real and clear and frightening and constant thought.”Meghan said that she reached a point where she “just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very real and clear and frightening and constant thought.”
Meghan said that Harry was asked by the family how dark Archie’s skin might be. Oprah asked Meghan why they didn’t want to make Archie a prince. In the months leading up to Archie’s birth, there were not only conversations about how he would not be given a title, and there would not be security, but also about how dark her baby’s skin might be and “what that would mean or look like”, says Meghan. The conversation was had between Harry and a member or members of his family. It was relayed to her by Harry. Neither Meghan nor Harry would say whom the conversation was with.Meghan said that Harry was asked by the family how dark Archie’s skin might be. Oprah asked Meghan why they didn’t want to make Archie a prince. In the months leading up to Archie’s birth, there were not only conversations about how he would not be given a title, and there would not be security, but also about how dark her baby’s skin might be and “what that would mean or look like”, says Meghan. The conversation was had between Harry and a member or members of his family. It was relayed to her by Harry. Neither Meghan nor Harry would say whom the conversation was with.
Harry said Diana would be “angry and sad” at how things worked out. Oprah asked what Harry thought Diana would say about the couple stepping back. “I think she would feel very angry and sad at how this all panned out. But I think all she would ever want would be for us to be happy.”Harry said Diana would be “angry and sad” at how things worked out. Oprah asked what Harry thought Diana would say about the couple stepping back. “I think she would feel very angry and sad at how this all panned out. But I think all she would ever want would be for us to be happy.”
Harry has been cut off financially since the first half of 2020. The only money he has, besides extremely lucrative deals with companies including Netflix, is what was left to him by Princess Diana.Harry has been cut off financially since the first half of 2020. The only money he has, besides extremely lucrative deals with companies including Netflix, is what was left to him by Princess Diana.
Prince Charles at one point stopped taking Harry’s calls, but the pair are now speaking again. Harry says he still feels “really let down” by Prince Charles.Prince Charles at one point stopped taking Harry’s calls, but the pair are now speaking again. Harry says he still feels “really let down” by Prince Charles.
It’s a girl. The couple are due to welcome a baby girl to the world some time later in the US summer. This will be their last child, they said.It’s a girl. The couple are due to welcome a baby girl to the world some time later in the US summer. This will be their last child, they said.
Meghan and Harry were married three days before the royal wedding. Three days before the royal wedding, Meghan and Harry got married, just them and the priest. “Nobody knows this,” said Meghan.Meghan and Harry were married three days before the royal wedding. Three days before the royal wedding, Meghan and Harry got married, just them and the priest. “Nobody knows this,” said Meghan.
Meghan said she never made the Duchess of Cambridge cry, but that Kate had made Meghan cry. It was reported in British tabloids months after the wedding that Meghan made Kate cry over flower girl dresses. Actually, says Meghan, the “reverse happened”. Kate in fact made Meghan cry over something to do with flower girl dresses. But Kate apologised at the time and brought flowers.Meghan said she never made the Duchess of Cambridge cry, but that Kate had made Meghan cry. It was reported in British tabloids months after the wedding that Meghan made Kate cry over flower girl dresses. Actually, says Meghan, the “reverse happened”. Kate in fact made Meghan cry over something to do with flower girl dresses. But Kate apologised at the time and brought flowers.
The couple still talk to the Queen and have enormous respect for her. The Queen made Meghan feel very welcome and they shared a blanket while riding in a coach.The couple still talk to the Queen and have enormous respect for her. The Queen made Meghan feel very welcome and they shared a blanket while riding in a coach.
There were chickens. Oprah interviewed the couple briefly at their Santa Barbara home. The interview took place in and around a chicken coop. Oprah held a carton of eggs. Meghan held a small basket of eggs. A sign on the chicken coop said “Archie’s chickens”.There were chickens. Oprah interviewed the couple briefly at their Santa Barbara home. The interview took place in and around a chicken coop. Oprah held a carton of eggs. Meghan held a small basket of eggs. A sign on the chicken coop said “Archie’s chickens”.
By my colleague Aamna Mohdin:
The Duchess of Sussex accused the royal family on Sunday night of fostering an atmosphere of racial hostility so intense that she came close to suicide while pregnant with her first child.
In a series of stunning revelations during a two-hour, hotly anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan claimed that members of the royal family had openly expressed concerns about how dark her son Archie’s skin would be, that they had gone to extraordinary lengths to deny him the royal title that would ordinarily be his right as a grandson of the monarch, and that they had refused to provide him with security.
When the tabloid newspapers had started race-baiting Meghan openly, nobody from the royal household had lifted a finger to defend her or reconsider the decision about Archie’s security, she claimed. She said she had felt utterly unprotected from the tabloid onslaught and undermined by what she called the “firm” – the apparatus surrounding the royal household – that had repeatedly turned down her appeals for help and discouraged her from leaving the house for months:
Tennis great Billie Jean King:
In case you’re just waking up, you missed ... bombshell after bombshell:
In case you missed it, Meghan revealed her and Harry married in private, three days before their public wedding ceremony on 19 May 2018. Meghan said they exchanged vows “just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury”:
I will faithfully blog them all:
New Zealand’s prime minister says the country is unlikely to become a republic anytime soon or otherwise break from observing Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.AP reports that Jacinda Ardern was asked by a reporter whether the unflattering picture of the British royal family painted by Harry and Meghan had given her pause about New Zealand’s constitutional ties to Britain.
“I’ve said before that I’ve not sensed an appetite from New Zealanders for significant change in our constitutional arrangements, and I don’t expect that’s likely to change quickly,” she said.Asked whether Harry and Meghan had ever inquired about living in New Zealand, Ardern said they hadn’t in any official capacity, as far as she was aware.And asked about her personal friendship with Meghan since the couple toured the country in 2018, Ardern said she had kept in touch. “It is fair to say in the past I’ve had contact here and there,” she said. “But ultimately, the matters that are being canvassed here I see as for Meghan and Harry to respond to directly. These are matters about their personal lives and their personal decisions, and I don’t think it deserves a commentary from anyone else.”
Daniel Martin, who did Meghan’s makeup on her wedding day, shared a picture of the pair on Instagram, alongside a poem from Maya Angelou that said: “You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt. But still, like dust, I’ll rise.”
In a statement on Twitter, tennis superstar Serena Williams described the duchess as her “selfless friend” who “teaches me every day what it means to be truly noble”.She added on Twitter: “Her words illustrate the pain and cruelty she’s experienced.“I know first hand [sic] the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of colour to minimise us, to break us down and demonise us. We must recognise our obligation to decry malicious, unfounded gossip and tabloid journalism. The mental health consequences of systemic oppression and victimisation are devastating, isolating and all too often lethal.“I want Meghan’s daughter, my daughter and your daughter to live in a society that is driven by respect.“Keep in your memory the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Here are 12 things we learned from that extraordinary interview:
1. Mental health crisis
The Duchess of Sussex says she had suicidal thoughts during her time as a working royal. “I just didn’t want to be alive any more. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember how he [Harry] just cradled me.” She claimed she asked the palace for help and was denied it. “They said, ‘My heart goes out to you because I see how bad it is, but there’s nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution’.”
2. Racism allegations
The duchess claimed that while she was pregnant with Archie concerns were raised with Prince Harry about the skin colour of their baby. “In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, ‘You won’t be given security, not gonna be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.” Meghan declined to name who expressed those concerns: “I think that would be very damaging to them.”
Harry refused to share the details of the conversation but, after prompting from Winfrey, said the questions was along the lines of: “What will the kids look like?”
3. Feud with Duchess of Cambridge
Meghan denied a newspaper story that she had made the Duchess of Cambridge cry before Meghan and Harry’s wedding, and said it was a turning point in her relations with the media. Asked if she made Kate cry, Meghan replied: “The reverse happened.”Meghan said Kate was a “good person” but added: “A few days before the wedding she [Kate] was upset about something, pertaining to – yes the issue was correct – about the flower girl dresses, and it made me cry. And it really hurt my feelings.” She said Kate apologised at the time and brought her flowers.
4. Meghan was ‘silenced’
“Everyone in my world was given a very clear directive from the moment the world knew Harry and I were dating, to always say no comment.”
Meghan said she believed she was being protected by the royal institution.“It was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to understand that not only was I not being protected but … they weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.”
She agreed with Oprah that she had been “silenced” rather than “silent” from the moment she started dating Harry.
Asked if she was not supported by the powers that be, she said: “There’s the family, and then there’s the people that are running the institution, those are two separate things and it’s important to be able to compartmentalise that because the Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me.”
5. Prince Charles stopped taking Harry’s calls
Prince Harry said his father Prince Charles stopped taking his calls about the plan to step aside from royal duties. He denied blindsiding the Queen, saying he had too much respect for her. “I had three conversations with my grandmother, and two conversations with my father before he stopped taking my calls. And then he said, ‘Can you put this all in writing?’”Asked why Charles had stopped taking his calls, Harry said: “By that point I took matters into my own hands. It was like, I needed to do this for my family. This is not a surprise to anybody. It’s really sad that it’s got to this point, but I’ve got to do something for my own mental health, my wife’s and for Archie’s as well.”
Prince Charles is now taking his calls but “there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened” and the pair have “lots to work through”, he said. “I feel really let down,” Harry said. “He’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like.”
6. Prince Harry has been cut off financially
He said he stopped receiving palace money in the first quarter of 2020. He said that needing to pay for his own security costs was part of the motivation behind the couple’s lucrative deals with companies including Netflix.
The only other money he has left, he said, is what was left to him by Princess Diana.
Meghan said the pair were not being paid for the Oprah interview.
7. Secret wedding
Meghan revealed they married in private, three days before their public wedding ceremony on 19 May 2018. Meghan said they exchanged vows “just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury”.
8. It’s a girl
The couple revealed the gender of their second child. Harry said the baby, due in the northern hemisphere summer, is a girl. He said he felt “amazing, just grateful”. “To have a boy and then a girl what more can you ask for, we have our family.”
The couple said this would be their last child. “Two is it,” they said.
9. Meghan rarely able to leave home
Meghan said she was barely allowed to leave the house, because people at “the Firm” – a term for the royal household – were so worried about “how things might look”.
“I know you’re worried about how it looks,” she told them, “but has anyone thought about how it feels?” Because she couldn’t have felt lonelier, she said.
10. Harry felt ‘trapped’
Oprah asked Harry whether he would have stepped back from royal duties were it not for Meghan. “No,” Harry said, he would not have. He said he was trapped, but that he didn’t know he was trapped.
Oprah asked exactly how he was trapped. “Trapped within the system, like the rest of my family are. My father, my brother, they are trapped,” he said.
11. The Queen is ‘wonderful’
It was not all bad all the time. Meghan said the Queen was always “wonderful” and remembered a train journey they took together when the Queen gave her some pearl earrings and a necklace, and shared a blanket with her.
Prince Harry said he had a really good relationship with his grandmother. “She’s my commander-in-chief.”
12. They have rescue chickens
Oprah interviewed the couple briefly at their Santa Barbara home. The interview took place in and around a chicken coop, filled with chickens they rescued from a factory farm. Oprah held a carton of eggs. Meghan held a small basket of eggs. The chicken coop said “Archie’s Chick Inn”.