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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Jennifer Newton

4 claims Meghan Markle and Harry made in Oprah chat that they've since gone back on

Two years ago, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down for their first major interview since quitting as working royals - and nobody could have predicted the bombshells they would drop.

It was on this day in 2021 that their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey first aired, where they made some shocking allegations about their time in the Firm.

But much has happened since the Oprah tell-all with the Sussexes going on to star in a Netflix docuseries, where they dropped even more bombshells.

While just weeks ago, Harry released his controversial memoir Spare, which again would have made grim reading for the royals.

However, it appears some of the claims made in the Oprah chat seem to have been rowed back on - or ignored completely in the couple's later projects....

Archie skin colour concerns

One of the biggest talking points that emerged from Harry and Meghan's explosive chat with Oprah Winfrey was when they revealed a senior royal questioned the colour of their unborn son’s skin.

Harry and Meghan in their chat with Oprah Winfrey (Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese v)

The couple sent shockwaves through the British monarchy when they spoke of their disgust at "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born".

It even prompted William to defend the royals by saying: "We are very much not a racist family."

However, this incident is not something that is picked up at by Harry in Spare.

But Harry was questioned about it in an interview to promote the book on ITV, but he told News at Ten's Tom Bradby they did not label the royal family racist.

During the interview Bradby said to Harry: "In the Oprah interview you accused members of your family of racism", the Duke snapped back, saying "no I didn't", adding "the British press said that".

In a further snipe at his family, Harry denied he'd "describe that as essentially racist", retorting: "I wouldn’t, not having lived within that family."

The Duke once again refused to name the individual concerned, saying: "The difference between racism and unconscious bias, the two things are different.

"But once it's been acknowledged, or pointed out to you as an individual, or as an institution, that you have unconscious bias, you, therefore, have an opportunity to learn and grow from that in order so that you are part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

"Otherwise unconscious bias then moves into the category of racism."

Garden wedding claim

Another claim that sparked confusion from Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview was that they married two days before their Windsor wedding in the garden of Kensington Palace.

Harry and Meghan on their wedding day in 2018 (Getty Images)

Meghan told Oprah: "You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that."

She added: "But we called the archbishop and we just said, 'Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us.' So, the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the archbishop of Canterbury."

However, in his book, Harry clears up the confusion and that the ceremony in the garden was "unofficial, non-binding, except in our souls".

First meetings

In the Oprah interview, Harry and Meghan detailed Meghan's early meetings with royal family members including the now-King Charles and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Harry remarked: "You know, my father, my brother, Kate and . . . and all the rest of the family, they were, they were really welcoming. But it really changed after the Australia tour, after our South Pacific tour."

However, both Harry and Meghan have expanded on Meghan's first meetings with William and Kate, which appear less than welcoming.

In the Netflix series, Meghan recalled an awkward first dinner and said: "When Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot.

"I was a hugger. I've always been a hugger, I didn't realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.

"I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside."

While in Spare, Harry explains there was a "discordant note" between Kate and Meghan.

He said: "The only possibly discordant note I could think of was the marked difference in how the two women dressed, which both of them seemed to notice. Meg: ripped jeans, barefoot. Kate: done up to the nines."

Hospital snap

The couple with son Archie shortly after his birth (PA)

In the Oprah interview, the chat show host asked them about how they did not pose for pictures on leaving hospital after Archie was born.

Oprah said: "OK, so it feels to me like things started to change when you and Harry decided that you were not going to take the picture that had been a part of the tradition for years and..."

To which Meghan immediately replied: "We weren’t asked to take a picture."

But in the Netflix series, she said: "There was already the pressure of the picture with Archie on the steps."

Instead, Meghan said she and the palace came up with an alternative plan and asked instead if she could give photographers more time at Windsor Castle to take pictures of her and the newborn.

She added: "It was like, 'Yes, yes, oh great, yes.' At no point did someone go, 'Absolutely not'."

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