7 things to know about Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah

Meghan recounts being welcomed by the Queen and how she was gifted a pair of pearl earrings from her. They also shared a tender moment when the Queen shared a blanket with her to keep her warm while they were seated in a carriage together. Harry and Meghan also keep in touch with the Queen via zoom calls while in LA.

Harry also mentioned that for awhile he was not speaking to his father, Prince Charles, after the Prince of Wales stopped taking his calls. “I had three conversations with my grandmother, and two conversations with my father before he stopped taking my calls. And then he said, can you put this all in writing?” Harry said. They are now on speaking terms again.

From the first quarter of 2020, Harry and Meghan received no money once they announced that they would be stepping back from official royal duties. They relied on money Princess Diana had left for Harry. Harry says that their deals with Spotify and Netflix were “never part of the plan”, but he had to do what was needed to provide for his family and afford them safety and security.

Meghan speaks about her “unsurvivable” time as a royal. She found comfort in her husband and confided in one of Princess Diana’s close friends. But when she reached out to a senior person at the institution, she was told she could not get that help. She then went to human resources and asked for help and was told she wasn’t allowed to get the help she needed because she wasn’t a paid employee of the institution.

Harry also speaks about being in a “dark place” while his wife struggled with her mental health. He talks about the stigma of admitting to having mental health struggles and how he felt “ashamed” to admit to having them. “I’m so proud of my wife,” he adds. “She safely delivered Archie during a period of time which was so cruel and so mean. Every day I was coming back to my life in London and she was crying while breastfeeding Archie. We did what we had to do.”

“While I was pregnant [the royal family] said they want to change the convention for Archie [and not give him a title],”, Meghan says, explaining that without a title, Archie would not be entitled to protection or security.

“It’s not their right to take it away,” Meghan said. “And yet, they did. Even though I have a lot of clarity on what comes with the titles, good and bad, and, from my experience, a lot of pain. I, again, wouldn’t wish pain on my child, but that is their birthright to then make a choice about.”

“The idea of the first member of colour in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be…” she trails off.

“[There were] concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” Meghan revealed about Archie in another part of the interview.

Before “Megxit” (which Harry clarifies was not in fact spearheaded by Meghan, but by himself), the couple had no intention of leaving their royal duties.

“Our plan was to do this forever,” Meghan said. “I wrote letters to his family when I got there saying, ‘I am dedicated to this, I’m here for you, use me as you’d like.’ There was no guidance as well and there were certain things that you couldn’t do, but you know, unlike what you see in the movies, there’s no class on how to speak, how to cross your legs, how to be royal. There’s none of that training that might exist for other members.”

In this fairy tale, it is not the prince who rescues the princess, but instead both Meghan and Harry speak about how they saved each other as equals.

When posed with the question “Do you think (Meghan) saved you?”, “Harry says “without question” while Meghan disagrees saying it was Harry who saved “all of us”. Their love and respect for each other speaks volumes.

The interview ends on a happy note as Meghan and Harry reveal they are preparing to welcome a baby girl this summer. They can’t wait, feeling, as Harry says “Amazing. Just grateful. To have any child, any one or any two, would have been amazing. But to have a boy and then a girl, what more can you ask for. We’ve got our family—the four of us and our two dogs.”.

If you are struggling with your mental health or thoughts of suicide, here are a list of places where you can get help:

Samaritans of Singapore Hotline: 1800 221 4444

Institute of Mental Health’s Helpline: 6389 2222

Singapore Association of Mental Health Helpline: 1800 283 7019

This article was first published in Women’s Weekly.

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