Harry and Meghan's racism claims in own words as two accused royals named
Kate Middleton and King Charles have been dragged into the royal racism row as the pair were named as those accused of making comments about the colour of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's then-unborn son Prince Archie in the Dutch translation of Omid Scobie's book, Endgame.
Harry and Meghan first made allegations of royal racism during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey back in 2021 - and it shocked the world. The Duchess claimed that there had been "concerns" within the Royal Family about how dark Archie's skin colour might be while she was pregnant with her first child. After the explosive allegations were made on Oprah's show, Harry then denied that the couple ever referred to his family as "racist" - instead highlighting that in their eyes, it was a matter of "unconscious bias".
Following the interview, Buckingham Palace released a statement, saying: "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. Whilst 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." Prince William also addressed the claims while on a royal engagement in the days following the Oprah interview. Asked by a reporter: "Is the royal family a racist family, sir? to which he quickly replied: "We're very much not a racist family."
Here we take a look at all the racism claims made by Harry and Meghan - in their own words....
Meghan's bombshell Oprah claims
In her sit-down interview with Oprah, Meghan revealed that Harry had told her that "concerns and conversations" were raised over how dark her son's skin might be. The TV host asked Meghan if there was worry Archie's skin would be "too brown", to which Meghan responded: "If that is the assumption you are making, that is a pretty safe one." The Duchess didn't say who made the remarks, saying that she believed it "would be very damaging to them" to do so.
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Harry and Meghan chat to Oprah Winfrey"That was relayed to me from Harry, those were conversations the family had with him, and I think it was really hard to be able to see those as compartmentalised conversations," Meghan added.
When the interview turned to claims that the Firm did not want to make Archie a prince at the time he was born, Oprah asked Meghan: "Why do you think that is? Do you think it's because of his race?"
Eventually Meghan replied: "I can give you an honest answer. In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time . . . so we have in tandem the conversation of 'He won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title' and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born."
After Oprah exclaimed: "What?", Meghan continued saying there had been a conversation with Harry about how dark Archie would be and "what that would mean or look like" for the Royal Family.
For Harry's part, he refused to name names. "That conversation I'm never going to share, but at the time... at the time, it was awkward. I was a bit shocked." He refused to share what question had actually been asked by the member of the family in question.
Harry's U-turn
Nearly two years later, Harry addressed the issue in another interview, this time with ITV's Tom Bradby, to promote the release of his tell-all memoir Spare. In this sit-down, he argued that there is a difference between racism and unconscious bias and denied that he or his wife had accused the Royal Family of being racist.
"The British press said that, right? Did Meghan ever mention 'they're racists?'" Harry said, before Bradby pushed back and replied: "She said there were troubling comments about Archie's skin colour. Wouldn't you describe that as essentially racist?"
Harry answered that given his experience of growing up in that family he wouldn't consider it racist, instead arguing that there was a distinction between the two things, "Once it's been acknowledged or pointed out to you as an individual, otherwise an institution, that you have unconscious bias, you therefore have an opportunity to learn and grow from that... otherwise, unconscious bias then moves into the category of racism."
Meghan Markle's letters to King Charles after Oprah
One of the most shocking claims in the book is that Meghan accused not one, but two members of the Royal Family of discussing their "concerns" over the colour of her son Prince Archie's skin. When the Sussexes made their explosive allegations on Oprah, in an interview broadcast around the world, they set in train a public debate about who in the royal family might harbour such racially charged views. In a multicultural modern Britain such allegations against the monarchy generated debate on a matter of such public importance with Scobie's new book claiming to add to that public debate.
In the book Scobie claims Meghan named two members of the Firm in private letters she wrote to King Charles in the spring of 2021, after she and Harry spoke to Oprah. The King is said to have wanted his return letters to express how he felt no "casual prejudice" had been involved.
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The names of those alleged to have made the comments are not revealed in the book. The author Mr Scobie claims that he knows the names but "laws in the United Kingdom prevent me from reporting who they were." When the Sussexes made their explosive allegations on Oprah, in an interview broadcast around the world, they set in train a public debate about who in the royal family might harbour such racially charged views. In a multicultural modern Britain such allegations against the monarchy generated debate on a matter of such public importance with Scobie's new book claiming to add to that public debate.
And since the publication of the book across the world, a furore has broken out after the names apparently appeared in the Dutch version. Piers Morgan repeated the names on Talk TV. The Mirror initially chose not to reveal the names. The King and the Princess of Wales were identified by TV presenter Piers Morgan on Wednesday night when he used the opening monologue of his show Piers Morgan Uncensored on Talk TV to declare: “I do not believe any racist comments were ever made by any of the royal family”.
The clip, which was posted to the show’s official profile on X (formally Twitter) and seen more than 7.7million times since it aired, he said: “If Dutch people walking into a book shop can see these names then you, the British people are entitled to know, too…(and) until there is actual evidence of those comments being made, I will never believe it.”
The Guardian also revealed the names of the two royals yesterday afternoon alongside details of the investigation by Xander, the publishers of the Dutch translation, which was forced to pulp thousands of copies after an "error". They said in a statement: "[We are] temporarily withdrawing the book by Omid Scobie from sale. An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified."
The naming of the two royals across UK and international media has plunged the monarchy into crisis, overshadowing the King's vitally important visit to the COP28 environmental gathering in Dubai, where he is due to make a keynote speech today, arguing how government organisations, the private sector, and philanthropic organisations must come together if we are to save the planet from climate change.
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