Prince Harry Says Racism in U.K. Was ‘Large Part’ of Why He Left The Country With Meghan Markle
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
In an unaired clip from Oprah Winfrey’s explosive CBS interview, Prince Harry addresses racism in the U.K., which he says helped to drive him and wife Meghan Markle away to the U.S.
In the clip, which aired on CBS This Morning on Monday, Winfrey asks: “Did you leave the country because of racism?”
More from Variety
Why Isn't Oprah's Bombshell Interview With Meghan and Harry on Paramount Plus?
Meghan Markle's Triumphant Interview and Its Existential Threat to the Royals
Harry and Meghan Interview Special Draws Huge Audience for CBS
Prince Harry, after a long pause says: “It was a large part of it.”
Using an incident at a fundraiser to illustrate his point, Harry said: “One of the people at that dinner said to me, ‘Please don’t do this with the media. They will destroy your life.’ This person is friends with a lot of the editors. And I said, ‘So just to elaborate what do you mean by that?’ Obviously I knew.
“He said, ‘You need to understand that the U.K. is very bigoted.’ And I stopped and I said, ’The U.K.‘s not bigoted — the U.K. press is bigoted, specifically the tabloids. Is that what you mean?’ And he goes, ’No, the U.K.‘s bigoted.’ And I said, ‘I completely disagree.’ But unfortunately if the source of information is inherently corrupt or racist or biased, then that filters out to the rest of society,” said Harry.
#EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry reveals to @Oprah a “large part of” the reason he and Meghan left the UK was because of racism. #OprahMeghanHarry pic.twitter.com/ksAZWargg1
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 8, 2021
In another clip, Harry reveals that after the couple announced their decision to step away from the Royal family, plans for them to meet with his grandmother, the Queen, abruptly changed, with the monarch’s engagements diary suddenly filling up and her being “busy all week.” When Winfrey asked, “Doesn’t the Queen get to do what the Queen wants to do?” Harry replied: “When you’re the head of ‘the firm,’ there is people around you that give you advice. And what has also made me very sad is that some of that advice has been very bad.”
In January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan announced plans to step back as senior members of the Royal family. In this exclusive clip, they tell @Oprah they were then invited to spend time with his grandmother, the Queen, but the plans abruptly changed citing she's "busy all week." pic.twitter.com/dLhq0SAgfN
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 8, 2021
The interview continued for 200 minutes, which was edited down to 85 minutes, Winfrey said.
Regarding the revelations about the skin color of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s then unborn baby, Winfrey said the Prince did not reveal the identity of the family member who made the remark, “but he wanted to make sure that I knew, and if I had an opportunity to share it, that it was not his grandmother [the Queen], nor his grandfather [Prince Philip] were a part of those conversations.”
WATCH: @Oprah says “it was not his grandmother nor his grandfather” that were a part of the conversations about Prince Harry & Meghan's baby's skin color. #OprahMeghanHarry pic.twitter.com/LpPLmkUEFR
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 8, 2021
There were no apologies from the Royal family about the reasons that the couple decided to leave. “The feeling is that it was our decision and therefore the consequences are on us,” said Harry in another clip.
“It’s been really hard, because I’m part of the system with them, I always have been, but I am very aware of this, that my brother can’t leave that system, but I have.”
WATCH: @Oprah asks Prince Harry if family members reached out to apologize for the reasons he felt he had to leave.
“No, sadly not.” #OprahMeghanHarry pic.twitter.com/2NtGZcmB5A
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 8, 2021
In the clip, Markle also said that while the U.K. media has always been rude, “rude and racist are not the same.”
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.