Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on British Royalty: ‘Concerns about Archie’s skin color’ | NOW

Nice to know:

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to move to the United States a year ago, where they still live with their son Archie. The couple are expecting a daughter soon.
• The interview has already been broadcast in the United States, but can only be viewed later in Europe. In the Netherlands on Tuesdays, via Net5.
• The couple have always said they have been treated disproportionately harshly by the British press. Never before did they tell about what happened inside the royal house.
• There would have been pressure from the family to wait with the broadcast, because the 99-year-old Prince Philip (Harry’s grandfather) has been in hospital for three weeks.

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In the interview, Markle said there had been conversations discussing “concerns about how dark his skin would be once he was born”. Prince Harry confirmed to have been there when those concerns were raised, but did not want to disclose who spoke them. “I will never share that, but at the time I found it very uncomfortable and I was shocked.”

The now one-year-old son of the couple did not receive a title after his birth. Although the couple did not want that themselves, because they long for a life as normal as possible for Archie, they were not given the chance.

“While I was pregnant, they said they wanted to change the rules,” said Markle. “I think it is not their right to take his title. But they did not want my child to become a prince or princess. He would not receive protection, we understood in the last months of my pregnancy.”

“It’s not that we wanted him to be a prince, but if taking his title meant they didn’t want to take care of him, that’s a different story. We want our son to be safe,” said the Duchess of Sussex , who later told himself never to have felt protected by Buckingham Palace. “Not only that, it became clear that as the situation worsened, they were willing to lie about me to protect other members.”

Suicidal thoughts, but no help

Life within the British royal family was so difficult for Markle that she struggled with suicidal thoughts during her pregnancy because of the negative way in which the media wrote about her. “I just didn’t see any other solution. I sat up in the middle of the night and thought: I don’t understand how all this is being played. I realized: this is happening because I’m alive.”

“I was very ashamed to tell Harry, too, because of everything he has already been through. But I also knew that if I didn’t say it, I would. I didn’t want to live anymore. very clear and scary thought, “said Markle.

Eventually she asked for help for her mental complaints, but she said she did not receive any support from the royal family. “I said I had to go somewhere, because I had never felt like this before. But I was told that was not an option, because that would not be good for the reputation.”

Harry has little contact with family

Although most of the interview was only with Markle, Harry sat down to share his experiences. The prince said, among other things, that contact with his father, Prince Charles, deteriorated when the couple indicated that they wanted to give up their obligations.

Prior to the announcements, he spoke three times with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, but Charles stopped answering the phone after two calls. “But I had to do something. It became clear to me that I had to do this for my family. And that was no surprise to anyone.”

“It’s sad it had to come this far, but I have to take care of my own sanity and that of my wife and son. I saw where it was going.”

At the moment the relationship with his father is not yet good, which is difficult for Harry. “He knows the pain I feel because of what he has been through himself. But I will always love him. It remains a priority to improve that relationship.”

The relationship with his brother William has also been written extensively in the British press: the two are said to have a falling out. “And a lot more will be written about it. But I love William very much. He is my brother. We have been through hell together (the death of their mother Diana, ed.), But we now each take their own path. There’s a lot of space between us now. Hopefully that will get better with time. “

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