The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with American host Oprah Winfrey will surely go down in history as one of the greats - an explosive two-hour tell-all interview that not only shed light on why Meghan and Harry decided to step away from royal life but also problems within the monarchy itself. Their interview divided people around the world on Monday, rocking an institution that is struggling to modernize with claims of racism and callousness toward a woman struggling with suicidal thoughts. Harry also revealed the problems had ruptured relations with his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William, illuminating the depth of the family divisions that led the couple to step away from royal duties and move to California last year.
Meghan revealed that a barrage of negative coverage in the British press had driven her to the point where life no longer seemed worth living.
“I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. And I… just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought,” she said in the two-hour CBS spot with Oprah Winfrey.
Meghan, who married Prince Harry in 2018, said she told the royal family she was struggling and needed professional help but was told “that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
Meghan has pointed to a particular day in 2019, while she was heavily pregnant with Archie, which reveals the extent of her problem. That year, Meghan had to attend a concert at Royal Albert Hall with Harry the same day she told him about her being suicidal. Harry had reportedly asked her to stay at home and take a break but she did not trust herself enough to be left alone, Meghan told Oprah. She was apparently afraid that she might harm herself.
The photos from the event, which had been widely shared at the time as an example of Meghan’s stunning maternity fashion, show her in a sequined blue gown standing next to Harry as he tightly holds on to her.
According to The Telegraph, Meghan told Oprah that while the two were smiling and pretending that everything was okay as the spotlight was on them, Meghan was weeping in their box seat when the lights went out.
She said that the photos of the event still haunt her, as they serve as a reminder. It was also the same photos, she said, that served as a wake-up call of the seriousness of the situation. She said that a friend sent her a photo of her and Harry holding hands from the event the same evening. It was then that she noticed how tightly Harry was clutching her hands. She said that while they were smiling, they were just trying to hold on to each other.
Videos and photos from the “haunting" day have been dug up and shared on social media too:
#PrinceHarry was about to cry at The Royal Albert Hall in the box. I remember thinking something was wrong. #MeghanMarkle— truth (@whendreamscome) March 8, 2021
My heart breaks for her now that we know how she was really feeling that night and why she was even there. 😢💔 #HarryandMeghan #OprahMeghanHarry #BeKind Meghan Markle Gets Booed at Royal Albert Hall https://t.co/LDeQOW0K3g via @YouTube
— Livie Liv (@livthedream247) March 8, 2021
Meghan told Oprah that this should also serve as a lesson that one should never judge another’s state of mind based on their demeanor. They might be smiling on the outside, but there’s no telling what they might be going through on the inside.
The Duchess had confessed about her state of mind to Harry on the front steps of their home, Frogmore Cottage. The very next day, she decided to ask for help and approached “the institution." She says that she was never given it.
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