How Michelle Obama Really Feels About Meghan Markle
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been friends with former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for years. The couples have collaborated on charity initiatives, with the Obamas being supporters of Harry's Invictus Games Foundation (via BBC), and Michelle Obama offered advice to Meghan about how to handle the spotlight when she married Harry (via Express).
For her part, Markle has said that she looks up to Michelle Obama and interviewed the former first lady in 2019 when she guest edited an issue of Vogue UK.
After Markle's explosive tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, Obama addressed the rift between Prince Harry and his older brother, Prince William. "My hope is that, when I think about what they're going through, I think about the importance of family and I just pray that there is forgiveness and there is clarity and love and resolve at some point in time," she said during an appearance on Access Hollywood. "Because there's nothing more important than family."
Michelle Obama empathizes with Meghan Markle on race
One of the most disturbing moments of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah came when the couple shared that, while Markle was pregnant with their son, Archie, there had been "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born" amongst members of the royal family.
They declined to name who raised these concerns, but Oprah later said that Prince Harry had told her it wasn't either of his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth or Prince Philip.
When Jenna Bush Hager asked Michelle Obama about Markle's comments on racism during an interview on Today, Obama responded that they didn't come as a surprise. "As I said before, race isn't a new construct in this world for people of color, and so it wasn't a complete surprise to hear her feelings and to have them articulated," she told Hager.
Obama also reiterated the importance of family and her hope that the family can learn from this experience, grow together, and mend their rift. "I think the thing that I hope for, and the thing I think about, is that this, first and foremost, is a family. I pray for forgiveness and healing for them so that they can use this as a teachable moment for us all," she said.