Los Angeles/London: Meghan Markle contemplated taking her own life after marrying Prince Harry, the Duchess of Sussex said in a bombshell interview during which she raised allegations of racism in the monarchy and explained the rift in the royal family.
In the tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on Sunday, Meghan and Harry explained their dramatic exit from royal life in 2020. Harry said, like his wife Meghan, he had been trapped within an image-obsessed Buckingham Palace, asserting that his brother and father were also trapped.
“My father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave. And I have compassion for that,” 36-year-old Harry said.
Winfrey reportedly sold the two-hour-long special to US broadcaster CBS for USD 7-9 million and retained the international rights to the interview.
During the interview with the prominent American talk show host, actress and producer, Meghan, 39, revealed that life within the royal family after her marriage in 2018 was so isolating, lonely and lacking in support that she was having “methodical” thoughts about suicide.
“I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening thought. I couldn’t be left alone,” she said.
Asked if she was having suicidal thoughts, Meghan replied, “Yes. This was very, very clear.”
The couple alleged that their son Archie’s race had been a concern in the royal institution, with conversations about “how dark” his skin would be.
“In the months when I was pregnant… we have in tandem the conversation of he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” said the American actress, born and raised in Los Angeles.
Harry said it was not a conversation he ever wanted to discuss.
He revealed that his father Prince Charles had stopped taking his calls while the couple transitioned into their new roles after stepping away from the royal family.
Harry said he will always love his father, but he is “disappointed” by him. As for his brother Prince William, Harry said he “loves him to bits” but “we’re on different paths.”
In one of the only lighthearted moments, the couple revealed their second child, expected this summer, will be a girl, the first senior royal due to be born outside Britain in 100 years.
“It’s a girl!” the couple chimed in tandem.
“To have a boy and then a girl, what more can you ask for? But now we’ve got our family. We’ve got the four of us and our two dogs,” said Harry, after revealing the couple’s forthcoming second child is a girl.
The couple spent most of the discussion trying to give their side of many of the tabloid stories that have circulated about them since they got together, including one about how Meghan had once made her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, cry.
Meghan denied the rumours that she had made Kate cry during her royal wedding, saying it was in fact the Duchess of Cambridge who made her cry about flower girl dresses and apologised later and brought her flowers and a note.
However, the tabloid rumours were just some of many unfavorable headlines toward Meghan that she says were constructed to fit into a polarising narrative of a “hero and a villain,” the CBS report said.
While the couple had harsh words for their treatment in the press, the most disturbing parts of the interview centered on how they were treated by members of the royal family.
Harry said he had a “really good relationship” with the 94-year-old Queen, but said he was “disappointed” by his father and that, while he loves his brother William “to bits,” they’re on “different paths.”
“I’ve never blindsided my grandmother. I have too much respect for her,” said Harry on whether he failed to prepare Queen Elizabeth II for the news he was stepping down from royal duties.
“The queen has always been wonderful to me. I wasn’t planning to say anything shocking. I’m just telling you what happened,” Meghan said.
When asked by Winfrey if her story with the Prince has a happy ending, Meghan answered unequivocally.
“[It’s] greater than any fairytale you’ve ever read,” CNN reported.
The couple was also asked about “any regrets”, to which they had slightly different answers.
“No,” Harry replied.
“I’m really proud of us. I’m so proud of my wife. She safely delivered Archie during a period of time that was so cruel and so mean. Every day I was coming home to Meghan crying and breastfeeding Archie … We did what we had to do,” he said.
Meghan said she had one regret: “Believing them when they said I would be protected.”
That was a false promise, but “I wasn’t supposed to see it, I wasn’t supposed to know it,” she said.
And now, because we’re actually on the other side, we’ve actually not just survived but (are) thriving … It’s a miracle,” she added.
Meanwhile, the BBC reported that it is not at all clear if and how the palace will respond.
Many of the revelations are so personal that getting any reaction seems unlikely. The Queen has made clear repeatedly the affection in which the couple are still held,” Jonny Dymond, the Royal correspondent of the public broadcaster reported.
PTI
