Oprah Winfrey's sit-down with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aired Sunday night. Some highlights:
Meghan Markle recalled her concerns during her first pregnancy. She said, "We were very scared having to offer up our baby, knowing they weren't going to be kept safe. We have in tandem the conversation of [whether] 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. ... And what that would mean or look like."
Oprah asked for more details, but Harry refused to discuss the conversation, nor would he say who asked the question. The couple said they were told Archie would not be given the title of prince, with no explanation. That meant he would not receive a security detail.
Harry also didn't say much about his relationship with Prince William. He said, "The relationship is 'space' at the moment. And time heals all things, hopefully". He added, though, that he loves his brother "to bits. We’ve been through hell together and we have a shared experience, but we are on different paths."
Harry had more to say about his relationship with his father, Prince Charles. He told Oprah, "There's a lot to work through there. I feel really let down because he's been through something similar. He knows what pain is like. And Archie's his grandson. Of course, I will always love him, but there's a lot of hurt that's happened. And I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship. But they only know what they know."
He noted that his father and brother "are trapped. They don't get to leave [their roles]. And I have huge compassion for that."
As for the queen, however, Harry said, "I have spoken more with my grandmother in the last year than I have done in many, many years. My grandmother and I have a really good relationship and a good understanding," and they share Zoom calls so she can see her great-grandson. Meghan added, "The Queen has always been wonderful to me."
Markle shared that there was a time when, due to the racism she was experiencing plus bullying from the tabloid press and more, "I just didn't want to be alive anymore. That was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought." But she was told she couldn't get help because it "wouldn't be good for the institution". She also recalled how she had to turn over her keys, passport, and license when she joined the royal family.
Meghan claimed she was suicidal when she was 5 months pregnant.
Speaking of tabloids, Markle recalled a story about how she supposedly caused William's wife, Kate Middleton, to cry as she and Harry planned her wedding. The opposite is in fact true, she told Winfrey: "A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something with the flower girl dresses. It made me cry and it really hurt my feelings," Markle said, noting that Kate did later apologize and bring her flowers.
When the couple was cut off financially by the royal family in early 2020, Harry used his inheritance from his mom. He said, "Without that we wouldn’t have been able to" exit life as working royals. "I think she saw it coming," he speculated of his mom. "I certainly felt her presence throughout his whole process."
He noted that the streaming deals the couple has made with Netflix and Spotify are not a cash grab, as some have criticized, but a necessary way of making the money they need to pay for security.
Harry also revealed their new baby will be a GIRL.
Meanwhile, anonymous and mean-spirited rumors about Markle continued to make headlines in the UK, and sources tell the Times of London that the couple's "Megxit" deal could be torn up in retaliation for the interview. The New York Post reports the couple could be stripped of their titles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
