The Royal Report: The Oprah Interview

Introduction

I wanted to take some time to digest the interview before posting about it. A lot was said, a lot wasn't said, and it deserved the time to be sifted through. Note that this post is not a recap of the interview. I'll be sharing some of the topics that were discussed that stood out to me along with some of my thoughts. To avoid confusion direct quotes from either Meghan or Harry are in quotation marks, a summary of the topic is in regular font, and my thoughts are in italics.  Additional portions of the interview that did not originally air have since been released online. I'll be discussing only things that were said during the interview that aired on CBS (because there was just so much).

Meghan Markle revealed she had considered suicide and that she, "just didn't want to be alive anymore."

Meghan admitted to suicidal ideations during her first pregnancy while working as a 'senior member' of the royal family. She cited that her feelings of hopelessness came from the untruths and attacks from the press, and her husband's family's unwillingness to stand up for her. Meghan reported that she went to a senior staff member of the palace's human resources department for guidance on getting help. Per the Duchess, she was told that because she was a member of the royal family - and not a paid employee - that she wasn't eligible for any benefits through the institution. 

Any suicidal thoughts and ideations need to treated as an emergency. I understand that Meghan and Harry were mostly likely concerned about how her mental health problems may reflect on the monarchy and the family, but I want to know why was this more important than getting her help. Why did Prince Harry not take her directly to an emergency room? Why did they not find a private mental health facility and take her there? Why could they not have covertly gotten a therapist to their home and have him/her sign a non-disclosure agreement? 

In 1995, Princess Diana shared that she was able to get treatment for post partum depression. In 2017, Harry discussed openly that he had finally sought treatment after not dealing with his mother's death for the past 20 years. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge along with Prince harry have made mental health a public priority since 2016 when they launched the 'Heads Together' campaign. Meghan joined the efforts when they launched Shout (a 24/7 mental health text line service) in 2019. Wouldn't they have had resources to reach out to through this?

In the interview Harry mentioned that he was "ashamed" to tell his family about Meghan's struggles because discussing this sort of thing was not encouraged within The Firm. However, in the past interviews with Princes Harry and William, they have stated that William was the one who suggested Harry see a therapist. 

So Meghan did not help from the palace... because she's black? 

A family member had a conversation with Prince Harry about "how dark" their child's skin would be.

Meghan reported to Oprah that Harry had relayed to her that a family member had a conversation with Harry regarding what their child's skin tone would be. Harry stated of the conversation, "it was awkward and I was bit shocked."

This is f*cking disgusting and there are zero excuses for this. It's flaming racism. I wanted to throw up when this came out. 

I was left a little confused on the timing of when this conversation actually took place. When Meghan spoke to Oprah it sounded like it happened when she was pregnant with Archie. When Harry spoke to Oprah it sounded like this conversation happened while they were still dating. Does this really matter? No. What matters is that this racist conversation took place at all. Lots of speculation out there on who the family member in this conversation was...

Meghan addressed the report that she made her sister-in-law Kate cry by saying, "the reverse happened."

The Duchess of Sussex was finally able to clear the air about an article that has plagued her since her marriage to Prince Harry nearly three years ago. The British press had reported she had left The Duchess of Cambridge in tears leading up the the royal wedding due to a disagreement about bridesmaids dresses (Charlotte, Will and Kate's daughter, was a bridesmaid). Meghan explained that the opposite was true. Kate had actually made her cry. The Duchess confirmed that the disagreement was over bridesmaids dresses, but would would not get into the details of what happened because she had been apologized to and forgiven Kate. Meghan did go into detail that Kate's apology included flowers and a note, and Meghan stated she felt her sister-in-law is "a good person."

So, that's just a summary because, actually, a lot more was said about about the situation. I think Meghan alluded to the fact that she felt someone at the palace (possibly in the Cambridges' camp) spun the story for the media. She made it a bit clearer that she felt her sister-in-law should have spoken up about the the falsehood of the report telling Oprah, "I would have never wanted that to come out about her ever, even though it happened." Meghan did concede that Kate was most likely advised by the palace to stay silent. 

I wish Meghan would have touched on is that at this time Kate was three weeks post partum from having her third child and Meghan herself may have been a bit more on edge due to the circumstances surrounding her father at the time. 

Meghan said of Kate, "I thought in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading up the the wedding, it didn't make sense to not be just doing whatever everyone else was doing doing, which was trying to be supportive knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot." Instead of saying 'what was happening with my dad may have played a part in my reaction (to whatever happened between her in Kate)' she kind of just put it back on Kate. Maybe Meghan truly doesn't feel that what was going on with her dad played a part in how she reacted to  Kate and what was said or done by the Duchess warranted a cry. Who knows! 

I can understand how Meghan would want to set the record straight in regards to the claims she bullied Kate and made her cry. 

Other bombshells...

• The couple revealed that they had the Archbishop of Canterbury marry them in their backyard three days prior to their televised wedding. This was probably a spiritual ceremony and not legally binding. Meghan explained that she felt the televised wedding was for the world, not for her and Harry.
• Harry reported that he had three conversations with the Queen and two with his father (Prince Charles) in regards the desire to change his and Meghan's royal working status. Thereafter, Harry said Charles stopped taking his calls. Harry told Oprah that his father stopped taking calls because he "took matter in to his own hands." Whatever that means. He claims these conversations were had prior to their announcement in January 2020 about stepping back and that no one was blindsided. 
• While pregnant with Archie, the couple were made aware that their child would not receive a title or a security detail. At the time of his birth, Archie was not guaranteed a title based on birth right or UK law (the parents would have had to be gifted one from the Queen). However, by law, Archie is to become a prince when Charles becomes king. Meghan reported to Oprah that there have been efforts to change this law. Meghan implied, but did not directly say, that this is because Archie is a child of color.

• The couple reports that they did not do a traditional photo call at the hospital after the birth of their child because the institution did not approach them to do so. Reports in the UK stated that the couple chose to forgo this tradition to give their family privacy. I guess this means that the the couple took matter it to their own hands. Regardless of who was in charge, Archie's birth announcement ended up a royal mess.
• Meghan and Harry both admitted that his entire family was very welcoming of Meghan at first, but that all changed after their tour of Australia and the South Pacific in 2018, and after seeing how "incredible" The Duchess was at "the job." Harry expressed that it may have brought up old memories and feelings. Oprah pushed the royal asking, "your father and your mother went there, and your mother was bedazzling. So, are you saying there were hints of jealousy?" Neither Harry nor Meghan directly answered the question. It has been widely reported for over 30 years that Prince Charles had a hard time handling how much attention his then-wife Princess Diana received during their tour of Australia, and was jealous the crowds preferred her over him.

• Harry revealed that the royal family cut him off financially in the first quarter of 2020 and removed their security details due to "a change in status." In order to move from Canada to the US before borders were forced closed due to the pandemic, the family relied on Tyler Perry. Perry let the couple stay in one of his California homes and offered up his security team.
• Harry said, "I've got all my mom left me and without that we would not be able to do this," insinuating that he relies heavily on his inheritance from his late mother to support his family. 

• Harry shared with Oprah that the streaming deals were an idea brought to him during the pandemic by a friend. He then latched on to the idea because he needed to be able to pay for security for his family. The Sussexes inked deals with Spotify and Netflix, both worth millions of dollars, in 2020.
• Harry described his father and brother (Prince William) as being "trapped" in the monarchy and for that he has "compassion." Harry also expressed that he felt "let down" by his father.

• Meghan was encouraged by a member of Harry's family to "lay low" after several months of bad press. The Duchess reported that she had "only been out of the house two times in the last four months" at the time she was given this advice. Who do we think gave her this advice?
• The Duchess of Sussex stated that her keys, passport, and license were taken upon marrying in to the family. Haven't we seen The Duchess of Cambridge doing school runs, Sophie around London, and Prince Andrew driving around the town of Windsor? I'm confused about how this works and who has what privileges. Do the protection officers usually drive them around? Meghan made it sound like she couldn't shop for groceries or pop out for a tea or coffee without permission.

• In happy news, the couple revealed they are expecting a baby girl in "summertime," and this child will complete their family! 

Conclusion 

This only scratches the surface of what was covered in the interview. We all need to keep in mind that this is still very much a they said/they said situation. What we do know for certain is that the British tabloids have reported untruths and have attacked Meghan because of her race. The proof is in what was published. These articles can be easily accessed online for anyone to see. 

I would have liked to have heard Meghan and Harry come right out and say that his family treated her differently because she's black. It was hinted at and alluded to throughout the interview. State your claim. Say you think they are racist, name drop, and get it all out. Continued speculation is just going to fan the flame.

My hopes for this family going forward is that they are able to make a clean break from one another. The Sussexes can live whatever they think the reality is in California and The Royal Family can live whatever they think the reality is in the UK. It's the only way to stop these people from hurting each other and to get the press to stop harassing them.

I leave you with one word. Heartbreak.