Prince Harry and Meghan Markle covered a variety of topics during their first explosive TV interview since their royal exit. The couple, who are expecting their second child together, was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for the CBS special.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, announced their decision to step back from their roles as senior members of the royal family in January 2020.
Some of the revelations from the interview are below:
Saving Each Other-After Harry said that his wife “without question” has saved him in many ways, she believes he did the same for her and for their son.
Meghan’s Regrets-The actress said that she regrets believing the royal family when they said she’d be protected. “I regret believing that because I think, had I really seen that that wasn’t happening, I would have been able to do more. But I think I wasn’t supposed to see it.”
Harry and William’s relationship-“As I’ve said before, I love William to bits. He’s my brother. We’ve been through hell together,” Harry said. “I mean, we have a shared experience. But we’re on different paths. … The relationship is space, at the moment. And, you know, time heals all things, hopefully.”
Why They Left-The couple said that they left their senior royal duties because they wanted to “take a breath,” Harry said. “My biggest concern was history repeating itself. … What I was seeing was history repeating itself.”
Was the queen blindsided? Harry said that the queen knew about their exit well before the public knew and wasn’t shocked by it.
Charles and Harry’s Relationship?-The prince revealed that his father “stopped taking” his calls after Harry detailed their plans to exit in a written statement before it was made public. As for why Prince Charles did that, Harry said, “I took matters into my own hands.”
After their exit, Harry revealed he was “cut off” financially and has been living off an inheritance from his late mother. He is hopeful that in time, they can repair his relationship with Charles.
Meghan’s suicidal thoughts-In January 2019, Meghan sought help for suicidal thoughts following so much negative press in the U.K. “Look, I was really ashamed to have to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry especially, but I knew that if I didn’t say that I would do it,” she shared. “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
Baby No. 2 will be a girl-Meghan also explained that the royal family didn’t want to make Archie a prince and refused to give him security.
She revealed that there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born. … and what that would mean or look like.”
A Gift From the Queen-“The Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me,” she shared, noting that during their first joint appearance, Elizabeth gave her a pair of pearl earrings and a pearl necklace. She also recounted Her Majesty sharing her blanket with her.
Not Leaving the House for Meghan-Meghan shared that she wasn’t allowed to meet her friends for lunch because The Firm advised against it.
The turning point-Six months after her wedding, Meghan read a report that she had made Duchess Kate cry during the wedding. That was the first “turning point” for her and her relationship with the royal family.
An Early Wedding-“Three days before our wedding, we got married,” Meghan shared, revealing it took place in their backyard three days before the giant May 2018 ceremony.
