Race, title and anguish: Meghan and Harry explain royal rift

In a wideranging interview aired Sunday Harry and Meghan described painful palace discussions about the color of their sons skin losing royal protection and the intense pressures that led the Duchess of Sussex to contemplate suicideThe interview with Oprah Winfrey was the couples first since they stepped down from royal duties and the twohour special included numerous revelations likely to reverberate on both sides of the AtlanticHarry told Winfrey that he felt trapped by royal life and was surprised that he was cut off financially and lost his security last year He also said he felt his family did not support Meghan who acknowledged her naivete about royal life before marrying Harry as she endured tabloid attacks and false storiesMeghan who is biracial described that when she was first pregnant with son Archie there were concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when hes born The statement led Winfrey to ask What incredulously and sit in silence for a momentIn a rare positive moment in the interview Harry and Meghan revealed their second would be a girl The interview opened with Winfrey gushing over Meghans pregnancy and lamenting that COVID19 protocols kept them from huggingThe interview was in the United States a full day before it will air in Britain The revelations arent over Winfrey teased additional bits of the interview would be shown Monday morning on CBSIn response to a question from Winfrey Harry said he wouldnt have left royal life if not for his wife the actor formerly known as Meghan Markle who starred in the TV drama Suits He said their relationship revealed the strictures of royal lifeI wouldnt have been able to because I myself was trapped Harry said I didnt see a way outI was trapped but I didnt know I was trapped Harry said before adding My father and my brother they are trappedHarry acknowledged that he does not have a close relationship presently with his brother William who is heir to the throne after their father Prince CharlesWinfrey at various points in the interview ran through headlines about Meghan and at one point asked about the mental health impact Meghan responded that she experienced suicidal thoughts and had sought help through the palaces human resources department but was told there was nothing they could doI was really ashamed to say it at the time and a shame to have to admit it to Harry especially because I know how much loss he suffered she said But I knew that if I didnt say it that I would do it And I just didnt I just didnt want to be alive anymoreMeghan said she grew concerned about her son not having a royal title because it meant he wouldnt be provided securityMeghan said processing everything while pregnant was very hard More than the prince title she was most concerned about her sons safety and protectionHe needs to be safe a tearyeyed Meghan recalled Were not saying dont make him a prince or princess whatever its going to be But if youre saying the title is going to affect their protection we havent created this monster machine around us in terms of click bait and tabloid fodder Youve allowed that to happen which means our son needs to be safeMeghan said it was hard for her to understand why there were concerns within the royal family about her sons skin color She said it was hard for her to compartmentalize those conversationsHarry too said there are lasting impacts about Meghans treatment and his relationship with his familyThere is a lot to work through there Harry said about his relationship with his father I feel really let down Hes been through something similar He knows what pain feels like And Archie is his grandson I will always love him but there is a lot of hurt that has happenedHarry said the royal family cut him off financially at the start of 2020 after announcing plans to step back from his roles But he was able to afford security for his family because of the money his mother Princess Diana left behindHarry disputed rumors that he intentionally blindsided his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II with his decision to split He suspects the rumors came from the institutionIve never blindsided my grandmother he said I have too much respect for herMeghan too was complimentary toward the queen despite saying at one point she realized some in the palace were willing to lie to protect other members of the familyThe queen has always been wonderful to me Meghan saidSundays interview special opened with Meghan describing how naive she was about the ground rules of royal life before she married her husband Harry nearly three years ago I didnt fully understand what the job was she said She also noted that she did not know how to curtsy before meeting Queen Elizabeth II for the first time and didnt realize it would be necessaryI will say I went into it naively because I didnt grow up knowing much about the royal family Meghan said It wasnt something that was part of conversation at home It wasnt something that we followedMeghan said she and Harry were aligned during their courtship because of their causedriven work But she did not fully comprehend the pressure of being linked to the prestigious royal familyThere was no way to understand what the daytoday was going to be like she said And its so different because I didnt romanticize any element of itThe couple married at Windsor Castle in May 2018 and their son Archie was born a year later Harry and Meghans departure from royal duties began in March 2020 over what they described as the intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media toward the duchessAt the top of the interview Winfrey said no topic was off limits and that Meghan and Harry were not being paid for the specialIn Britain the interview is seen as poorly timed It will air while Harrys 99yearold grandfather Prince Philip remains hospitalized in London after undergoing a heart procedureIt is unclear what public reaction if any the queen and other royal family members will have to Sundays interview The UKs Sunday Times newspaper citing an anonymous source reported that the queen would not watch itThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever