Prince Charles' Aides Deny This Bombshell Claim About Him
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey rocked the royal family when it aired in March 2021. The couple candidly spoke about the struggles they faced not only with the British media, but also within the monarchy, which ultimately led them to stepping down from their royal duties and moving to California. One of the interview's biggest bombshell revelations was that when Meghan — who is biracial — was pregnant with the couple's first child Archie, there were discussions within the royal family about the child's skin tone (per CBS News).
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex refused to say who brought up the topic during the interview and have remained mum on the topic in the face of speculation since. Meghan told Oprah that the information would be too damaging to the person's reputation (via People). However, a book dropping November 30 insinuated that the culprit could be the future King of England (via Page Six). In his book, "Brothers and Wives: Inside The Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan," author Christopher Andersen wrote that on the day of Meghan and Harry's engagement, Charles asked his wife Camilla about the physical appearance of their future grandchildren.
He reportedly wanted to know, "What the children will look like?" Camilla was surprised by the question and replied, "Well, absolutely gorgeous, I'm certain." Andersen claimed Charles then lowered his voice and said, "I mean, what do you think their children's complexion might be?"
Palace aides call this accusation against Prince Charles 'fiction'
It's important to note Christopher Andersen's book does not necessarily imply Prince Charles was the mysterious person behind discussions about the baby's skin color while Meghan Markle was pregnant. The alleged conversation took place well before she and Prince Harry were even married, after all. Regardless, Charles' aides flatly denied that the conversation ever took place. "This is fiction and not worth further comment," a spokesperson told Page Six. No room for discussion there.
Andersen reiterated that the conversation did take place during a recent interview, according to People. However, the author claimed that the future king's comments were "benign" and taken out of context by a subset of palace advisers referred to as the "Men in Gray" before the story reached his son's ears. "I mean, here's this beautiful biracial American woman and the world's most famous redhead. I'm a grandfather, of course, we all do this, speculate on it. But it was turned into something very toxic," Andersen said.
Things within the royal family grew more tense when Harry confronted Charles about the palace gossip and was told he was being "overly sensitive about the matter." And while his brother Prince William admitted that the skin tone comment was "tactless," he insisted it was "not a sign of racism within the family." William echoed that sentiment after his brother's interview with Oprah Winfrey, telling a group of reporters, "We are very much not a racist family."
Prince Harry was candid about his strained relationship with his father with Oprah
Although Prince Charles denied the conversation took place, the timeline does check out with another discussion Prince Harry brought up during his interview with Oprah Winfrey. This one took place "right at the beginning" of his relationship with Meghan Markle. "That conversation I'm never going to share," he said. "It was awkward. I was a bit shocked" (via People). The Duke of Sussex didn't name the person in question. However, he made it clear later that it was not his grandmother Queen Elizabeth or grandfather Prince Philip. Perhaps this moment came back to haunt the royal family while Meghan was pregnant?
Although he didn't specifically name his father as the person who was behind the above-mentioned conversation, Harry was frank about his strained relationship with Prince Charles. He told Oprah that his father "stopped taking [his] calls" for a period of time. "I will always love him," Harry said of his father. "There's a lot of hurt that's happened. I will continue to make it one of my priorities to heal that relationship." The relationship was reportedly challenging in the months after Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview. A source told US Weekly that a "huge wedge" existed between the pair.
"Charles is still fuming about Harry throwing shade at him and the royal family in the big interview and won't let it drop," the source alleged. "But to be honest, Harry didn't go running back to Charles begging for forgiveness either."
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Prince William have yet to comment on the latest revelations
Representatives for Prince Charles rushed to deny allegations brought up in Christopher Andersen's book. However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle declined to return repeated requests for comment from the Daily Mail. It remains to be seen if they will change their stance and speak out on the matter in the coming days. Of course, doing so would likely lead to more bombshell statements from all sides.
A report released in early November implied that William's relationship with his brother remained "poor" after it was strained by a variety of things including the Oprah Winfrey interview. Royal scribe Robert Lacey told Page Six that there did not appear to be any motions to mend their relationship, at least not on William's part. "He remains unhappy about what his brother has done," Lacey said. "There is no immediate possibility of any reconciliation. I mean, it's not wanted on either side. Too many bitter things have been said."
Will this change anything for the royal family? Only time will tell.