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LONDON – Prince William denied on Thursday that the British royal family was racist, in his first public comments after his brother Prince Harry and Harry’s wife Meghan alleged in a bombshell interview that a member of the family had voiced concerns about their child’s skin tone and shared revelations about a fracture in the usually narrow-minded institution.
Asked by a reporter on whether the royal family was racist, Prince William said it was ‘really not a racist family’, in remarks recorded and posted on social media by Richard Palmer, royal correspondent of the Daily Express in London.
William also said he had not spoken with Harry since the interview, which aired on Sunday in the United States and Monday night in Britain. “But I will do,” he added.
In the interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry called the British press racist and Meghan said royal life was so emotionally isolating she had let her contemplate suicide. The accusations have sparked a national discussion about the racism rooted within the monarchy, with observers saying it could have detrimental and long-term consequences on its reputation.
British news media have also been dragged into the math. An influential professional company has denied the couple’s coverage was racist, prompting an outcry from more than 160 journalists who highlighted examples of prejudice in news coverage, as well as diversity issues in UK newsrooms . One of Meghan’s fiercest critics, Piers Morgan, co-host of ITV’s ‘Good Morning Britain’ news show, resigned after his on-air attack on her sparked more than 40,000 complaints from the regulator British broadcasting.
Meghan and Harry have not revealed who was behind the racist comment on the couple’s son, but Ms Winfrey indicated after the interview that Harry asked her to reveal that it was not Queen Elizabeth II nor of her husband, Prince Philip.
As for his brother, “the relationship is ‘space’ at the moment,” said Harry, but added, “Time heals all things hopefully.”
He said ties with Prince Charles, his father, were strained and he felt abandoned by him. Charles had stopped taking her calls, he said.
“I will always love him, but there is a lot of wrong that has happened,” Harry said, referring to his father. The monarchy, he said, could be a prison: “My father and my brother, they are trapped. They can’t leave.
The royal family offered an official response to the interview on Tuesday, saying “the whole royal family is saddened.” Although they said “some memories may vary,” they did not deny the accusations and expressed particular concern over the issue of racism raised by the couple, which would be dealt with in private. William’s remarks were the first on the issue by a family member in a public appearance.
The comments came as he and his wife, Kate – also known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – visited a school in London after schools in England reopened this week. It was their first public appearance since the Harry and Meghan interview aired.
Their mental health focused visit was timed to mark the start of a school mental health resource initiative.
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