Meghan Markle accuses British royal family of racism

ANKARA

The Duchess of Sussex has accused the British royal family of fostering racism so intense that she had thoughts of suicide when she was pregnant with her first child.

In an interview with American host Oprah Winfrey aired by CBS on Sunday night, Meghan Markle, who identifies as being mixed-race, said the family members raised concerns openly several times about how the dark the skin of her son Archie could be when he was born.

"They didn't want him to be a prince or princess, not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from protocol and that he wasn't going to receive security," said Markle.

"In those months when I was pregnant ... we have in tandem the conversation of, you won't be given security, not going to be given a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born," she added.

During the interview with Oprah on CBS, Markle refused to name who made those comments because she thinks "that would be very damaging to them."

Her husband, Prince Harry, who was also present at the interview, shared their experience with the constant scrutiny they faced and their subsequent exit from the Royal Family.

He said: "At the time, it was awkward. I was a bit shocked."

Suicidal thoughts

Markle said she had suicidal thoughts, which were "very scary."

"I just didn't want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought," she said, adding she asked for help within the institution but was denied.

"I remember this conversation like it was yesterday, because they said, my heart goes out to you because I see how bad it is, but there's nothing we can do to protect you because you're not a paid employee of the institution," she said.

"This wasn't a choice. This was emails and begging for help, saying very specifically I am concerned for my mental welfare," she added.

The couple also revealed the gender of their second baby in the interview.

They have a daughter in the "summertime," said Prince Harry.

The latest member of the Royal Family will be the fifth grandchild of Charles, the Prince of Wales, and either the 10th or 11th great-grandchild of the Queen and her husband Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Should Harry and Meghan's baby be born in California, the current residence of the two royals, she will be the first member of the House of Windsor to be born in the US.

In Jan. 2020, the royal couple officially stepped back from their senior positions in the royal family and no longer use their official titles of His/Her Royal Highness (HRH), which are usually given to senior members of the House of Windsor.

The decision was a result of intense media scrutiny of the couple by British tabloids who were accused of bullying and intruding in the personal lives of the royals. It is understood that Buckingham Palace was disappointed with the decision and was not even consulted beforehand.

In September 2019, Meghan sued Associated Newspapers after their affiliates, the Mail on Sunday and Mail Online, published a private letter she had written to her estranged father and sought damages for alleged misuse of private information, copyright, and infringement, as well as a breach of the Data Protection Act. ​​​​​​

Earlier this year, she won a high court privacy case against the Mail on Sunday after a two-year legal battle.