When the camera panned to the pregnant Duchess of Sussex as she sat, clad in a $6000 Armani dress, in a garden of one of the most affluent suburbs in the world, the scene was set for a dazzling Hollywood interview with the inimitable Oprah Winfrey.
And within minutes of exchanging pleasantries, Meghan, 39, settled into her wicker chair under the Santa Barbara sunshine and began to give what she knew would be a monumental tell-all that would bring the monarchy to its knees.
It was a piece of television that veteran interviewer Oprah promised would shock – and she didn’t disappoint.
PALACE UNDER FIRE
Over several hours, Meghan and her husband Prince Harry, 36, levelled a litany of serious complaints about their finances, neglect and even accusations of racism within the institution regarding “concerns” over the colour of their then-unborn child’s skin.
They accused the palace of denying their son Archie the title of prince and speculated it could be due to his mother’s biracial background – despite the fact that only the great-grandchildren of the sovereign with direct lineage to the throne are given such graces. Archie, who turns two in May, automatically becomes a Royal Highness – along with his unborn sibling, which the couple joyously announced is a girl – when Harry’s 72-year-old father ascends the throne.
A heart-stopping moment came when Meghan revealed she had suffered suicidal thoughts due to the pressure of life in the spotlight while she was five months pregnant with Archie. Harry later added that he would return to their Frogmore Cottage at Windsor in the evenings to find his wife in tears as she breastfed their newborn son.
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