Prince Harry has revealed that a “large part” of why he and Meghan Markle left the UK was because of racism.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to the US after stepping down from their roles as senior working members of the Royal family last year, and currently live in Santa Barbara with their son Archie.
The couple, who are expecting their second child, appeared on a CBS primetime special with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in the US on Sunday night.
In an unaired clip shared on CBS’s This Morning on Monday, Oprah asked Harry whether he left his home country because of racism.
“It was a large part of it,” he admitted.
#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 Mornings (@CBSMornings) March 8, 2021
Meanwhile, Meghan compared the scrutiny she faced to the scrutiny Kate Middleton faced.
“Unfortunately, if members of his family say, ‘Well, this is what’s happened to all of us,’ or if they can compare what the experience that I went through was similar to…”
“Kate [being] called ‘Waity Katie’ [for] waiting to marry William… While I imagine that was really hard – and I do, I can’t picture what that felt like – this is not the same,” the former Suits star said.
“If a member of his family will comfortably say, ‘We’ve all had to deal with things that are rude,’ rude and racist are not the same.”
The former actress added that while her husband’s family “had a press team that goes on the record to defend you, especially when they know something’s not true, and that didn’t happen for us.”
Harry admitted he was “hurt” by the fact his family did not acknowledge the racism Meghan faced, saying: “It would make a huge difference” if they did.
“There’s a lot of people that have seen it for what it was. A lot of people. It’s talked about across the world. Yet, the very people that don’t want to see it or can’t see it, choose not to see it.”
The bombshell interview airs on RTÉ2 tonight at 9:30pm.
