Five things we learned from Harry, Meghan’s interview with Oprah

On Sunday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, his wife, sat with Oprah Winfrey for an explosive two-hour chat spanning various issues including their split from the UK’s royal family.

Here are five things we learned from the interview.

Mental health and contemplating suicide

During the course of the interview, Meghan revealed her initial struggles adapting to the royal family.

The Duchess of Sussex said she felt she had her freedom taken away from her at a point.

“When I joined that family, that was the last time until we came here that I saw my passport, my driver’s licence, my keys, all that gets turned over,” she said.

The 39-year-old also narrated how her struggles getting along with the royal family took a toll on her mental health that she contemplated committing suicide.

“I was ashamed I had to admit it to Harry. I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought,” she added.

Markle also claimed she sought help over her mental health but the royal family turned her down.

Royal racism

Another major highlight of the interview was Markle’s allegation that the royal family was worried over how dark Archie, her first child with Harry, might be before his birth.

Citing a conversation she had with Harry, Markle revealed how some members of the royal family mulled not naming their son a prince because of his skin colour.

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

Harry and Meghan set to welcome their second child — a baby girl

The Duke and Duchess had in February announced that they are expecting their second child — although they didn’t mention the baby’s gender at the time.

But during the interview, the pair disclosed that they will be welcoming a baby girl in the summer.

“To have a boy and then a girl, I mean what more can you ask for? Now we’ve got our family, we got the four of us and our two dogs,” Harry said.

‘Frosty relationship’ with the royal family

Harry also opened up on his relationship with members of the royal family since he stepped down from royal duty alongside his wife last year.

The 36-year-old had revealed how Prince Charles, his father, stopped picking his calls following their controversial decision. He also said he felt “really let down” by his father’s action.

“I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like and Archie’s his grandson. But at the same time, of course I will always love him but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship,” he said.

Harry also said he and William, his elder brother, got along very well before but are now on “different paths”.

He, however, described his relationship with his grandmother, the Queen, as “really good” — a claim Markle corroborated.

Fear of having a repeat of Diana’s experience.

Another issue from the interview was Harry’s fear of having a repeat of what happened to Diana, his late mother.

Diana broke up with Prince Charles in a controversial manner in 1996 and was thereafter shunned by the royal family before her death a year later.

“What I was seeing was history repeating itself, but definitely far more dangerous – because then you add race in, and you add social media in,” he said.