Advertisement

The Biggest Revelations from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Oprah Interview

Photo credit: Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions
Photo credit: Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions

From Town & Country

On Sunday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's much-anticipated conversation with Oprah Winfrey aired on CBS. As was teased in clips previously released by the network, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke about their decision to step back as working royals, the parallels between their situation and what Princess Diana went through, and much, much more. Below, the top revelations from the historic sit-down interview.

Meghan on meeting the Queen for the first time:

She was going to have lunch at the Royal Lodge—where Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson live—when she and Harry learned that Queen Elizabeth was attending a church service and would stop by after. Harry asked Meghan if she knew how to curtsy, which shocked her.

"I thought genuinely that was what happens outside I thought that was part of the fanfare. I didn't think that was what happens inside. And I said, 'But it’s your grandmother,' and he said, 'It’s the Queen,'" Meghan told Oprah. Fortunately, Meghan got a crash course from Harry and Fergie, and made it through the curtsy. After that, "then just we sat there and we chatted and it was lovely and easy," the Duchess said.

On the couple's secret wedding ceremony:

"Three days before our wedding, we got married," Meghan said. "No one knows that. We called the Archbishop and we just said, look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world. But we want our union between us, so the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury."

Added Harry, "Yeah, just the three of us."

On reports that she made Kate cry:

“No. [I didn’t make Kate cry]," she said. "No, the reverse happened. And I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone because it was a really hard week of the wedding, and she was upset about it, and she owned it, and she apologized, and she brought me flowers and a note apologizing and she did what I would do."

She added, “What was shocking was that six, seven months after our wedding, the reverse of that would be out in the world [a report suggesting Meghan made Kate cry]. I would’ve never wanted that to come out about her ever even though it had happened. I protected that from ever being out in the world. A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining—yes, the issue is correct about the flower girl dresses, and it made me cry and it really hurt my feelings, and I thought in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding that it didn’t make sense to not be just doing what everyone else was doing, which was try to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad.”

“There wasn’t a confrontation, and I don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that because she’s apologized and I’ve forgiven her,” Meghan continued. “What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn’t do but what happened to me and the people that were a part of my wedding going to my comms team, saying, I know this didn’t happen.”

On the royal family deciding not to make Archie a prince:

"They were saying they didn't want him to be a prince or princess, which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn't going to receive security," Meghan said. "This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy where I was going, hold on for a second."

She explained further, "They said [he's not going to get security], because he's not going to be a prince. Okay, well, he needs to be safe so we're not saying don't make him a prince or princess, but if you're saying the title is what's going to affect that 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."

Meghan said that no suitable explanation was given for why they didn't want Archie to want to have a title, but that if it meant that he would get security, she did want him to have a title. "If it meant he was going to be safe, of course. All the grandeur around this stuff is an attachment I don't have... the most important title I will ever have is mom."

Once Prince Charles becomes king, as the rules are now, Archie would automatically become a prince. But, Meghan said, "Even with that convention [that automatically makes all grandchildren of the monarch a prince or princess], they said, 'I want to change the convention for Archie.' Well, why?"

She added that it was particularly concerning that "the first member of color in this family isn't being titled in the same way as other grandchildren would be."

This discussion about the title was happening during her pregnancy, when "concerns and conversations about how dark [Archie's] skin might be when he was born" were raised to Harry by a member of the family.

On expecting a baby girl:

How did Harry feel when he learned that their second child would be a girl? "Amazing. Just grateful, like—to have any child, any one or any two would have been amazing, but to have a boy and then a girl, what more can you ask for?" He added, "now we've got our family. We've got the four of us and our two dogs and it's great."

Meghan on experiencing suicidal ideation, and being refused help:

"I've never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere [to get help]," Meghan said, revealing that she was having suicidal thoughts and was thinking of harming herself during her time as a working royal. "This was very clear and very scary," she says.

"I was told that I couldn't [get help], that it wouldn't be good for the institution," Meghan told Oprah.

"I went to one of the most senior people to get help. And I share this because, there are so many people who are afraid to voice that they need help, and I know how hard it is to not just voice it but to be told no."

So Meghan went to human resources at the Palace. "I said: 'I need help.'"

"[Human resources] said: 'My heart goes out to you because I see how bad it is, but there's nothing we can do to protect you because you're not a paid employee of the institution.'"

If you or someone you know is at risk, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to 741741 to message with a trained crisis counselor from the Crisis Text Line for free.

You Might Also Like