Another weekend has passed and here comes another interesting detail behind the rocky relationship between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry and Kate Middleton, William and the rest of the British royal family.
This time it's an excerpt from a new book, Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, by Times journalist Valentine Lowe, detailing the royal family's reaction to Harry and Meghan's March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which the couple raised allegations of racism within the family.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Photo: AP
Luo writes that palace spokesmen were tasked with watching the American plan and considering an appropriate public response. He adds that it was William and Kate, now the Prince and Princess of Wales, who sought to "make things worse" for the statement, and he even quotes an insider who reveals: "They both had the same opinion that a response was needed that rejected out of hand what was said in the interview."
"He (William) said, 'It's really important to find the right way to make sure what we're saying is it's not true.' Kate was definitely behind him in that regard."
According to the book, "It was Kate who clearly insisted on the point, 'History will judge this statement, if we don't reject it out of hand, everything they said will be seen as true.'"
Hence, behind the famous phrase "in the distance of time, memories may change" included in the royal family's public response are William and Kate.
Promo for an interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle/CBS
During the Oprah interview, Meghan said that during her pregnancy with Archie, the royals expressed concern about the skin color of Markle's future African-American baby. Unlike protocol that once Prince Charles succeeds Elizabeth as King Archie is automatically given the title of Prince, the royal family considered denying this right to the Dukes' son.
A day after the show aired in the UK, the royal family issued an official response: "The entire family is saddened to discover the full extent of the difficulties and challenges Harry and Meghan have gone through in recent years. Although memories may change over time, allegations of racism are taken seriously and will be dealt with privately by the family."
During Harry's rounds of publication with the release of his memoir Spare, Harry said he had never accused the royal family of racism, adding that his comments had been misinterpreted by the British press.
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