Meghan Markle says royal family discussed her unborn son’s skin color

Meghan, the duchess of Sussex, said that before her son with Prince Harry was born, there were conversations within the royal family about “how dark his skin might be.”

“That was relayed to me from Harry,” the former Meghan Markle said in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Sunday on CBS.

Markle, 39, said the conversations about her unborn child’s skin color came at the same time she was told that, in a break with protocol, her son wouldn’t receive a royal title or a security detail.

“This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy, where I’m going, ‘hold on a second,'” she said.

“So he’s not going to be a prince, but he needs to be safe,” Meghan added of her son. “But if you’re saying the title is what’s going to affect their protection, 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’s no explanation,” Meghan added.

Meghan expressed dismay at “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.”

Asked by Winfrey why there was a desire to withhold a “prince” title from her son and whether race was behind the decision, Meghan — the first mixed-race member of the royal family — replied, “I wasn’t able to follow up with why.”

“But if that’s the assumption you’re making,” Meghan continued, “I feel like it’s a pretty safe one.”

Meghan declined to name who allegedly made the skin color remarks, saying, “I think that would be very damaging to them.”

Asked about the skin color remark, Prince Harry said, “That conversation, I’m never going to share.”

Meghan gave birth to son Archie in 2019. 

Opening up for the first time at length with Winfrey as part of the tell-all TV special, Meghan revealed more about her and her husband’s decision to step away from their duties as working members of the royal family. Meghan, 39, and Prince Harry moved to the former actress’s home state of California late last year.

While praising Queen Elizabeth II, who she said was “welcoming” to her, Meghan said she was silenced by the royals.

“I’ve always worked. I’ve always valued independence. I’ve always been outspoken, especially about women’s rights,” she said.

“I mean, that’s the sad irony of the last four years,” the California-born ex-“Suits” star said. “I’ve advocated for so long for women to use their voice — and then I was silent.”

“Were you silent or were you silenced?” Winfrey asked.

“The latter,” Meghan replied.

–Updated at 10 p.m.