Among the revelations came the notion that prior to giving birth to her first son, Archie, there were concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born. “That conversation, I’m not going to share,” Prince Harry said. “But at the same time, it was awkward. I was a bit shocked. That was right at the beginning when she wasn’t going to get security, when members of my family were suggesting that she carries on acting because there’s not enough money to pay for her.” Oprah appeared taken back by this information.
Oprah’s facial expression as Meghan shared details of the conversations about her unborn child’s skin color.
“From an outsider’s perspective, of course I believe the alleged concern regarding Archie’s skin color is absurdly racist,” Nason said. “However, it’s not surprising considering the royal family has enabled racism since the early beginnings of the monarchy. The royal family is a deeply white institution and Meghan, a biracial woman having a biracial child, is a very rare, if not unheard of, occurrence within the bloodline. Even more so, by birth it has only been white royals on the British throne. It only makes sense for this systemically racist institution to worry about the skin color of a baby that is entitled to a title.”
“I think Oprah’s reaction said it all,” Bisson added. “It was really shocking really how even in 2021 these people can be so bigoted as to worry about the color of a baby’s skin. I think even with Meghan, race was an issue with the royal family and the fact that they still have this mindset is pretty sick.”
Prince Harry also alluded to what he believes his family’s mentality is about race and the constraints placed on members of the royal family. “For the family, they very much have this mentality of: ‘This is just how it is. This is how it’s meant to be. You can’t change it. We’ve all been through it.’ What was different for me was the race element, because now it wasn’t just about her. It was about what she represented.” He added to this by explaining how he was trapped, but at the time did not know he was trapped. Bisson agreed with the prince’s explanation. “I don’t think he would just make it all up and say that he feels trapped without actually feeling it,” Bisson said. “I mean, growing up in that environment you are told how to act, dress and really what kind of person you need to be. It must feel like you aren’t even really in control of your own life.” Nason agreed with Bisson. She urges people to watch the interview themselves. “If not for any other reason,” she said. “You should and need to watch it to understand the controversy.”
To watch the interview on your own time, you can stream it at: https://www.cbs.com/shows/oprah-with-meghan-and-harry-a-cbs-primetime-special/video/i6UW_WTQjLrEeOoObMmlwrFLTTypvuZm/cbs-presents-oprah-with-meghan-and-harry-a-primetime-special/
