Buckingham Palace says it takes Meghan Markle’s racism claims ‘very seriously’

Breaking its silence over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, Buckingham Palace issued a statement Tuesday, saying they take Markle’s claims of experiencing racism in the Royal Family in regards to her son Archie’s skin colour “very seriously” and it will be “addressed by the family privately.”

The statement is the first comment by the palace following Harry and Meghan’s explosive two-hour television interview where the couple referred to unnamed royals raising concerns over their son Archie’s mixed-race heritage.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,” the palace said in a statement issued on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.

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“While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”

Meanwhile, the statement also said that “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members.”

Although the palace often tries to stay above controversy by remaining silent and riding out the storm, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s charges were so damaging that the family were forced to respond.

The statements come a day after the interview was aired in the UK and sent the palace into turmoil, with crisis talks addressing the damaging claims around Meghan’s suicidal thoughts as a newly-married Duchess of Sussex.

When she asked for mental health help from the palace’s human resources staff she was told she was not a paid employee. 

Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan also revealed some racist undertones within royal ranks as unnamed royals raised concerns over the skin tone of their first-born son, Archie, even as they were told he would not be made a prince and therefore not provided with security.

Winfrey later said Harry told her off-camera that the family member wasn’t Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Philip, sparking a flurry of speculation about who it could be.

However, many in Britain have also criticized Harry and Meghan for dropping their bombshell while Harry’s 99-year-old grandfather, Prince Philip, remains hospitalized in London after a heart procedure.

ALSO READ | ‘I don’t think the British royal family are racist’: Meghan Markle’s father on ‘Archie’s’ skin colour

Harry also revealed the stresses the couple endured had ruptured relations with his father, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, and his brother, Prince William, illuminating the depth of the family divisions that led the couple to step away from royal duties and move to California last year.

Prince Charles didn’t comment on the interview Tuesday during a visit to a vaccine clinic in London.

Meanwhile, Meghan’s estranged father Thomas Markle defended the royals, saying he hoped the skin tone comment was “just a dumb question”.

“It could just be that simple, it could be somebody asked a stupid question, rather than being a total racist,” he told Britain’s ITV.