Oprah Winfrey has a few words of clarification from Prince Harry about his explosive interview that aired on Sunday night.
The update came in response to what Gayle King of CBS described as “a great guessing game around the world – who was it, who was it, who was it?” Who was the family member who was concerned about the color of the skin of Harry and Meghan’s son Archie, since Meghan is of mixed race?
“I found it very moving that Harry is still choosing to protect the identity of anyone,” King said on “CBS This Morning.”
Winfrey replied, “He didn’t share his identity with me, but he wanted to make sure that I knew, and if I had the opportunity to share, that it wasn’t his grandmother or grandfather. [who] were part of those conversations. “
She reaffirmed, to be very clear: “Neither his grandmother nor grandfather participated in these conversations”. But, while excluding the queen and Prince Philip, she added, Harry did not say who he was.
At the meeting, which got high ratings for CBS, Harry and Meghan talked about how the lack of support from the royal family combined with the relentless attacks by the British tabloid press led them to a decision to move away from their real roles. They noted in particular the lack of support for Meghan as a black woman in a predominantly white institution.
Archie, unlike his first cousins, does not have an HRH title – that is, he is not a prince. Meghan revealed that during discussions about the title her son might receive, some family members had “concerns and conversations about how their skin might turn dark when they are born”.
When asked for more details, Meghan said there had been “several conversations” with Harry about “what it would mean and what it would be like”. The concern that Archie might be, as Winfrey said, “too brown” was considered a valid assumption.
Meghan, like Harry, refused to identify the family member, saying, “I think that would be very damaging to them.”
Therefore, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are out of danger, but it seems that the guessing game may continue.
The interview can be viewed in its entirety – which Winfrey said lasts an hour and 25 minutes, edited from a three-hour, 20-minute conversation – on CBS.com.