Meghan Markle shocked Oprah Winfrey during their CBS interview Sunday evening when she revealed that members of the royal family had expressed concerns when she was pregnant with her son, Archie, about “how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
Markle became the first multi-racial person in the British royal family when she married Prince Harry in 2018, and has spoken before of the pain she felt from racist headlines in tabloids and blogs.
She told Winfrey about some of the controversy regarding Archie and what title he would be given, that there was a reluctance from the royal family to allow him to become a prince, and how she had been fighting for him to be able to have security, especially in light of the tabloid attention.
Winfrey asked Markle if she thought that the reluctance to make Archie a prince was related to his race, acknowledging that it was a “loaded question.”
Markle described her concerns about the conversations while she was pregnant, that Archie wouldn’t be given security, wouldn’t have a title, “and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
“What?” said a clearly shocked Winfrey. “Who — who is having that conversation with you? What?”
Markle said that there had been several conversations with Harry and other members of the royal family, on the topic of what their baby
“About how dark your baby is going to be?” asked Winfrey.
“Potentially, and what that would mean or look like,” replied Markle.
“Whoa,” said Winfrey. “And you’re not going to tell me who had the conversation?”
“I think that would be very damaging to them,” replied Markle, adding that she had been shocked herself to hear of these conversations, because the British Commonwealth countries around the world include many people of color.
“And growing up as a woman of color, as a little girl of color, I know how important representation is. I know how you want to see someone who looks like you in certain positions,” said Markle. “And I could never understand how it wouldn’t be seen as an added benefit — and a reflection of the world today. At all times, but especially right now, to go — how inclusive is that, that you can see someone who looks like you in this family, much less one who’s born into it?”
Watch the video above, via CBS.