Harry, Meghan Considered Naming 'Racist' Royal in Oprah Interview, Book Claims
00:17 GMT 26.08.2021 (Updated: 15:15 GMT 28.05.2023)
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The Oprah Winfrey interview with the Sussexes rocked media throughout the world: the two claimed that one unnamed member of the UK royal family had asked the couple about the skin colour of their then-unborn first son. The name of the family member, however, was never revealed.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle considered revealing the name of the alleged "racist" royal family member, but decided instead to keep it secret, according to an unauthorized biography of the couple, described in detail by The Daily Mail.
An updated version of the book 'Finding Freedom' by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand asserts that the Sussexes mulled "sharing this detail" in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. Markle, however, ultimately told Winfrey that revealing the person would be "damaging to them".
The new book offers more revelations about family matters between Harry and Meghan and the UK royals, saying that while the Oprah interview left Prince William "furious", the Sussexes found it "liberating" and "cathartic", even though months after it was broadcast, "little accountability" was taken by the UK monarchy, according to a friend of the Duchess.
Prince Harry, left, and Prince William stand together during the unveiling of a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana, on what woud have been her 60th birthday, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London, Thursday July 1, 2021
© AP Photo / Dominic Lipinski
The book noted that some members of the royal family were "quietly pleased" that Markle missed the April funeral of the late Prince Philipp, after her doctor advised her against taking a flight to the United Kingdom. The book claims that family members were afraid of the Duchess "creating a spectacle" if she attended the funeral.
Prince Harry, however, was present, and the authors said that he had at least two conversations with Prince William in what was described as "steps forward" in the "healing process".
Harry also spent time with Queen Elizabeth, his grandmother, of which the source told the authors: "Her life of duty and service is one of the many ways in which she has inspired him to also serve".
The updated version of the unauthorized book also claimed that Harry and Meghan felt that courtiers were still trying to undermine them after their departure from the UK and from royal duties.
"What has continued to be troubling for the couple, more than a year after their decision, is knowing that courtiers inside the institution are still appearing to actively undermine Harry and Meghan by deliberately leaking information to discredit them", the authors wrote.
Scobie and Durand claimed that Buckingham Palace lied to the press in regard to the couple's son, Archie, by telling reporters that the Sussexes did not want a prince title for their son, when in fact Harry and Meghan wanted at least to have the option.
"The differential treatment the couple felt had been bestowed upon their son was a major sting to Harry and Meghan", the authors wrote, saying that the couple wanted Archie to be a prince "given that it would provide their son with a level of security that only comes with a title".
Among other grievances purportedly expressed by the couple and detailed in the tell-all book was a rejection that Harry received from the royal family to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph last Remembrance Sunday, because he was no longer a "frontline royal".
Prince Harry was stripped of three of his military titles, including that of Captain-General of the Royal Marines, after he and his wife departed from the royal family in 2020.
"Ten years of service and a lifetime commitment to the military community and this is how it's been acknowledged by his family", the authors wrote, quoting an unnamed source.
Despite the stumbling blocks on their way out of the royal family, the Sussexes have "no regrets" about discarding their royal duties, according to the book.
The updated version of the unauthorized biography is expected to be released on 31 August - the anniversary of the death of Prince Harry's beloved mother, Princess Diana.
