Everything Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Family Have Said About Their Bombshell Interview

Credit: Joe Pugliese/CBS

Everything Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Family Have Said About Their Bombshell Interview

As the world still reels from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s tell-all CBS interview, members of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s families have started to speak out about their bombshell claims. The 36-year-old prince and the 39-year-old Suits alum made a series of accusations about their time as senior royals, including claims that a member of the British royal family expressed concerns about their son Archie’s skin color before he was born in 2019. After Harry reportedly made it clear behind-the-scenes that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip didn’t make the remarks, social media users speculated that he was referring to dad Prince Charles or brother Prince William. The 38-year-old prince and Duchess Kate were asked about the interview during a royal engagement on Thursday, March 11. “Is the royal family racist?” a Sky News reporter asked the couple. William replied, “We’re very much not a racist family.” After the comments about Archie’s skin color made headlines, the palace released a statement after Harry and Meghan’s interview, which read in part, “While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.” Royal author Phil Dampier subsequently suggested that the line “some recollections may vary” is likely about the remarks about race and Archie, now 22 months. “The queen is really saying that Harry and Meghan might be giving their version of events or their interpretation of a conversation a couple of years ago, without going so far as to say they are lying, which they might not be,” Dampier told the Daily Mail on Tuesday, March 9. “Clearly she has spoken to the person who allegedly made the remark about Archie and they have given her their version of events.” [jwplayer 0jKgUrh8-l3ahXupL] During their interview, Harry and Meghan also spoke about their decision to leave their royal duties, citing racism and mental health struggles that stemmed from loneliness, lack of support and the British media as the main reasons for their departure. “William and Kate were in total shock after hearing what Meghan and Harry said,” a source told Us Weekly. “What shocked them the most was Meghan’s suicidal thoughts and their quotes on a royal family member mentioning Archie’s skin color. William and Kate knew about some of their troubles with palace aides, but nothing to this extent.” Scroll through for everything that Harry and Meghan’s families have said about the interview:

Credit: Joe Pugliese/CBS

Everything Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Family Have Said About Their Bombshell Interview

As the world still reels from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s tell-all CBS interview, members of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s families have started to speak out about their bombshell claims. The 36-year-old prince and the 39-year-old Suits alum made a series of accusations about their time as senior royals, including claims that a member of the British royal family expressed concerns about their son Archie’s skin color before he was born in 2019. After Harry reportedly made it clear behind-the-scenes that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip didn’t make the remarks, social media users speculated that he was referring to dad Prince Charles or brother Prince William. The 38-year-old prince and Duchess Kate were asked about the interview during a royal engagement on Thursday, March 11. “Is the royal family racist?” a Sky News reporter asked the couple. William replied, “We’re very much not a racist family.” After the comments about Archie’s skin color made headlines, the palace released a statement after Harry and Meghan’s interview, which read in part, “While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.” Royal author Phil Dampier subsequently suggested that the line “some recollections may vary” is likely about the remarks about race and Archie, now 22 months. “The queen is really saying that Harry and Meghan might be giving their version of events or their interpretation of a conversation a couple of years ago, without going so far as to say they are lying, which they might not be,” Dampier told the Daily Mail on Tuesday, March 9. “Clearly she has spoken to the person who allegedly made the remark about Archie and they have given her their version of events.” [jwplayer 0jKgUrh8-l3ahXupL] During their interview, Harry and Meghan also spoke about their decision to leave their royal duties, citing racism and mental health struggles that stemmed from loneliness, lack of support and the British media as the main reasons for their departure. “William and Kate were in total shock after hearing what Meghan and Harry said,” a source told Us Weekly. “What shocked them the most was Meghan’s suicidal thoughts and their quotes on a royal family member mentioning Archie’s skin color. William and Kate knew about some of their troubles with palace aides, but nothing to this extent.” Scroll through for everything that Harry and Meghan’s families have said about the interview:

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Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex

"What interview?" Sophie quipped when asked about the bombshell interview in June 2021. The queen's youngest son, meanwhile, joked that he hadn't heard about it.

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Prince William

In addition to denying racism allegations, William confirmed on March 11 that he hadn’t spoken to Harry yet. “I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I will,” he told reporters.

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Prince Charles

When the 72-year-old prince was asked about Harry and Meghan’s interview on March 9, he giggled and walked away.

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Queen Elizabeth II

Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of the monarch on March 9.

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,” the statement read. “While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

Credit: News Licensing / MEGA

Thomas Markle

“I have great respect for the royals, and I don’t think the British royal family are racist at all,” Meghan’s father said on Good Morning Britain on March 9. “I don’t think the British are racist. I think Los Angeles is racist, California is a racist, but I don’t think the Brits are. … The thing about what color will the baby be or how dark will the baby be, I’m guessing and hoping it’s just a dumb question from somebody.”

Meghan spoke about her estranged relationship with Thomas during bonus clips from the interview.

“The last time we spoke — actually, we didn’t speak, we actually texted each other — I was laying in a hospital bed after having a heart attack,” Thomas claimed. “I had to tell them that I couldn’t come to the wedding [in May 2018]. At that point, we had pretty much said goodbye. … Harry had said to me at that point, ‘If you had listened to me, this wouldn’t have happened to you.’ And me, laying in a hospital bed after I’ve had a procedure and getting a stent put here and a stent put here, felt that that was kind of snotty, so I hung up on him. And that’s the last conversation we ever had.”

Credit: Kevin Manning/MEGA

Samantha Markle

While Meghan denied having any relationship with her half-sister, Samantha told Inside Edition that “truth was totally ignored and omitted” during the CBS tell-all.

“I don’t know how she can say, ‘I don’t know her’ and she was an only child,” she said. “We’ve got photographs over a lifespan of us together. So how can she not know me? … I was a Markle before she was. I thought that was kind of weird that she would say I only changed my name back when she met Harry. Markle has always been my name.”