LONDON: What did we learn from the interview between Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince Harry and Meghan — the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — and US chat show host Oprah Winfrey?

For quotes from the interview:

DARK SKIN: Meghan said an unidentified member of the British royal family made comments about how dark Archie, their son, would be. She refused to say who made the remarks. Harry said he would never disclose who said it.

Meghan said the royal family refused to make Archie a prince. Harry said no member of the family spoke out against racist articles about Meghan.

SUICIDE: Meghan said she was so miserable as a royal that she considered suicide and self harm. She wiped away tears. She said she pleaded for help from the family but none was given. “I just didn’t want to be alive any more,” she said.

PRINCE CHARLES REFUSED TO TAKE SON’S CALLS: Prince Harry said his father Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, refused to take his calls at one point during the split.

“I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar. He knows what the pain feels like,” Harry said of his father. “I will always love him, but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened.”

KATE MADE ME CRY: Meghan denied newspaper reports that she had made Kate, the wife of Prince William, cry. Meghan said it was Kate who made her cry before the 2018 wedding over the dresses for the flower girls.

PALACE LIES: Meghan said unidentified people in the Palace “were willing to lie to protect other members of the family. But they weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.”

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF?: Harry said his biggest concern was that history would repeat itself — a reference to the death of his mother Diana who was killed in a 1997 crash as her car sped away from chasing photographers.

ROYALS CUT US OFF: Harry said his family had cut him off financially and that he had used money left to him by Diana. He said he was particularly hurt that security had been denied to him and his family.

“I think she (Diana) would feel very angry with how this has panned out and very sad. But ultimately, all she’s ever wanted is for us to be happy,” Harry said.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II: Harry said he had not blindsided Queen Elizabeth, his grandmother, with news of his split with the family. Meghan said the queen “has always been wonderful to me.”

CHARLES AND WILLIAM ARE ‘TRAPPED’: Harry said Prince Charles and Prince William were trapped in the monarchy. “I was trapped but I didn’t know I was trapped,” Harry said. “Like the rest of my family are, my father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave.”

MARRIED THREE DAYS BEFORE: Meghan said the pair were married in a secret private ceremony three days before the official ceremony on May 19, 2018, in Windsor Castle.

BABY GIRL: The couple revealed that their second child, with whom Meghan is pregnant, is a girl.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2021