Buckingham Palace has responded to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's explosive tell-all [1] with Oprah Winfrey. On Tuesday, two days after the interview aired on CBS [2] in the US, and a day after it aired here in the UK on ITV, the palace released a statement [3] on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, which reads as follows:
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. Whilst 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.
Given the seriousness of Harry and Meghan's revelations [5], we were hoping that the palace might take accountability and issue a public apology to Harry and Meghan, but clearly that's not how they plan on moving forward. If only they had put the same energy into this statement as they did when they responded to the bullying allegations [6] last week.