In an interview aired on March 7, Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle described the intense pressures that led the Duchess of Sussex to contemplate suicide and losing royal protection.
The interview with American talk show host Oprah Winfrey was the couple’s first since they quit royal duties. Their departure from royal duties began in March 2020 over what they described as the intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media toward the duchess.
Markle, an actor, starred in the television drama Suits and married Harry at the Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son, Archie, was born a year later.
Harry and Meghan's departure from royal life was supposed to be reviewed after a year. However, on February 19, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the couple would not return to royal duties and Harry would relinquish his honorary military titles. The decision formalised the couple’s split from the royal family.
Here are key talking points from the interview:
‘Trapped in royal life’
In a two-hour television special that included many revelations, Harry told Winfrey that he felt trapped in his royal life and was surprised that he was cut off financially and lost his security last year.
In response to a question from Winfrey, Harry said he would not have left his royal life if he had not married Meghan, but that it was their relationship that revealed the strictures of royal life. “I wouldn’t have been able to, because I myself was trapped,” Harry said. “I didn’t see a way out.”
“I was trapped, but I didn’t know I was trapped,” Harry said, before adding, “My father and my brother, they are trapped.”
The 36-year-old said he felt that his family did not support Meghan, who acknowledged her naiveté about royal life before marrying Harry, as she endured media attacks and false stories.
Meghan Markle on having suicidal thoughts
At one point during the interview, Winfrey asked the couple about the mental health impact. Meghan said that she experienced suicidal thoughts and had sought help through the palace’s human resources department, but was told there was nothing they could do.
Meghan said she got increasingly concerned about her son not having a royal title because it meant he wouldn't be provided security. She said digesting everything while pregnant was “very hard.” More than the “prince” title, she was the most concerned about her son’s safety and protection.
“He needs to be safe,” a teary-eyed Meghan recalled. “We’re not saying don’t make him a prince or princess, whatever it’s going to be. But if you’re saying the title is going to affect their protection, we haven’t created this monster machine around us in terms of clickbait and tabloid fodder. You’ve allowed that to happen, which means our son needs to be safe.”
Painful discussions about their son’s skin colour
Meghan, who is biracial, also described that when she was first pregnant with son Archie, there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
Meghan said it was hard for her to understand why there were concerns within the royal family about her son’s skin colour. She said it was hard for her to “compartmentalise” those conversations.
Tensions within the royal family
Harry acknowledged that he currently does not have a close relationship with his brother Prince William, who is heir to the throne after their father, Prince Charles.
‘The Queen has always been wonderful’
The prince disputed rumours that he intentionally blindsided his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, with his decision to split. He suspects the rumours came from the institution. “I’ve never blindsided my grandmother,” he said. “I have too much respect for her.”
Meghan was also complimentary toward the queen, despite saying at one point she realised some in the palace were willing to lie to “protect other members of the family.”
“The queen has always been wonderful to me,” Meghan said.
On their second child
In what came as a rare positive moment during the discussion, Harry and Meghan revealed that their child second would be a girl.
Married three days before the official wedding
The two announced that they actually got married three days before their official wedding. Meghan said they wanted to hold the ceremony in private. "Three days before our wedding, we got married.”
"No-one knows that but we called the Archbishop (of Canterbury) and we just said 'this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us'."
Before the interview started, host Winfrey said that no topic was off-limits and that Meghan and Harry were not being paid for the special. The interview was yet to be aired in the United Kingdom. The palace did not immediately react to the interview and to the claims made by Harry and Meghan.
(With inputs from the Associated Press)
If you are having thoughts of suicide, the following organisation can help. In India, call 24x7 toll-free mental health rehabilitation helpline 'Kiran' at 1800-599-0019.
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