Anyae Johns | Staff Writer
On March 7, in a two-hour-long CBS special, Oprah sat down with Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, alone to discuss adjusting to the royal life while juggling marriage, parenthood, and howMarkle was dealing with the negative publicity. Later within the special, Prince Harry joined the two to discuss their new life in America and their future plans.
Last spring, the now-former Duke and Duchess of Sussex turned down their titles and all things associated with their royal titles. Throughout the course of their marriage and even prior, Meghan Markleclaimed to be bullied by the Royal Institution and the British Press. Most feel as though it was because of her being biracial. Meghan Markle’s mother is black, and her father is white.
Markle stated that she went into the Royal marriage “naively” and did not know what to expect. In Markle’s expression, she opened up about the experience, which prompted Oprah to ask Markle, “Were you silent or were you silenced?”
“The latter,” said Markle.
At that moment, Markle revealed to Oprah and over 17.1 million viewers that the British Institution silenced her.
The Duchess of Sussex proclaimed that she did not feel “protected” from the institution, nor did she feel “supported.” The lack of regard for her well-being negatively impacted her during events, outings and she believed it was simply because of her race.
Markle also revealed that the Royal Family did not want her first child to be granted the title of prince or princess and would not receive the protection accompanied with a royal title because of “how dark his or her skin might be when they are born.” At the time, they did not know that they were having a son (Archie).
Markle was under a lot of stress and stated that she contemplated suicide.
“I just didn’t see a solution…it was all happening just because I was breathing,” said Markle. “I knew if I didn’t say it, I would do it, and I just didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
Markle even reached out to the Institution for help regarding her mental health but received nothing.
“I can’t believe the Institution, an organization there for her protection, offered no help to her at all,” said Laniya Sims, a second-year marketing major from Baltimore, MD. “I am so glad they found peace outside of that organization.”
In 2019, the couple left the UK and moved to Canada, intending to continue their duties for the Queen. The two moved to California recently after leaving Canada in 2019 after the Royal Family cut ties with the couple.
The couple told Oprah that they did not blindside the Queen or the Royal Family like the British media claimed. Prince Harry and Meghan wanted to “take a step back” with his family because they were not getting the help he requested.
“And what we were seeing was history repeating itself, but perhaps far more dangerous because then you add race into it and then social media in it,” said Prince Harry. “When I say history repeating itself, I’m talking about my mother.”
Prince Harry claims he was not aware of many things regarding bias until he met his wife, Meghan. He asked for “calm from the press” more than once. Today, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are thriving in their new home in California, raising their son Archie and awaiting their baby girl.
“The interview exposed that racial barriers still need to be broken globally and exposes the truth about the Royal Family that many people had prior misconceptions about,” said Aniyah Oberlton, senior strategic communications major at Hampton University.
The Hampton Script 