Buckingham Palace Responds To Harry And Meghan’s Oprah Interview : NPR

In her first public response to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s extraordinary interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this week, Queen Elizabeth II says that the royal family is “saddened” to learn the extent of the challenges faced by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle.

The couple discussed at length their contentious relationship with the royal family in the two-hour interview broadcast in the U.S. on Sunday evening, and in Great Britain the following night.

The statement “issued by Buckingham Palace on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen” read in its entirety:

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.

“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

In the interview, Meghan said the royal family declined to make the couple’s son, Archie, a prince or to offer him the protection that would come with that title. She also said members of the family expressed concern to Harry before the baby’s birth about what its skin color would be. Meghan has a Black father and white mother. Harry declined to say who, exactly, had expressed those concerns, but said it was neither his grandfather Prince Philip nor the queen.

When asked by a reporter on Tuesday about the interview, Prince Charles, Harry’s father, declined to answer.

Among other revelations from the interview: the royal family informed Harry and Meghan that their security detail would be ended, now that the couple had stepped back from royal duties and were moving abroad. The couple said their home address in Canada had been revealed by The Daily Mail, making them concerned for their safety and resulting in their move to California.

Meghan also revealed that her experience in the family was so unbearable she had considered taking her own life.

Harry told Oprah that he felt “trapped” within the system of the royal family, and said the family had failed to stick up for them when Meghan was suffering racist harassment from British media and members of the public.

The interview drew parallels with a 1995 BBC interview with Harry’s late mother, Diana, whose marriage to Charles ended in divorce.