Meghan Markle: Royals Were Concerned About Son Archie and ‘How Dark His Skin Might Be’

Markle and husband Prince Harry sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a blockbuster interview that aired Sunday

Meghan Markle Oprah interview
CBS

Meghan Markle, the Hollywood actress who became Duchess of Sussex after marrying England’s Prince Harry in 2018, on Sunday revealed that unidentified members of the royal family expressed concern about the skin color of their son, Archie.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired on Sunday, Markle said that, while she was pregnant, unidentified members of Harry’s family shared “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

Markle, who identifies as mixed-race and whose mother is Black, declined to identify the royal family members, adding, “I think that would be very damaging to them.” She also added that the concerns were not raised directly to her but to Prince Harry.

“They didn’t want him to be a prince,” the former “Suits” star told Winfrey of baby Archie, “which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn’t going to receive security.”

In addition, she said, “We have in tandem the conversation of, ‘He won’t be given security. He’s not going to be given a title.’”

She said she was less concerned about her offspring not carrying a prince or princess title — but the other ramifications of that break from protocol for a queen’s great-grandchild. “If you’re saying the title is what’s going to affect their protection, we haven’t created this monster machine around us,” she said. “You’ve allowed that to happen, which means our son needs to be safe.”

Markle was also upset about the precedent — and optics of it. “The idea of the first member of color in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be… it’s not their right to take it away,” she said. “They said they wanted to change that convention for Archie — well, why?”

The duchess and the prince stepped back from official royal life last year and moved to Los Angeles, where Markle was raised. The split from Buckingham Palace was finalized in February.

 

 

 

 

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