Teuila Blakely says there is a chance the discussions around Archie's skin colour, allegedly brought up by a member of the royal family, might not be "damning".
The mixed-race actress says her family has had similar conversations and, depending on context, these may or may not be fuelled by racism.
"At a time where racism is at the forefront of our world in terms of creating awareness around it, I think [those comments] can be damning. [But] I think what's really important to remember [is] we didn't understand the context of how that conversation or how those 'concerns' were presented," the Sione's Wedding actress said, during the After the Interview show on Three last night.
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"For the royal family, who have never had a person of colour come into their ranks before, the possibility that their first great grandchild could be coloured would be a conversation you would have," she added.
According to the actress, the context of the situation is what dictates whether the comment was the product or racism or something more innocent than that.
"I come from a mixed race family and I know that my dad's family in central Otago acted in exactly the same way when my Samoan mother came into the picture. Those conversations were had about if the children would be brown," the former Shortland Street star said.
"They definitely could be damning, if we know the context - if they really were racially-based, but also if it was just a conversation of: "well Harry, do you think he's going be quite brown?'"
During her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan said that a member of the royal family raised concerns with Prince Harry about how "dark" Archie's skin colour would be, around the time she was pregnant.
Both Meghan and Harry refused to name who was the royal who made the comment and hinted that it stemmed from racism.
Buckingham Palace has released a statement, following the interview, saying they take the allegations seriously and will be investigating.
"The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately," the statement read.
