Oprah Winfrey today revealed that in 2018 Meghan was ‘advised’ to be ‘half herself’ shortly after she joined the Royal Family – as the talk show host admitted to being ‘surprised’ by the couple’s racism claims during their CBS interview.
Oprah said Meghan approached her and confided that she had been told to be ‘50% less’ – in an apparent reference to the need for the duchess to adopt a lower profile to fit into the royal pecking order.
The talk show host said she was left ‘disheartened’ by the exchange, although she did not reveal who gave Meghan the advice or its precise meaning.
Today, Oprah gave her reaction to the bombshell interview, including the claim that a royal had raised concerns that Archie could be ‘too brown’. Oprah replied: ‘I was surprised they were telling me about it. Even on the tape you can hear me go ”Whoa, I cannot believe you are saying this right now”.’
Winfrey was a guest at the couple’s 2018 wedding and given a prime seat at the ceremony.
She had reportedly been courting Meghan for an interview for a number of years before the couple stepped back from royal life. She has also been photographed with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
Oprah said Meghan approached her in 2018 and confided in her that she had been told to be ‘half herself’, leaving the talk show host ‘disheartened’. Pictured are Meghan and Harry on Oprah
Oprah appeared on US breakfast show CBS This Morning to discuss her bombshell interview with Meghan and the Duke of Sussex and recalled a conversation she had with Meghan.
She told the programme: ‘She had just joined the royal family and she shared a conversation with me then that made me feel somewhat disheartened.
‘She said she had been told, been given advice, that it would be best if she could be 50% less than she was. That was the quote, if she could be 50% less.
‘I remember hearing that in 2018 and I said to her, ‘I don’t know how you’re going to survive, being half of yourself’.’
Meghan has previously complained about feeling constrained by royal protocol and having to run comments by palace officials before speaking in public.
Oprah said she was ‘surprised’ the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed details of an alleged conversation with a member of the royal family who expressed ‘concern’ before he was born about how dark their son Archie’s skin tone might be.
The talk show host also said she was taken aback by Meghan’s disclosures about her mental health, and about Harry’s revelation at feeling ‘trapped’, during their explosive interview.
Both Harry and Meghan refused to identify who made the alleged racist comment, and Winfrey has said the couple did not confide in her off-camera.
However, the talk show host has said Harry told her it was not the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh who made the remark.
During the interview Meghan also said she contemplated taking her own life while pregnant.
Discussing the revelations on US breakfast show CBS This Morning, Winfrey was asked what surprised her in the interview.
Winfrey said: ‘I think the skin tone, the discussions about what colour Archie’s skin tone would be.
‘What also surprised me, and that is why I clarified, were you just feeling badly, were you feeling sad or were there suicidal ideation thoughts of harming yourself, that also surprised me. It surprised me Harry said he was trapped.’
Oprah appeared on US breakfast show CBS This Morning to discuss her bombshell interview with Meghan and the Duke of Sussex and recalled a conversation she had with Meghan
Asked how the couple is feeling today, Winfrey said: ‘I haven’t really spoken to them since the interview because we are in different time zones.
‘I got a text from Meghan yesterday saying ‘How is it going?’ because she was putting Archie to bed waiting on the west coast feed and had no idea what was happening on the east coast. I said ‘I don’t either but from what I can tell it’s going well, I know it’s airing.’
‘I will probably have a conversation with them later on today.’
The couple’s home in California is close to Winfrey’s in the affluent neighbourhood of Montecito and Winfrey’s best friend Gayle King, an anchor on CBS This Morning, was a guest at Meghan’s baby shower.
It came as Prince Harry today claimed racism drove him and Meghan out of Britain and the Queen was too busy to meet him as he piled on new insults to his family in a series of unseen clips from his bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview.
The Duke of Sussex accused the Queen of snubbing him after she was allegedly overruled by royal aides when she tried to invite him and Meghan on a trip to Sandringham after the couple announced they were stepping down.
Meanwhile, Prince Philip was cleared of making a racist remark about how ‘dark’ Archie’s skin would be, with Oprah saying Harry had confirmed the comment was not made by the Duke of Edinburgh or the Queen.
Harry refused to reveal the person’s identity on Sunday night as did Meghan and claimed they wanted to protect whoever it was – leaving the rest of the family open to suspicion.