Harry and Meghan: Prince William responds to explosive interview for the first time

LONDON.- “We are not a racist family at all”, He said the prince William, second on the British throne, responding to reporters on the sidelines of a public event in London on the accusations of his brother Harry and his sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, in the interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The Duke of Cambridge added having yet to speak to Harry after the interview, but added that he would.

Among other topics, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex addressed racism, mental health and media treatment and other members of the British royal family.

One of the most shocking revelations from the interview were the conversations about alleged “concerns” regarding the skin color of son of the dukes, Archie. Winfrey clarified hours later that neither Queen Elizabeth II nor her husband Prince Philip had ever spoken with the couple about the color of the baby’s skin.

The accusation provoked a serious crisis of the monarchy from a country where the strength of the Black Lives Matter movement recently led to an examination of colonial history and its relationship to the slave trade.

Now the question is in the eyes of the whole planet, especially in the United States where the couple have lived since their resounding exit from the monarchy a year ago, and in the Commonwealth, a multiracial group of more than 50 countries in the five united countries. continents for its historical ties to the British crown.

In this context, the royalty published a response whichDespite his conciliatory tone, he made it clear that these accusations would not be accepted without discussion.

If his father and heir to the throne, Prince Charles, 72, had only responded with a nervous laugh on Tuesday when asked about it during a visit to an African church in London turned into a vaccination center against COVID-19, Guillermo was more talkative.

“We are not a racist family at all,” said the second to the British throne, 38, as he visited a school in a multiracial neighborhood east of the capital.

The queen’s response

Elizabeth II, 94, replied on Tuesday that “the whole family is saddened to learn how difficult the past few years have been for Enrique and Meghan.”

The monarch also ensured that she took accusations of racism “very seriously” and promised that they would be dealt with “by the family in private”, but clarified that “memories may vary” from person to person.

This judicious choice of words “Suggests the family don’t agree with everything the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have said”Tory newspaper The Daily Telegraph pointed out, while others interpreted that the person who made the comment on the skin color had already been identified and that the person concerned was refuting the accusation.

Oprah Winfrey’s show, which recalled a shocking 1995 interview with the BBC by Enrique and Guillermo’s mother Princess Diana, in which she revealed everything from bulimia to cheating in her marriage, sparked a scandal between equals or adults.

In the opinion of constitutional expert Robert Hazell of University College London, this “would only become a crisis for the institution if polls began to show that support for the monarchy has declined considerably” in the UK.

But for now in Australia, a member of the Commonwealth, former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has already said the accusations should pave the way for another referendum on the end of the monarchy in this country, where Elizabeth II is still leader. of State.

Expansive Ola

Meanwhile, the expansive wave of the interview continues to affect the UK media world. After the forced resignation of ITV and the Good Morning Britain talk show from controversial presenter Piers Morgan – who had said he didn’t believe ‘not a single word’ from the Duchess, sparking a live clash with colleague Alex Beresford, with a black father – in the final hours as well fell Ian Murray, CEO of the Society of Publishers, which brings together British newspaper publishers.

Murray had defined as “unacceptable”, in an official statement from the Society, Harry’s remarks against the sensationalism of certain popular British newspapers.

The reaction was criticized and eventually Murray had to resign, saying he was leaving so the Society of Publishers “could rebuild his reputation.”

“Although I do not agree with who says that this statement was intended to defend racism, I agree that it should have been much clearer in condemning the intolerance” of some media, he admitted.

ANSA and DPA agencies

THE NATION