Following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview last month, Oprah Winfrey has shared her thoughts about it.
Appearing on Nancy O’Dell’s new streaming show TalkshopLive on Friday, the famed talk show host admitted that she was “surprised” at how open and forthcoming the royal couple were during the interview.
Back in March, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat down with Oprah to discuss why they chose to step back from royal duties and leave the UK. One of the most shocking moments of the two-hour tell-all came when Meghan, who is expecting her second child this summer, revealed that an unnamed member of the royal family had “conversations with Harry about how dark [Archie’s] skin might be when he’s born”.
Remembering the jaw-dropping admission, Oprah said: “I was surprised. I was surprised at that thing that’s now become a meme that’s like, ‘What?’. I’m like, ‘What? You’re going there? You’re going all the way there?'”
The 67-year-old interviewer also revealed that she did not have a chance to talk to Harry and Meghan beforehand but instead texted them the day before to ask what they wanted to get out of the interview.
She explained: “Whenever I’m doing interviews with anybody for anything that is significant, I have a conversation with them before. I didn’t see Harry and Meghan before but I did text them and say intention is very important to me, tell me what your intention is so that we can be aligned in our goal.
“And our shared intention was the truth. They wanted to be able to tell their story and tell it in such a way that allowed them to be as truthful as possible.”
She continued: “What makes [an interview] powerful is when you have somebody else who is willing to be as open, as vulnerable, as truthful as they were, so I don’t give myself credit for that.”
Following the interview, Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of the Queen that read: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
“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.”