Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have had an incredibly difficult struggle and have never had the opportunity to tell their truths before. Now, the strong pair laid it all on the line in Oprah with Meghan and Harry.
Harry and Meghan Married Days Before Big Wedding
Meghan revealed "No one knows" that "three days before our wedding, we got married." The pair had their widely publicized Windsor Castle wedding on May 19th, 2018 but wanted a private ceremony just for the two of them on May 16th.
Meghan told Oprah Winfrey, "We called the archbishop, and we just said, 'Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us.' 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."
Harry confirmed lovingly, "It was just the three of us."
Duchess Kate Made Meghan Cry, Not the Other Way around
There had been a widespread rumor that Meghan had reduced beloved Duchess Kate to tears the week before the wedding when in reality it was the other way around. Meghan explained to Oprah that, "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."
Luckily, Kate lovingly apologized with flowers and a note "to take accountability" for the not-so-gentle interaction. Meghan said it was not a "confrontation" and that it was solved beautifully, but the media took the situation and spun it.
"There wasn't a confrontation and I don't think it's fair to her to get into the details of that because she'd apologized and I'd forgiven her. What's hard to get over is to get blamed over something I didn't do, and that actually happened to me."
"I'd forgiven her. 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 made it clear she has great respect for Kate, "I'm not saying it to be disparaging to her... I would have hoped that she would have wanted that corrected. She's a good person."
Meghan and Harry's Relationship With The Queen
Duchess Meghan told Oprah that while dating Prince Harry she had met Princess Eugenie first and then Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Harry taught Meghan how to curtsey shortly before meeting the Queen. "Apparently I did a very deep curtsey, which I don't remember."
Meghan spoke very fondly of the Queen, explaining Her Majesty had been "warm and inviting" towards Meghan since their first meeting. "The Queen has always been wonderful to me... I've always loved being in her company." Queen Elizabeth even offered to share her blanket with Meghan when the pair traveled together to their first public engagement together!
Harry spoke similar sentiments and is happy to have such a supportive and loving grandmother. He lovingly said, "I've spoken more to my grandmother in the last year than I have done for many, many years. 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."
A Royal Was Worried About What Archie's Skin Color Would Be
Meghan revealed a shocking truth about concerns while she was pregnant with Archie. She said that a Royal had "a conversation with Harry about how dark his skin might be when he's born..." and "what that would mean" for the Royal family.
Meghan refused to say who in fact raised the "concerns" because "I think that would be very damaging to them... but those were conversations the family had with him. It was really hard to see those as compartmentalized conversations."
Harry confirmed this bombshell saying, "That conversation, I'm never going to share. But at the time, it was awkward. I was a bit shocked. That was right at the beginning... 'What will the kids look like?'"
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Institution Did Not Want To Make Archie a Prince & Provide Security
Harry made it clear that "There was some real obvious signs before we got married that this was going to be really hard."
Meghan explained that the "Institution" had reservations about giving Archie the title he deserves. "They didn't want him to be a prince or a princess... He wasn't going to receive security. This went on for the last few months of my pregnancy, where I'm going, 'Hold on for a second.'"
"We're not saying don't make him a prince, but if you're saying the title is what's going to affect the protection... our son needs to be safe."
Oprah too was shocked to hear this, "So, how do they explain to you that your son, the great-grandson of the Queen, wasn't going to be a prince? You certainly must have had your own conversations with Harry about it and your own suspicions as to why they didn't want to make Archie a prince. Why do you think that is?"
She Won't Stand For It
"There's no explanation. I heard a lot of it through Harry... it was a decision they felt was appropriate." Meghan was not "personally" interested in her son having the title, her priority was making sure he had proper security considering the onslaught of racial attacks in the media.
"The idea of our son not being safe, and also the idea of the first member of color in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be... the other piece of that conversation is... when you're the grandchild of the monarch, automatically Archie and our next baby would be prince or princess. It's not their right to take it away."
"While I was pregnant, they said they wanted to take away that convention... why?"
Meghan Markle's One Regret
Meghan's concern for her and her family's safety is was spurned her one regret. She told Oprah that the "Institution" had given her promises that they were not upholding.
"My regret is believing them when they said I would be protected. 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."
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Meghan Had Suicidal Thoughts
In the most heartbreaking reveal of the interview was Harry and Meghan's mental health. Meghan said at one point she "didn't want to be alive."
"It was a very real and frightening constant thought. I remember that he just cradled me, and I went to the institution and I said I needed to go somewhere and get help, and I was told that I couldn't, because it wouldn't be good for the institution."
She refused to name who she went to for help. "It's a person. It's several people. But I went to one of the most senior people just 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."
Harry and Meghan Had Spoken to the Queen About Stepping Back Far In Advance
Tabloids greatly pushed the idea that Harry and Meghan "blindsided" the Queen with the news of their stepping back from Royal duties but this was not true in the slightest.
Harry explained he had many conversations with the Queen months and months ahead of their announcement. He even wrote out plans for her, "I put all the specifics in there, even the fact that we were planning on putting the announcement out on the 7th of January."
It Was Harry's Idea To Step Back From Royalty, Not Meghan's
Many believe that Meghan intended to take Harry away from his family and their departure was even titled "Meg-zit" but again, this was false.
Meghan explained how truly devoted she was to the Royal family and had uprooted her roots to move to London and commit to Royal life. "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."
Harry said, "I was desperate. I went to all the places, which I thought I should go to for help. But we never left."
The royal has won her appeal!
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"This constant barrage, my biggest concern was history repeating itself and I've said that before on numerous occasions very publicly. What I was seeing was history repeating itself, but more perhaps or definitely far more dangerous."
"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 [health], my wife's, and for Archie's, as well, because I could see where this was headed.'"
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The Royal Institution and Royal Family "Are Two Separate Things"
Meghan explained she was "given a very clear directive from the moment the world knew Harry and I were dating to always say, 'No comment.' That's my friends, my mom and dad. We did it, I did anything they told me to do," and by doing so they would be "protected."
"That was really hard to reconcile because it was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to understand that not only was I not being protected, but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family. They weren't willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband."
Meghan tried to make it clear that she was not referring to the Royal family when she refers to the "Institution" or the "Firm."
"It's hard for people to distinguish the two, because it's a family business right, there's the family, and then there's the people that are running the institution, those are two separate things. It's important to be able to compartmentalize that because the Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me."
She also confronted Camilla!
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Prince Charles Stopped Taking Prince Harry's Calls
Harry revealed that 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."
This was disappointing to the Duke of Sussex because he felt, "really let down, because he's been through something similar."
Now the two are back on speaking terms but have "a lot to work through."
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The Family Cut Them Off
Harry explained that he was cut off financially in the start of 2020 so he looked for new opportunities to fund security for his family. He explained that the money Princess Diana had left him has been able to cover security costs.
Prince Harry and Prince William's Relationship
Prince Harry even opened up about his relationship with his treasured older brother Prince William. He said, "I love William to bits, he's my brother, we've been through hell together. I mean, we have a shared experience but we're on different paths."
He clarified that: "The relationship is space at the moment, and time heals all things."
Harry and Meghan's Royal Baby Gender Reveal
The most heartwarming reveal of the interview was the gender of their new baby! Proud dad Prince Harry to Oprah, "It's a girl!"
When they learned they were having a daughter Harry said he felt, "Amazing. Just grateful. To have any child, any one or two, would be amazing. But to have a boy and then a girl, what more could you ask for? Now we've got our family, the four of us and our two dogs. It's great."
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Famous family!
