Apologies if already posted. A little behind...
Basically, the interview was full of half - truths.
Harry and Meghan: Where Buckingham Palace disagrees with the duke and duchess
March 10 2021, The Times
Buckingham Palace has made clear that it does not accept the truth of everything the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in their interview with Oprah Winfrey. In a bold assertion by the standards of royal pronouncements,
the official statement on behalf of the Queen said that “some recollections may vary”.
They will not be debated in public: the palace is keen to avoid the tit-for-tat of claim and counter-claim. These, however, are the possible areas of contention:
Racism
When she was pregnant with Archie, Meghan said there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born”. There were, she said, “several conversations” about it with Harry, and
an unnamed member of his family.
Harry’s account differed slightly from from his wife’s. He only referred to one conversation, and said that it was “right at the beginning”, before they were married.
It is hard to know what the palace position is on this, as they have not commented. But whoever it was may well have their own memory of the conversation.
Oprah Winfrey said that off-camera, Harry
ruled out the possibility that it was the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh.
Mental health
When she was feeling suicidal, Meghan said she
went to one of the most senior people in the household “just to get help”. She said: “I said that ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere.’ And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
This raises several questions. Why did she not go to a doctor, such as one of the doctors working for the medical household? Why would the palace not want to help, especially given that mental health has been one of the most prominent campaigning areas for Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge? Harry, after all, has spoken on several occasions about his own mental health, and how he has had therapy to cope with feelings about the death of his mother.
And why would an official put the standing of the institution above the mental health of a member of the royal family, given all that Harry — and William and Kate — have said through their Heads Together campaign about the importance of removing the stigma surrounding mental health?
Also, Meghan said she went to human resources to ask for help. Why? Some insiders believe this was odd, given that HR is there to deal with issues concerning staff, not the royal family.
In the interview Harry admitted that he did not tell anyone in his family that Meghan needed help. He said: “I guess I was ashamed of admitting it to them … I didn’t have anyone to turn to.”
Bridesmaids’ dresses
One of the first stories to cast Meghan in a negative light was the claim that before her wedding there was a row over bridesmaids’ dresses in which the Duchess of Cambridge cried. According to Meghan, it was Kate who made her cry.
“She was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. She brought me flowers and a note, apologising.”
Describing Kate as “a good person”, she added: “I’m not sharing that piece about Kate in any way to be disparaging to her. I think it’s really important for people to understand the truth.”
However, insiders tell a different story. One said the row happened when the bridesmaids’ dresses had to be altered a week before the wedding. Meghan told them when to come, but Kate wanted to come at a different time. She was told it would not be possible, and went round at the time that suited Meghan.
“Meghan was incredibly rude. The duchess cried and left.”
After William intervened to try to calm the situation down, the duchess took flowers to Meghan the next day in an attempt to make peace.
The source said: “Meghan slammed the door in her face.”
Charles
Harry told Oprah Winfrey that in the first few months of 2020
his father cut him off financially.
However the Prince of Wales appears to differ in his recollection of what happened. Charles, who previously bankrolled Harry’s office to the tune of something approaching £2.5 million a year, was said by a source to feel “let down” by Harry’s claim.
A source told the London Evening Standard: “The Prince of Wales went out of his way to make sure his son and daughter-in-law were financially supported.”
Prince Archie
The Duchess of Sussex has claimed that members of the royal family
did not want Archie to become a prince.
This is a complicated area because Archie was never due to be a prince when he was born. Rules introduced by George V in 1917 mean that great-grandchildren of the monarch, other than the elder son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, are not styled HRH and do not get the title of prince or princess.
However when the Queen dies Archie would then be a grandchild of the monarch, and would therefore get his HRH and become a prince.
However, Meghan suggested to Winfrey that there were plans to change this rule. She said: “While I was pregnant they said they wanted to change the convention for Archie.”
No royal sources have confirmed this. One said they were unaware of such conversations.
The Sussex camp believes that it is Prince Charles who intends to introduce this change, rather than the Queen. It is understood that they believe he would introduce it on his accession, as part of his plans for a slimmed-down monarchy.
Charles believes that having fewer working members of the royal family would reduce the burden on the taxpayer and help justify the existence of the institution.
The question of Archie’s title was further complicated by the way the duchess linked the issue with the question of his security.
Several sources have said that his title had nothing to do with security, which was a matter for Scotland Yard and, ultimately, the home secretary.
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