After taking a brief moment to think things through, Queen Elizabeth II, via Buckingham Palace, opted to finally release a statement responding to the claims made by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in their interview with Oprah Winfrey on Sunday night which sent shock waves around the world.
The highlight of the interview was the shocking claims by Meghan Markle, 39, who revealed that Prince Harry, 36, was asked by an important member of the royal family “how dark” Archie‘s skin would be before he was born in 2019.
The Queen said: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.”
The statement expressed the love that the Queen and the royal family have for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in a bid to reduce the tensions.
Queen Elizabeth shared: “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, Meghan, and Archie will always be much-loved family members.”
Many royal insiders and experts weighed in on the statement to reveal what Queen Elizabeth means and what she plans to do.
Royal author Phil Dampier said the phrase “recollections vary” is telling because Her Majesty has spoken to the royal member who made the racist comment about Archie.
He added: “The Queen is really saying that Harry and Meghan might be giving their version of events or their interpretation of a conversation a couple of years ago, without going so far as to say they are lying, which they might not be. Clearly, she has spoken to the person who allegedly made the remark about Archie, and they have given her their version of events.”
Dampier went on to say that she is also pleading with Meghan and Harry to stop talking. He revealed: “By saying Harry and Meghan are “much-loved family members,” she is throwing out an olive branch and pleading with them not to say anymore and to calm down and start to build bridges.”
The Queen had reportedly refused to approve a statement regarding the accusations of racism and lack of support from Buckingham Palace made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during the two-hour special, which aired first on CBS on Sunday before being shown in the UK on Monday.
Insiders had revealed that the Queen, 94, along with her son, the Prince of Wales, and her grandson, the Duke of Cambridge, took some time to discuss how to respond to the interview amid growing tensions as the British public awaited a message from the monarch.
According to palace insiders, an official statement had been prepared, but the monarch was not eager to have it published, despite two days passing already since the original airing of the interview.
Staff at the palace are shrouded in “a mood of…shock and sadness” following the interview, in which some staff, including the Queen’s private secretary and Prince Charles‘s private secretary, stayed up until 3 a.m. to watch as it aired in the US.
