Biggest Revelations From Harry and Meghan's Oprah Interview

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Revisit the Truth Bombs From Their Oprah Interview

Dec 16 2022 by Monica Sisavat Solís

Watch out! This post contains spoilers.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry got the opportunity to speak their truth when they sat down with Oprah Winfrey for their first joint interview since their royal exit back in March 2021. We knew the tell-all would be explosive, but Markle and Harry truly held nothing back. Given the outrageous amount of scrutiny and blatant racism Markle has faced since she first got together with Harry in 2016, the moment was long overdue.

Harry and Markle's Netflix docuseries, which premiered its final episodes on 15 Dec., revisits the bombshell interview that the latter says they watched in real time with the rest of the world. "I thought that me being very open about the depression that I experienced and just how extreme that became, I thought that would be the biggest takeaway," Markle shares in the series. "But it was entirely eclipsed by the conversation surrounding race."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed in February 2021 that they would not be returning as senior members of the British royal family following their 12-month trial period. As a result, Queen Elizabeth II — who died at age 96 on 8 Sept. — stripped them of their honorary military appointments and royal patronages; however, they still hold their titles (at least for now, anyway). Since then, the tabloids have remained hellbent on tarnishing Markle's name.

Revisit the biggest revelations from Markle and Harry's tell-all ahead.

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Meghan and Harry actually wed three days before their royal wedding. The couple secretly got married by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on 16 May, 2018.
Despite previous reports, it was actually Kate Middleton who made Meghan cry before her wedding. "The reverse happened," Meghan said while confirming that there had been issue over the flower girl dresses. "It made me cry. It really hurt my feelings . . . And I don't say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding, and she was upset about something. But she owned it, and she apologised and she brought me flowers and a note apologising."
Meghan was "silenced" by the royal family for her "protection." When Oprah asked Meghan whether she was silent or silenced, she confirmed that it was "the latter." The duchess was told that she, along with her family and friends, had to respond with "no comment" to any reports about her. Meghan initially believed this was to protect her, but she quickly learned she wasn't the one being protected. "They were willing to lie to protect other members of the family," she explained. "But they weren't willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband."

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It was actually the palace who decided not to give Archie a title, not Harry and Meghan. Before Archie was even born, the palace had already decided that he would not be given a title nor any royal protection. There were also "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born," Meghan explained. "They didn't want him to be a prince . . . which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn't going to receive security."
When Meghan sought help for her mental health struggles from a senior aide, she was denied. "I didn't want to be alive anymore. That was a very clear and real and frightening, constant thought," Meghan revealed. "I went to one of the most senior people to get help. I share this because there are so many people who . . . are afraid to voice that they need help, and I know personally how hard it is to not just voice it, but when you voice it say no . . . [Going to a hospital] is what I was asking to do. You can't just do that, I couldn't call an Uber to the palace, you couldn't just go."
Meghan and Harry ultimately decided to step down as senior royals due to lack of support from both the palace and the press. The couple made it clear that there had been ongoing discussions about their royal exit prior to their January 2020 announcement and that the queen was not "blindsided." "When we were in Canada, I had three conversations with my grandmother and two conversations with my father before he stopped taking my calls and asked me to put it in writing," Harry said. "I never blindsided my grandmother. I have too much respect for her."

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Despite welcoming Meghan with open arms, the royal family didn't show any support for her after the slew of racist attacks. "There was an opportunity, many opportunities, for my family to show support," Harry stated. "No one from my family said anything." He also admitted that the family are "scared" of the British press.
Harry was cut off financially by the royal family after he announced his departure in 2020. "I've got what my mom left me," Harry said. He also revealed that his recent deals with Spotify and Netflix were not planned, but rather a product of necessity.
Even though Harry is on good terms with the queen, his relationship with his father, Prince Charles, remains strained. "I feel really let down because he's been through something similar," Harry said. "He knows what pain feels like . . . but at the same time, I will always love him. There's a lot of hurt that's happened. I will continue to make it one of my priorities to heal that relationship."
As for him and Prince William, their "relationship is space at the moment." "As I said before, I love William to bits. We've been through hell together and we have a shared experience but we are on different paths," he said. "Time heals all things, hopefully."
Meghan and Harry are expecting a baby girl! On a happier note, the couple revealed that their second child is due this summer. "It's amazing," Harry said. After their daughter is born, Harry and Meghan are finished having children.

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For over a year, the UK tabloids did everything they could to find Meghan's dad. "Once they did, I remember being told there was this huge headline like 'We found him' or 'We got him.' You're talking about someone's father," Meghan said. "And from that point, the tabloids, they moved into the apartments next door and across from him. Descended on this small town, were just giving him gifts. The whole thing brings us to where we are today."
Meghan asked her father point-blank if he'd spoken to the tabloids, and he lied to her. "The tabloids had apparently known for a month or so and decided to hold until the Sunday before our wedding because they wanted to create drama," Meghan explained. "We called my dad and we asked him, and he said, 'No, absolutely not.' And I said, 'You know, the institution has never intervened for anything for us, but they can try to go in and kill this story. But if they do this once, we're not going to be able use this same leverage to protect our kids one day . . . I just need you to tell me. And if you tell me the truth, we can help.' And he wasn't able to do that."
Meghan's half-sister Samantha, who wrote a "tell-all" book about her, didn't change her name back to Markle until after Meghan started dating Harry. "I think it'd be very hard to tell-all when you don't know me. This is a very different situation than my dad, right? When you talk about betrayal, betrayal comes from someone that you have a relationship with . . . I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows . . . She changed her last name back to Markle, I think she's in her early-50s at that time, only when I started dating Harry."

Image Source: Getty / Chris Jackson

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