Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they spoke about their experiences as members of the royal family, shocked the world. In this revealing conversation, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made some surprising claims about their time as royals.
There was reportedly some debate over how dark Prince Archie’s skin was when he was born. Meghan also said that the Princess of Wales made her cry just before her wedding.
Three years have passed since the Oprah interview, and the Sussexes have changed some of their statements over time. Piers Morgan even accused the couple of not telling the truth during her interview.
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The Mirror investigated how their most important allegations hold up today.
Meghan claimed she was silenced by the royal family during a tense moment during her interview with Oprah Winfrey. When asked if Meghan was “silenced or silenced,” she surprisingly answered that it was the latter.
She also noted that she had been instructed by the royal family to say “no comment” when asked questions by the media.
However, Talk TV host Piers Morgan refuted this claim during a chat with Tucker Carlson. He said: “The idea that Meghan Markle was silenced stems from her guest editing British Vogue during her silence. Meghan Markle has appeared in public 73 times. many of which she gave during long periods of silence.”
After leaving the royal family, Meghan spoke candidly about her time in the UK. In the Netflix documentary series Harry and Meghan, the Sussexes made several accusations about The Firm.
In the explosive series, Prince Harry spoke out about his strained relationship with his brother Prince William and criticized King Charles.
secret wedding
In May 2018, everyone watched as Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan tied the knot at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, but three days before that, the couple actually married in private without witnesses. He revealed that he was having a wedding ceremony.
Meghan said the special ceremony was also attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury. After Meghan made this claim, the archbishop denied their legal marriage.
However, he did not rule out the possibility that a private vow exchange ceremony may have taken place before the televised wedding.
Archie denied the title of prince because of his skin color
Meghan claimed that an anonymous member of the royal family expressed “concerns” to Prince Harry about how dark his then-born son Prince Archie’s heart was. Harry admitted he was “shocked” by the conversation.
Meghan claimed her son Archie was initially denied the title and security of a prince because he was mixed race. However, when Queen Elizabeth II died and Prince Charles became King, Archie and his sister Lilibet were officially designated princes and princesses according to royal protocol.
Author Omid Scobie’s shocking book Endgame, released last year, reignited the debate over racism within the royal family. King Charles and Duchess Kate found themselves embroiled in a feud after one version of the book suggested they were members of the royal family.
Mr Omid initially denied naming any members of the royal family, telling the BBC: “The books I’ve written, edited or signed don’t have their names in them.”
He later confessed that he had named alleged “royal racists” in early drafts of his book. He explained that this “unresolved text” has been passed on to a Dutch publisher who plans to update future translations to reflect the final version of the book.
Dutch publisher Zander Uytgevers admitted there had been an “error” that resulted in Charles and Kate being identified. Endgame contained an error and was promptly removed from shelves until it was fixed.
My passport was taken away
Viewers were shocked when Meghan told Oprah that her keys, driver’s license and passport were taken away by royal aides when she joined The Firm. However, even when she was a member of the royal family, she managed to travel around the world.
Meghan took 14 flights during her royal career.
The royal family ignored Meghan’s mental health issues
The Duchess of Sussex broke down in tears during an interview with Oprah, saying there were times when she felt like she “didn’t want to be alive anymore.” Meghan said she was told by the palace that she would not receive any assistance because “she is not good for the institution.”
However, several members of the royal family, including Prince Harry, have sought help for mental health struggles over the years. The Prince and Princess of Wales are spearheading Heads Together, a mental health initiative that combines a campaign to tackle stigma and change the conversation around mental health with raising money for a series of innovative new mental health services. is also standing.
Piers Morgan also said he couldn’t believe Prince Harry wouldn’t have helped his wife. He told Tucker Carlson: “Prince Harry has a place in all of this. He’s involved with many of the UK’s biggest mental health charities.”
“He has made no secret of his desire for people who are depressed, anxious or suicidal to seek immediate help, but his wife, who says she always has suicidal thoughts, But Prince Harry never asked her for help, which I frankly find hard to believe.”
Television was not in the original plan.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry confessed to Oprah that their initial move to the United States did not include any plans to partner with a television company. However, in 2020 they signed a lucrative deal with Netflix.
The exact value of the deal is unknown, but it is rumored to be worth $112 million (£88,000).
Previously private details reveal that the couple was in talks with the $1 billion streaming service Quibi before stepping down as working royals in early 2020. A source told the Telegraph: “A lot of it was orchestrated by Meghan’s associates in the US. It was a bit of a secret squirrel.”
Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry reportedly met with Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg. In 2019, Quibi allegedly made a series of marriage proposals to couples.
Security deletion claim
In a conversation with Oprah, Meghan claimed the royal family had lifted security measures for her, Prince Harry, and Archie, despite raising concerns about their safety. However, upon stepping down from their royal roles, they were automatically stripped of their international protector status.
Meghan revealed that her son Archie was not given 24/7 protection because he was not a prince. However, it turns out that not all titled royals are guaranteed the security of public funds, with Prince Andrew, for example, paying for the protection of his daughters.
The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla, Prince William, Duchess Kate and their three children are among those receiving continued security from the Treasury. Other minor royals will have to find other ways to pay for their protection.
When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry started dating in 2016, the Duchess claimed she had never looked up Prince Harry online or researched the monarchy.
However, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand dispute this in their book In Search of Freedom, saying that Meghan did an extensive Google search about Prince Harry before their first date. Stated.
Duchess Meghan has been estranged from her half-sister Samantha Markle for many years. In 2021, she said Meghan hadn’t seen Samantha in “she’s been at least 18, 19 years.” Samantha then provided evidence to prove Meghan was wrong.
Samantha questioned Meghan’s claims in an interview with Inside Edition, saying, “How can she not know about me when we have pictures of us together all our lives?” ?” and shared photos of himself and Duchess Meghan, the most recent of which were from 2008. – just 13 years before the Oprah interview.
Meghan Markle has revealed that she has received no formal training in royal etiquette since joining the royal family. When she spoke to Oprah, she said: She said, “There was no guidance, and there were things I couldn’t do, but unlike what you see in movies, there were no lessons like how to speak or how to have emotions, how to be royalty.” ”
“There is no such training that may exist for other members.”
Meghan explained that it was her responsibility to learn the ropes and manage expectations.
“To the point where I loved the national anthem. Nobody thought, ‘Oh, you’re an American, you don’t even know that.'” That’s because I Googled what the national anthem was late at night. When I’m searching, I have to learn this, I don’t want to embarrass them. ”
“I need to learn these three hymns for my church. This will all be on TV. We wanted to make them proud, so we were training them behind the scenes. .”
However, the book ‘Finding Freedom’ suggests that Meghan received some unofficial training from the palace.
This included lessons such as how to get out of a car while wearing a skirt and how to bow. A source also said Meghan had been advised to contact the Princess of Wales.
According to Us Weekly, when Meghan first joined the royal family, she was told that she should “feel free to reach out” whenever she needed.