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 The 39-year-old, whose mother
is Black and father is white, said she had been
naive before she married into royalty in 2018,
but that she ended up having suicidal thoughts
and considering self harm after pleading for
help but getting none.
Meghan said that her son Archie, now aged one,
had been denied the title of prince because
there were concerns within the royal family
"about how dark his skin might be when he's
born".
"That was relayed to me from Harry, those were
conversations that family had with him," Meghan
recounted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey
aired on CBS late on Sunday.
Meghan declined to say who had aired such
concerns, as did Harry. He said his family had
cut them off financially and that his father
Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, had
let him down and refused to take his calls at
one point.
Buckingham Palace was not expected to give an
immediate response to the interview, which aired
in the early hours of Monday morning in Britain.
The two-hour broadcast was the most anticipated
royal interview since Harry's late mother
Princess Diana shared intimate details of her
failed marriage to Charles in 1995, denting the
heir's reputation and the family's standing in
the eyes of the British public.
Nearly three years since her star-studded
wedding in Windsor Castle, Meghan described some
unidentified members of the royal household as
brutal, mendacious and guilty of racist remarks.
She also accused Kate, the wife of her husband's
elder brother Prince William, of making her cry
before her wedding.
While the family came in for open criticism,
neither Harry nor Meghan attacked Queen
Elizabeth directly.
Still, Meghan said she had been silenced by "the
Firm" - which Elizabeth heads - and that her
pleas for help while in distress at racist
reporting and her predicament had fallen on deaf
ears.
"I just didn't want to be alive any more. And
that was a very clear and real and frightening
constant thought. And I remember how he (Harry)
just cradled me," Meghan said, wiping away
tears.
'REALLY LET DOWN'
Harry and Meghan's announcement in January,
2020, that they intended to step down from their
royal roles plunged the family into crisis. Last
month, Buckingham Palace confirmed the split
would be permanent, as the couple looks to forge
an independent life in the United States.
Harry, 36, said they had stepped back from royal
duties because of a lack of understanding, and
he was worried about history repeating itself -
a reference to the death of his mother Diana who
was killed in a 1997 crash as her car sped away
from chasing photographers.
Asked what his mother would say about events, he
answered: "I think she would feel very angry
with how this has panned out and very sad." He
felt "really let down" by his father.
Harry denied blindsiding Queen Elizabeth, his
grandmother, with his decision to shun life
within the monarchy, but said Prince Charles
stopped taking his calls at one point.
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 "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?"
Detractors say the couple, whose official title
is the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, wanted the
limelight, but were not willing to live with the
attention and scrutiny it brought.
To supporters, their treatment shows how an
outdated British institution lashed out against
a modern, independent biracial woman.
"I know first-hand the sexism and racism
institutions and the media use to vilify women
and people of color to minimize us, to break us
down and to demonize us," Serena Williams, one
of the world's most successful tennis players
and friend of Meghan's, said on Twitter.
Amanda Gorman, the poet who wowed viewers at the
inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden, said
on Twitter that Meghan had been the "Crown's
greatest opportunity for change, regeneration,
and reconciliation in a new era. They didn't
just maltreat her light - they missed out on
it." LIES AND TEARS
There have also been allegations of bullying
against Meghan which appeared in The Times
newspaper in the buildup to the couple's
appearance. Buckingham Palace said it would
investigate the claims, adding it was "very
concerned".
Meghan told Winfrey that people within the royal
institution not only failed to protect her
against malicious claims but lied to protect
others.
"It was only once we were married and everything
started to really worsen that I came to
understand that not only was I not being
protected but that they were willing to lie to
protect other members of the family," Meghan
said.
Meghan denied a newspaper story that she had
made Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, cry before the
wedding and said it was a turning point in her
relations with the media and the palace.
"The reverse happened," Meghan said. "A few days
before the wedding she (Kate) was upset about
something, pertaining to yes the issue was
correct about the flower girl dresses, and it
made me cry. And it really hurt my feelings."
Meghan, who said they were not paid for the
interview, conceded she had not realised what
she was marrying into when she joined the
British monarchy and "went into it naively".
The couple also revealed that Meghan, who is
pregnant with their second child, was expecting
a girl.
Harry said Meghan had "saved" him from his
trapped royal life. "I would disagree, I think
he saved all of us. You made a decision that
certainly saved my life," Meghan said.
"This is in some ways just the beginning for
us."
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Michael
Holden; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
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