When Oprah Winfrey said there was "no subject off-limits," she meant it. On Sunday, Oprah's highly anticipated interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry aired on CBS, and as promised, the couple answered nearly every question.
Meghan and Harry's candor also made it clear why they apparently have a "tense" relationship with the royal family. That tension was discussed, as well as other topics and revelations — like the fact that Harry and Meghan actually married three days before their wedding, that a member of the royal family expressed concerns about Archie's skin color and that Meghan had suicidal thoughts while pregnant. See more below.
Meghan and Harry Secretly Tied the Knot Before Their Wedding
"Three days before our wedding, we got married," Meghan told Oprah. "No one knows that."
"We called the archbishop, and we just said, 'Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us,'" she shared. "So, like, the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury."
"It was just the three of us," Harry added.
A Royal Family Member Brought Up Archie's Skin Color to Prince Harry
While speaking with Oprah about the conversation over Archie's title, Meghan said there were "concerns and conversations about how dark [Archie's] skin might be when he's born." She said it would be "damaging" to reveal who had voiced those concerns.
Harry later confirmed that a conversation about Archie's skin color did take place, but said he wasn't comfortable sharing specific details.
"That conversation, I'm never going to share. But at the time, it was awkward. I was a bit shocked," he said. "That was right at the beginning… 'What will the kids look like?'"
Kate Allegedly Made Meghan Cry, Contrary to Reports of the Reverse
"A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining — yes, the issue was correct — about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings. And I thought, in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding, that it didn't make sense to not be just doing whatever — what everyone else was doing, which was trying to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot," Meghan said of the incident with Kate Middleton.
Meghan added that she didn't think it was fair to get into more details of the issue, because Kate had apologized, and she had accepted her apology.
"I'd forgiven her," Meghan said. "What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn't do, but that happened to me and the people that were part of our wedding going to our comms team and saying, 'I know this didn't happen. I don't have to tell them what actually happened, but I can at least go on the record, and say she didn't make her cry.'"
Meghan Had Suicidal Thoughts While Pregnant With Archie
Meghan shared that she experienced suicidal thoughts during her pregnancy with Archie, and went to senior members of the Palace asking for mental healthcare.
"I just didn't want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought," Meghan said. "And I remember how [Harry] just cradled me."
Meghan said she went to the Palace asking for help, and was denied.
"I went to the Institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help I said that 'I've never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere,'" she recalled. "And I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the Institution."
Meghan did not share the name of the person who she spoke with at the time, but did say, "It's a person. It's several people. But I went to one of the most senior people just to — to get help. And that… I share this, because there's so many people who are afraid to voice that they need help. And I know, personally, how hard it is to not just voice it, but when you voice it, to be told no."
The Couple's Royal Exit Wasn't a Blindside
Harry and Meghan refuted reports that they had blindsided Queen Elizabeth II with their decision to exit their roles as senior members of the royal family. In fact, Harry said he had conversations with her months prior to their announcement, and that he put their plans in writing.
"I put all the specifics in there, even the fact that we were planning on putting the announcement out on the 7th of January," he said.
As for allegations that Meghan plotted to take Harry away from his family, Meghan said that wasn't the case.
"Can you imagine how little sense that makes? I left my career, my life. I left everything because I love him, right? And our plan was to do this forever. I mean, I wrote letters to his family when I got there, saying, 'I am dedicated to this. I'm here for you. Use me as you'd like,'" she said.
Harry, however, admitted he wouldn't have left the family without her. "I was trapped, but I didn't know I was trapped," he shared. "Trapped within the system, like the rest of my family are."
Prince Charles Stopped Taking Harry's Calls
Harry said he had "three conversations with my grandmother and two conversations with my father" about his and Meghan's royal exit while they were in Canada — but said that was before Prince Charles "stopped taking my calls."
When Oprah asked why Charles had ignored him, Harry said it was "because… by that point, I took matters into my own hands. It was like, 'I need to do this for my family. This is not a surprise to anybody. It's really sad that it's gotten to this point, but I've got to do something for my own mental , my wife's, and for Archie's, as well, because I could see where this was headed.'"
Later in the interview, Harry said his father is now taking his calls.
"Yeah. Yeah, he is," he clarified. "There's a lot to work through there, you know? I feel really let down, because he's been through something similar."
Meghan and Harry Are Done Having Children
The pair said that after their daughter is born this summer — yes, they're having a girl! — they're done having kids.
"Amazing, just grateful, just to have any child, any one or any two would have been amazing, but to have a boy and then a girl, what more could you ask for?" Harry gushed.
But "two is it," they shared, confirming son Archie and their soon-to-be baby girl will be their only children.
Harry's Relationship With William Is Still Complicated — But He Talks to the Queen Often
"I love William to bits. He's my brother. We've been through hell together," Harry told Oprah of his relationship with Prince William, which has reportedly been strained in recent years. "I mean, we have a shared experience. But we're on different paths."
At Oprah's pressing, Harry added, "The relationship [with William] is space at the moment. Time heals all things."
As for his relationship with his grandmother, it seems Harry and the queen are on very good terms.
"I've spoken more to my grandmother in the last year than I have done for many, many years," he said, noting her video calls with his son, Archie. "My grandmother and I have a really good relationship… And an understanding. And I have a deep respect for her. She's my colonel in chief, right? She always will be."
Meghan Has Just One Regret
When Oprah asked whether Harry and Meghan had any regrets, Harry said he had none.
"No. I mean, no, I think we've done— I'm really proud of us, you know?" he said. "I'm so proud of my wife. Like, she safely delivered Archie during a period of time which was so cruel and so mean."
"I have one. My regret is believing them when they said I would be protected," Meghan shared of the Palace or the "Institution" as she referred to them throughout the interview. "I believed that. And I regret believing that because I think, had I really seen that that wasn't happening, I would have been able to do more. But I think I wasn't supposed to see it. I wasn't supposed to know."
Royal expert Katie Nicholl told ET prior to the airing of the tell-all conversation that Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, planned to address several big topics, including the subject of racism.
"My understanding is that she is going to discuss racism in Britain but also within the royal family," Nicholl told ET last week. "I am told there are some members of the royal family who [Meghan] may be pinpointing. …Don't forget, it was Princess Michael of Kent who wore that very controversial blackamoor broach when she met Meghan at Buckingham Palace."
In 2017, Princess Michael did in fact don a blackamoor broach to a Christmas banquet at Buckingham Palace that Meghan and Harry were attending. As BBC reported at the time, "Blackamoor figures and sculptures are exotic figures which usually depict African men and were prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries."
The accessory caused so much controversy that Michael, who had worn the broach on several occasions prior, released a statement that she was "very sorry and distressed that it has caused offense."
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