On March 10th, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on CBS, accumulating an average audience of 17 million viewers. In the long awaited two hour primetime special, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the world about the reasoning behind their controversial decision to step down as senior members of the Royal Family. 

The heart-wrenching conversation, digging into the realities that the couple has faced since the beginning of their relationship, has the world exchanging views on the top revelations recounted by the couple. Markle has had a very rocky relationship with the British tabloids ever since the relationship with her spouse began back in 2016. She expressed in the interview how she felt that the media constantly criticized her everyday actions, down to the smallest details like the way she cradled her stomach during pregnancy. In many circumstances, Markle had been juxtaposed with her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, and in the interview she claimed that this had been a “turning point” in the decision to leave their position in the royal institution. Not because the press had reported a false story – that Markle had made Middleton cry – but because the Royal Family had refused to deny it. The Duchess explained that this was “the beginning of a real character assassination,” where the repeatedly fail to protect her from the press. 

The interview went on to discuss that beyond the Duke and Duchess not receiving protection from the press, the Royal Family would not be giving them protection physically. In one of the most discussed sections of the interview, Meghan explained how their decision to step down from having official royal titles would affect their first-born son Archie. “In those months when I was pregnant,” she tells Oprah, “all around this same time so we have in tandem the conversation of he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born.” In this upsetting tone change, it became clear that institutionalized racism in the Royal Family would stir a large debate throughout the press and the general public. It is no secret that the British Monarchy has a deeply racialized history, and while the official Union of Harry and Meghan in 2018 meant to mark a new era in race relations, the interview raised the conversation for many about how it may still have a long way to go. 

The couple now reside in Southern California, in a positive effort to escape the British press, along with establishing their withdrawal from their official royal titles. This move was majorly based on their security concerns, with actor Tyler Perry offering them refuge in his home until they were able to settle into a new house. Harry had also been cut off financially by the royal family, which led to their infamous Netflix and Spotify deals to meet their ongoing security needs. Harry also discussed being able to use what his mother, Princess Diana, left him – mentioning that in some way, she “saw this coming.” In fact, her story was very reminiscent of that of Meghan Markle. But Meghan’s situation, Harry commented, was made “far more dangerous” because of the added elements of racism and social media. In seeing Meghan’s struggle with her mental health and the media, the parallels were becoming overwhelming, and they together made the decision to step back. While there are many historical parallels between the two, hopefully the world learned a lesson from what happened to Diana, and Meghan and Harry will be able to lead their lives with some weight lifted off of their shoulders.