Prince Harry has denied calling the Royal Family racist in his 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex previously told the US chat show host about a conversation with an unnamed member of the Royal Family about how dark their unborn baby Archie’s skin would be while Meghan was pregnant.
Now, in his latest round of TV interviews, to coincide with the release autobiography Spare, Prince Harry has denied calling the Royal Family racist.
Instead, he said the word “racist” was used by the British tabloid press in the aftermath of the couple’s comments.
Here Sky News looks at what was said and the reaction to it.
Harry and Meghan’s claims in the Oprah interview
In March 2021, following their stepping back from frontline royal duties and their move to the US, Harry and Meghan sat down with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey to discuss their decisions to leave the UK behind.
Prince Harry’s ‘self-destructive’ behaviour could be sign of PTSD – and he should be protected, says Army veteran
‘People are excited about reading it’: Harry and Meghan’s neighbours await release of prince’s book
Prince Harry: Biggest revelations from his new book Spare
Among a number of claims was one in which Meghan, who describes herself as biracial, said there were discussions between Prince Harry and his family about the colour of their then unborn child Archie’s skin colour.
She said: “(There were) concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born.”
Oprah, visibly shocked, responded: “What? Who is having that conversation with you?”
Meghan replied: “There were several conversations about it.
Oprah said: “There’s a conversation with you?”
Meghan interjected: “With Harry.”
Oprah continued: “About how dark your baby is going to be?”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Meghan replied: “Potentially, and what that would mean and look like.”
Meghan did not name any family member involved, adding: “I think that would be very damaging to them.”
Harry was also asked to name names, adding: “That conversation, I’m never going to share.”
The royal family’s reaction
Harry and Meghan’s interview was broadcast on 7 March 2021, with the Royal Family issuing a response two days later, on 9 March.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” the statement read.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately,” it added.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members.”
There was a further response two days later by Prince William in response to a question by a journalist during a visit to a school in east London on 11 March.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Prince William was asked: “Are the Royal Family a racist family, sir?”
He responded: “We are very much not a racist family.”
Reaction to the claims
Many of the UK’s national newspapers led on the claims made about comments around Archie’s skin colour following the broadcasting of the Oprah interview.
The Times newspaper’s main frontpage headline was: “Palace in turmoil over Meghan’s racism claims”.
The Daily Mail, with the headline “What have they done?”, said: “Toxic accusations. Incendiary racism claims against their family. Palace left reeling and Queen, 94, in emergency talks”.
The Guardian, on its front page, carried the headline: “Palace in crisis following devastating racism claims”.
The paper said at the time that Buckingham Palace was “under pressure to respond to allegations of racism within the highest echelons of the royal family”.
It said the claim, which it described as “the most shocking disclosure”, “threatened to have a devastating effect on the reputation of the monarchy”.
Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, an author and activist, also labelled the alleged comments as racist.
Writing in a comment piece for the US magazine Harper’s Bazaar in March 2021, she claimed that racism had become “so normalised” in the UK that “white people are able ignore what is blatantly racist in front of them”.
“People will watch the Oprah interview, listen to concerns a member of the royal family had over the colour of Archie’s skin, and still deny that it’s racism,” she wrote at the time.
In December last year, the couple accepted a Ripple of Home award in New York for their stance against racism.
The award was given by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organisation (RFKHR), which is run by Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F Kennedy.
Ahead of the award ceremony, she said she had picked Harry and Meghan for the award because of their “heroic” stance against what she described as “structural racism” in the Royal Family.
What has Harry said about the comments now?
The comments were brought up again in Prince Harry’s ITV interview with Tom Bradby, ahead of the publication of the royal’s biography Spare.
The journalist asked: “In the Oprah interview you accused the royal family of racism.”
Harry then shakes his head and says: “No I didn’t. The British press said that. Did Meghan ever mention they were racist?”
Mr Bradby responds: “She said there were troubling comments about…”
Harry replies: “That there were concerns about his skin colour.”
Mr Bradby responds: “Right. Wouldn’t you describe that as essentially racist?”
Harry replies: “I wouldn’t. Not having lived in that family.
“Going back to what my understanding is, because of my own experience, the difference between racism and unconscious bias, the two things are different.
“Once it has been acknowledged, or pointed out to you, as an individual or as an institution, that you have unconscious bias, you, therefore, have an opportunity to learn and grow from that, in order that you are part of the solution rather than part of the problem.”
“Otherwise unconscious bias then moves into the category of racism.”
