Prince Harry and Meghan’s Oprah Interview: Family Rifts, Baby’s Gender, Archie’s Title and More
(CBC/Youtube)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey aired in the US on Sunday night.
Meghan spoke to the US host about stepping into life as a royal, addressed rumours of a rift with her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, and talked about handling life under intense public pressure.
The two were then joined by Prince Harry as they spoke frankly about why they made the decision to step back from royal duties, his relationship with members of the royal family and their hopes for their new life in the US.
The couple also revealed they’re expecting a baby girl this summer.
Meghan addresses rumour of a rift with the Duchess of Cambridge
The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey she did not make the Duchess of Cambridge cry ahead of her wedding, but the “reverse happened” and Kate made her cry.
Meghan addressed rumours of a rift with Kate in the Oprah interview
Meghan said she did not want to be “disparaging to anyone” and claimed Kate apologised with flowers and a note “to take accountability”.
It was not a “confrontation” and it would not be “fair” to Kate to go into detail, she said, adding it was “hard to get over” being blamed for something she did not do.
“Were you silent or were you silenced?”
When Oprah asked Meghan if she was “silent or silenced?” Meghan said: “The latter” and she added that “nothing is like what it looks like” in the royal family.
Meghan on her relationship with the Queen
Her Majesty was one of the first members of the royal family that Meghan met when she was dating Harry, however the Duchess revealed that she had known Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie beforehand.
The Queen and Meghan’s joint engagement in 2018
Meghan revealed that she hadn’t realised she would have to curtsey to the Queen in private until Harry informed her in the car on the way to their meeting.
As she had previously explained in the couple’s engagement interview in 2017, Meghan explained she had known very little about the royal family and didn’t know what the “day-to-day” of being a royal entailed.
Later in the interview, the Duchess said that the Queen has always been “warm and inviting”. Meghan revealed that the monarch gifted her a pair of pearl earrings and a necklace on their first joint engagement to Cheshire in 2018.
Meghan on her pregnancy with Archie
Meghan revealed that the institution decided that Archie wouldn’t be a Prince, and as such wouldn’t receive security.
Harry and Meghan with their son Archie, pictured in 2019
The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah when she was pregnant with her eldest child there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born”.
A stunned Oprah asked “who is having that conversation?” When pushed by the US chat show host on who had those conversations, Meghan said: “I think that would be very damaging to them”.
Meghan said she didn’t want to be alive any more
Speaking about her time as a royal, the Duchess said she had got to the stage where she “just didn’t want to be alive anymore” during her pregnancy with Archie in a heartbreaking revelation.
Meghan revealed that she had asked The Firm to seek professional help but was barred. She said she later reached out to one of the best friends of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Sussexes spoke frankly about stepping back from royal duties
Harry and Meghan are expecting a baby girl
The Duke and Duchess revealed they’re expecting a baby girl this summer. The couple added that they wouldn’t be having more than two children.
Harry and Meghan on stepping back from royal duties
When asked by Oprah if he had blindsided his grandmother with their announcement to step back from royal duties, Harry replied: “I would never blindside my grandmother, I have too much respect for her”.
Asked by Oprah why they left, he blamed a “lack of support and lack of understanding”.
The Duke also said that his father, the Prince of Wales, had stopped taking his phone calls during the lead-up to their announcement about stepping back as senior royals.
Harry spoke about his relationship with his father Prince Charles
When Oprah asked Harry how they were getting along now, the Duke said there was “a lot to work through,” adding that he feels “really left down” since they have been through something similar.
Nonetheless, the Duke went on to say that he will “always love him” and will continue to make healing their relationship “a priority”, while referring to Charles’ role as Archie’s grandfather.
