Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex and the wife of Britain’s Prince Harry said there were concerns about how dark her son Archie’s skin would be before his birth and that such worries explained why he was not given the title of prince.
The 39 year old, said she had been naïve before she married into royalty in 2018, but that she ended up having suicidal thoughts and considering self-harm after pleading for help
Markle, whose mother is Black and father is white, said that her son, Archie, now 1, had been denied the title of prince because there were concerns within the royal family about “about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
“They didn’t want him to be a prince or princess, not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn’t going to receive security,” Markle said in an interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey that aired on broadcaster CBS late on Sunday in the United States, where she and Harry now live.
“In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, ‘you won’t be given security, not gonna be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
She declined to say who had aired such concerns. Asked if she was silent or had been silenced, she replied: “The latter”.
The highly anticipated interview comes amid an acrimonious dispute between Markle and Harry on one side and the British monarchy on the other.
The couple, who married in 2018, have stepped down from their royal duties and are now living in California.
Their critics accuse them of wanting all the glamour of their positions without the dedication it requires or scrutiny it brings.
To their supporters, their treatment shows how an outdated British institution has lashed out against a modern, biracial woman, with undertones of racism. That accusation is likely to gather momentum in light of Markle’s comments about her son.
William Roache (Analysis Editor Newspresslive )
