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Harry says he and Meghan never accused Royals of racism despite Archie claim

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Harry says he and Meghan never accused Royals of racism despite Archie claim
Harry says he and Meghan never accused Royals of racism despite Archie claim

PRINCE Harry last night sensationally denied ever accusing the Royal Family of being racist.

Millions of ITV viewers were stunned to see Harry distance himself from incendiary comments made on US telly to Oprah Winfrey in 2021.

Prince Harry has denied ever calling the Royal Family racist qhiqquiqxziqhzprw
Prince Harry has denied ever calling the Royal Family racistCredit: ITV
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had accused a family member of having concerns over son Archie's skin colour
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had accused a family member of having concerns over son Archie's skin colourCredit: CBS
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day in May 2018
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day in May 2018Credit: Reuters
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and baby Archie
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and baby ArchieCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Then he and Meghan sensationally claimed that an unnamed royal had concerns over the colour of baby Archie’s skin.

Meghan even suggested he may not be made a prince amid “conversations” about how dark he would be.

But in a dramatic U-turn, Harry told pal Tom Bradby in his 90-minute interview they never made a racism accusation.

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Bradby had asked Harry, 38, to elaborate on the Oprah interview in which “you accused members of your family of racism”.

Millions of viewers were left open-mouthed when Harry replied: “No I didn’t.”

Even Bradby looked stunned as the Duke of Sussex passed the blame elsewhere, muttering: “The British press said that.”

Harry then dug an even bigger hole by asking Bradby: “Did Meghan ever mention that they’re racist?” Bradby repeated Meghan’s claim that there “troubling comments about Archie’s skin colour.”

Harry, promoting his book Spare, replied: “There was - there was concern about his skin colour.”

He was then asked: “Wouldn’t you describe that as essentially racist?”

Harry cryptically responded: “I wouldn’t, not having lived within that family.”

He interrupted Brady’s attempts to question further, and suggested it was "unconscious bias", not racism, and they can now "learn and grow" and be "part of the solution", instead of the problem.

He then repeated his previous claim that he will "never talk about" who made the comments about Archie’s skin colour.

Spectacular New Year fireworks light up London sky as huge crowds celebrate across UK for first time in three yearsSpectacular New Year fireworks light up London sky as huge crowds celebrate across UK for first time in three years

It comes as:

  • The duke blasted Camilla as a 'dangerous villain' and called her the 'other woman'
  • Prince Harry said Charles wasn't equipped to be a single dad
  • He said the 'stereotype' of Meghan as a 'divorced biracial American' stopped Kate & William from welcoming her
  • Harry revealed he was 'happy' for the Queen as she lay on her deathbed as it meant she'd be reunited with Philip
  • The duke said there was never a 'Fab Four' with him, Meghan, Kate and William - as they didn't get on 'from the get-go'

The bombshell Oprah comments triggered a huge storm, and led to Buckingham Palace saying in a statement: “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning.

"While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately."

Harry was accused of mixing up his story.

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said: “Harry’s own recollections certainly vary. He denies that he and Meghan said the Royal Family were racist.

"It makes it difficult to believe anything he says because he keeps contradicting himself.

"It was a very damaging comment and extremely hurtful to the Queen."

Harry sparked further confusion by backing Lady Susan Hussey, the Queen’s former Lady-in-Waiting who triggered a race storm at a Buckingham Palace event.

She quit last month after repeatedly asking charity boss Ngozi Fulani where she was “really” from.

However Harry again blamed the “British press”, despite Ms Fulani making the revelations public on her Instagram account.

Harry told Bradby: “Meghan and I love Susan Hussey.”

He went on: "She thinks she is great. And I also know that what she meant – she never meant any harm at all.

"But the response from the British press, and from people online because of the stories that they wrote was horrendous.

"Was absolutely horrendous, the response."

But Harry’s claim was disputed, with a source saying: “That isn’t true, Meghan did not have any time for Lady Hussey.”

Harry also blamed others for his own racist storms, when he dressed up as a Nazi at a party in 2005 and filmed himself calling an Army colleague “our little P*** friend”.

He said on Harry: The Interview: “I got called a racist when I was in my 20s by mistakes that I made.

“They were never intentional to harm anybody.”

Blaming the media and his family again, he said: “I recognise from that a level of unconscious bias within me that probably came from a combination of my upbringing, things that I was exposed to and things that I saw in the media.”

Harry also alleges in his Bradby chat that the Palace had failed to appoint a Diversity Tsar.

However, The Sun understands that a post called “Director of Community Engagement” is in place and carries out the same function.

Statistics published for the first time last year revealed that 8.5 per cent of royal household employees are from ethnic minorities. The Palace has set a target to make that 10 per cent by the end of the year.

The skin colour row was mentioned twice in the highly damaging Oprah interview, triggering a vicious backlash against the Royal Family. 

Meghan was asked about her “suspicions” that Archie would not be made a prince, with Oprah saying: “Do you think it’s because of his race?”

Meghan, at the time sitting alone, said: “In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, ‘He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

Oprah then recoils in horror and says “what?” adding: “There is a conversation…hold on. Hold up. Hold up. Stop right now.”
Meghan told Oprah there were “several conversations” with Harry about Archie’s skin colour which were relayed to her.

When Oprah asked if they were “about how dark your baby is going to be?”, Meghan replied: “Potentially, and what that would mean or look like.”

Meghan added she would not name the royal as it would “be very damaging to them”.

When Harry joined the interview he was asked by Oprah about a “conversation with you about Archie’s skin tone”.

Harry said he would never share it, adding: “But at the time, it was awkward. I was a bit shocked.”

He claimed the unnamed family member had questioned “what will the kids look like?” at the “beginning” of his and Meghan’s relationship.

The race comments caused shockwaves around the world and led to accusations that the British Royal Family was racist.

Days later, Prince William was forced to defend his relatives, saying on a walkabout: “We are very much not a racist family”.

William and wife Kate’s subsequent tour of the Caribbean was dogged by accusations of “white privilege” and ‘colonial’ overtones.

Harry also accused the Royal Family of “unconscious bias” in his six-part Netflix documentary.

The £100million series claimed that racist art was in royal palaces and branded the Commonwealth, which King Charles leads, as “Empire 2.0”.

Harry’s allegations that the British press were responsible for the royal race claim do not stand up to scrutiny.

The Sussexes’ cheerleader Omid Scobie led from the front. He tweeted at the time: “Constitutional crisis? Royals respond to racism claims.”

Harry’s autobiography Spare is due to be published on Tuesday but The Sun revealed its contents after getting a copy which went on sale on Spain five days early.

Buckingham Palace did not want to comment.

Prince Harry also declared there was never a "Fab Four" and said the warring couples failed to get on from the get-go.

He also said that he no longer recognises his family, but conceded they probably felt the same way about him.

And he claimed Kate and William stereotyped Meghan as a "divorced biracial American actress".

He also said the King was never meant to be a single dad.

Harry later carried out an interview in the US with news anchor Anderson Cooper on CBS’s 60 Minutes.

In it, he called Queen Camilla “dangerous” and he accused her of showing an “open willingness” to trade information with the press as she campaigned to marry Charles. 

He also relived his final moments with his grandmother the Queen during the chat.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Prince William and Princess Catherine after the Queen died
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Prince William and Princess Catherine after the Queen diedCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Matt Wilkinson

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