It’s an interview that has stunned the world. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed to Oprah Winfrey the anguish they have experienced as royals during a two-hour tell-all interview that aired Sunday night.
At one point Meghan Markle described how she had considered taking her own life.
” I just didn’t want to be alive anymore,” she said, adding that she went to the institution to ask for help but was shut down.
“I need to go somewhere. And I was told that I couldn’t,” she said. Prince Harry also spoke of his own personal struggles.
“I myself was trapped as well,” he said. “I didn’t see a way out.”
The couple also leveled allegations of racism, including a shocking conversation about their son Archie.
“He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” Markle said. The couple refused to name the person who made the comments but Prince Harry has since said it was not his grandmother or grandfather.
At the market Harry and Meghan liked to visit during their stay in North Saanich last year, it was clear the interview made an impact.
READ MORE: Island locals determined to keep respectful distance for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
“It was truly troubling those hints of racism, that was probably one of the more devastating aspects,” one man told CHEK News.
“I just felt very sad for them,” said another North Saanich resident.
The couple called a North Saanich estate home for a short-time last year as they negotiated their exit as senior royals. And according to Sunday’s interview, it’s where they learned their security would be cut off.
“My family literally cut me off financially,” Harry said.
Those who live in the neighbourhood say it’s troubling to hear what was happening during the couple’s stay there. But not everyone is jumping to the Sussex’s defense.
“I don’t think it’s a good thing any time you want to air your family disputes over the media,” said Bruce Hallsor with the Monarchist League of Canada’s Victoria chapter. “If their intention was to make it clear that they’re never returning to the royal family then they probably achieved that,” he said, adding that the interview was only one side of the story.
Buckingham Palace has not yet responded to the allegations.
April Lawrence
