Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, opened up about the challenges she faced with the royal family when she was pregnant with her son Archie, born in May 2019, in her explosive tell-all with Oprah Winfrey aired Sunday night.
The former Meghan Markle is half Black, and her son is the first blood member of the British royal family who is a person of color. She told Winfrey that there were "concerns and conversations" among the royal family about "how dark his skin might be when he's born," especially in the last few months of her pregnancy.
Asked by Winfrey if the issue was that he'd "too brown and that would be a problem," Meghan responded, "I wasn't able to follow up with why, but if that's the assumption you're making, I think that feels like a pretty safe one."
She clarified that she wasn't a part of these conversations, but they were relayed to her through her husband, Prince Harry. She also didn't reveal who in the royal family was the source of these concerns, as it would be "very damaging to them."
Meghan went on explain that royal family members allegedly said they wanted "to change the convention" of royal titles specifically for Archie, who does not have a royal title, which the duchess told Winfrey was not her and Harry's choice.
"They didn't want him to be a prince or princess ... which would be different from protocol and that he wasn't going to receive security," Meghan said. "It was really hard. ... This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy. ... I was very scared of having to offer up our baby, knowing that they weren't going to be kept safe."
She stressed that her thought at the time was, "He needs to be safe, so we're not saying don't make him a prince or princess, whatever it's going to be. ... We haven't created this monster machine around us in terms of clickbait and tabloid fodder. You've allowed that to happen, which means our son needs to be safe."
There was "no explanation" given about the lack of royal title for her son, she continued. "I heard a lot of it through Harry and parts of it through conversations with family members. It was a decision that they felt was appropriate."
"It's not their right to take it away," she added.
Winfrey also asked her about the fact that she and Harry didn't pose for the traditional picture with their child after she gave birth. She said they weren't asked to pose for the photo.
"That's also part of the spin that was really damaging," Meghan recalled. "I thought, 'Can you just tell them the truth? Can you tell the world you're not giving him a title, and we want to keep him safe?"
Meghan also addressed the importance of racial representation within the royal family and how the treatment she said she saw of Archie confused her.
"Growing up as ... a little girl of color ... I know how you want to see someone who looks like you in certain positions," she explained. "I could never understand how it wouldn't be seen as an added benefit and a reflection of the world."
Later, Winfrey asked Prince Harry after he joined the interview about that conversation. He said, "That conversation I am never going to share, but at the time it was awkward and I was a bit shocked."
When Winfrey asked if he would reveal what the question was, he responded, "No. I'm not comfortable sharing that. But that was right at the beginning... what will the kids look like?"