On Sunday March 7, Oprah Winfrey released an interview she conducted with Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle, which is the first interview they’ve done since they both stepped away from their royal duties and titles in early March of 2020.

     A cloud of controversy has surrounded the couple since they were married in May 2018 leaving a constant media trail of everything they’ve done since then.  

     In the interview, the couple discussed everything from getting married to making the decision to step away from their roles in the royal family. 

     Meghan disclosed that the couple had held a private wedding in their backyard three days before the actual wedding ceremony that was broadcasted to the public. “This spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us,” she said during the interview. 

     She said that during her pregnancy there were concerns among the ‘Firm’ as she called the royal family, about what features the child would have. “People were concerned about how dark Archie’s skin would be,” she said. And this led to them being told that Archie would never become prince or receive a royal title, therefore he would not be receiving security paid for by the royal family. The couple said they had to pay for both them and their son’s protection out of pocket.

     Another issue that was brought up during the interview was that Meghan felt she had no protection while being a part of the family. She had to endure rumors painted and published by the media ,which she said she didn’t mind as much, but was hurt by the fact that no one from the royal family came to her defense like they did for other members in the family. 

     The interview took a dark turn when Meghan revealed that during her time living with the royal family she faced thoughts of suicide. “I left the house twice in four months,” she told Oprah and said that she had to get permission to leave the palace grounds. 

         In an awakening moment, Meghan mentioned that she felt as though she had lost her voice to which Oprah replied “Were you silent or silenced?” with emphasis on silence, to which Meghan replied she felt a bit of both. 

     Prince Harry said the decision to give up their titles stemmed from the persecution that his wife was facing which reminded him of the events that lead to the death of his late mother Princess Diana. He stated that one of his biggest fears was “ history repeating itself,” in references to the similarity in media attention and controversy his wife was facing. 

      He also commented on his relationship with his father saying it was now strained. And he feels “let down” considering his situation is similar to the one Prince Charles faced with Princess Diana. He also commented on his relationship with the Queen saying that they still  keep in touch over zoom calls due to the pandemic. 

     On the brighter side of the interview, the couple who now lives in California announced they will be having a baby girl this upcoming summer. “Now we’ve got our family, we’ve got the four of us and our two dogs,” said Meghan.