Hullabaloo ensued after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in an interview with the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey revealed the struggles the couple faced inside the Royal Palace. Issues around mental health and suicidal thoughts which the former Duchess of Sussex had to battle through grabbed everyone's attention. However, the speculation around the skin colour of Archie, Harry and Meghan's firstborn, before his birth posted questions around grandmother - Queen Elizabeth II - and the grandfather - Prince Philip.
The chat show host and philanthropist clarified categorically that neither the Queen nor her husband Prince Philip were part of conversations expressing concern over how dark the skin of their great-grandson would be. She said that Prince Harry did not reveal who had raised concerns.
“He wanted to make sure that I knew and if I had an opportunity to share it that it was not his grandmother nor his grandfather that were a part of those conversations,” Agence-France Presse (AFP) quoted Winfrey telling CBS.
Meghan, who is African American and the first person of colour to marry into the family, is said to have also revealed during the interview that she had been denied help during a mental health crisis while speaking about suicidal thoughts during her pregnancy.
The allegation follows the couple’s accusations against the British press of racism in their hostile treatment of her.
The country has in recent months faced a reckoning over racism and its colonial past. The issue has gained prominence following the Black Lives Matter protests in the US and around the world.
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Black Lives Matter is a decentralized political and social movement protesting against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people.