A year on from Oprah interview, these Meghan and Harry questions still unanswered
It has been a year since Prince Harry and Meghan’s explosive Oprah interview, but there are still gaps missing in the stories told.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s bombshell Oprah interview left viewers gobsmacked 12 months ago as the world tuned into watch.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed no subject was “off limits” during the explosive chat in March last year, which saw the couple speak candidly to Oprah Winfrey about their ups and downs at the palace, The Sun reports.
The interview unlocked a host of jaw-dropping remarks, racking up over 6000 complaints from British viewers and even prompting a response from the Queen.
But one year on, a number of unanswered claims remain.
Here’s everything we do and don’t know about what was said in the interview.
Archie ‘not a prince’ claim
Meghan sent shockwaves through the royal family when she told Oprah that Archie wasn’t made a prince after “concerns and conversations” about “how dark” his skin would be when he was born.
The Duchess said there had been conversations with Prince Harry and a “family” member about their unborn son and what colour his skin would be – and “what that would mean or look like”.
However it later emerged that under royal rules – laid down by King George V in 1917 – Archie would only have ever been made a prince or receive a HRH title when Prince Charles becomes king.
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Under George V’s declaration, of the Queen’s great-grandchildren only Prince George is actually entitled to be a prince because he is in the direct line of succession to the throne as the eldest son of Prince William, the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.
However, ahead of George’s birth, the Queen stepped in to issue letters patent, ensuring that all Kate and William’s children would have the prince and princess titles.
They are the children of a future monarch, but Archie is not.
While Archie could have been styled using one of Harry’s lesser titles, Earl of Dumbarton, when he was born the couple announced that he would instead be known as Archie Mountbatten-Windsor – and it was widely reported this was to ensure he had a more normal upbringing.
And it was later claimed the couple had rejected the title as it had the term “dumb” in it.
However, Meghan said of the lack of title: “It was not our decision to make.”
Comments about Archie’s skin colour
We still don’t know which royal apparently made the comments about Archie’s race.
Meghan said: “In those months when I was pregnant, all around the same time, we have in tandem he won’t be given security, a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
Oprah was left stunned and replied: “What? There is a conversation … hold on. Hold up. Hold up. Stop right now.”
She went on: “About how dark your baby is going to be?”
Meghan replied: “Potentially, and what that would mean or look like.”
Oprah later confirmed the person who made the comment was not the Queen or Prince Philip.
But Meghan said it would be “too damaging” to reveal the culprit, meaning it’s unlikely we will ever find out the answer.
Royal family still not met Lilibet
Meghan was pregnant with daughter Lilibet when she spoke with Oprah, announcing during the chat that she and Harry would be having a baby girl.
But despite being born in June last year, the majority of the royal family – including the Queen – is yet to meet the sovereign’s namesake, Lilibet Diana, in person.
While senior royals have reportedly cooed over Lili from across the pond on video calls, Princess Eugenie is likely to have been the first to meet her properly.
The royal recently visited the Sussexes in the US and was snapped enjoying the Super Bowl with Harry in a private box at LA’s SoFi Stadium.
It has not yet been confirmed whether Harry and Meghan will bring their children to the UK to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee this year.
Meghan and Kate’s bridesmaid dress row
In the Oprah chat, Meghan addressed the longstanding rumour that she had made Kate cry in the lead-up to her wedding.
However, the Duchess of Sussex turned things on a head when she said it was actually Kate who made her cry.
In the interview, Meghan said it had been difficult to see a “narrative that didn’t happen” surface after it was reported she left Kate in tears over her demands for Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress.
She said: “The reverse happened. A few days before the wedding she was upset about something, pertaining to … the flower girl dresses, and it made me cry. And it really hurt my feelings.
“There wasn’t a confrontation and I don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that because she apologised, and I have forgiven her.
“What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn’t do, but that happened to me.”
To this day, it remains unclear what caused all the tears.
Harry ‘cut off’ financially
Prince Harry famously told Oprah his dad, Prince Charles, stopped taking his calls after quitting royal life and said he was “cut off” financially by his family.
He told how he “didn’t have a plan” after the bombshell move and the idea to collaborate with brands like Spotify and Netflix were only suggested to him later.
He told Oprah: “We didn’t have a plan.
“[Signing lucrative deals] was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us.”
Prince Charles’ annual review, however, revealed Charles had in fact given both his sons a share of £4.5 million ($A8 million) after Megxit.
Palace sources refused to reveal the exact amount given to Harry at the time – which covered the first four months of their “transition period”.
The report confirmed, however, he would get no more handouts from his father.
Harry’s security row
Harry admitted in his chat with Oprah it was when he was told his security would be taken away that he realised he needed to quickly find a source of income for his family.
The Duke of Sussex was stripped of his police protection after quitting life as a senior royal.
Harry said he had been shocked by the decision to remove funding for his security, saying he had “inherited” the risk after being born into the royal family.
And Meghan said she wrote to the Firm begging them to continue funding it after seeing death threats.
One year on, Harry continues to fund his own private protection, and he recently launched a legal battle against the government over the decision to take away his police bodyguards – claiming it is unsafe for his family to return to the UK without them.
The legal battle is ongoing.
Bullying probe
In the week leading up to Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview, the Duchess was accused by sources in The Times of bullying two palace staff members, forcing them to quit their jobs.
Meghan vehemently denies the claims, with a spokesperson for the Sussexes later saying the allegations were part of a “calculated smear” against her.
The Queen launched a probe into the allegations, with a palace statement saying the Firm was “very concerned” at claims the Duchess bullied staff.
But one year on, there has still been no update on the matter from the palace and it is unclear whether the probe has finished.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
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