Roughly two years ago, Meghan Markle sent a letter to her father-in-law King Charles III expressing concerns about unconscious bias within the royal family, according to recent reports from the Telegraph.
It is understood that the letter was sent soon after the 2021 “Oprah” interview, during which Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, made allegations that an unnamed senior royal sparked discussions on speculating how dark their child’s skin color would be.
Meghan told Oprah there had been “concerns and conversations about how dark his (Archie’s) skin might be when he’s born” within the royal family.
The letters emerged soon after Buckingham Palace announced that Harry will be attending the king’s coronation ceremony alone on May 6, while Meghan has opted to stay back in California with their two children.
Meghan sent her letter as a response to one from the then Prince Charles, who is understood to be the only senior member of the royal family who reached out after the interview, according to the Telegraph. He was allegedly disappointed in the rift between royal family members and the high-profile interview.
The letters clarify which senior royal was responsible for the commentary and revealed that Meghan and Charles both agree the remarks were not made with malice.
It is also believed that Meghan thanked Charles for his words and clarified that she did not intend to accuse the individual of being racist but to simply raise awareness of unconscious bias.
A royal source told the Telegraph that although the letters had a “warm tone” they “did not ease the tension between the two sides.”
Meghan reportedly did not leak the letters
After the letters between Meghan and Charles were leaked to a U.K. newspaper last week, rumors swirled that Meghan had leaked the letter herself. This is not true, according to Meghan.
A spokesperson for Meghan said that she is “going about her life in the present, not thinking about correspondences from two years ago related to conversations from four years ago,” per CNN.
“Any suggestion otherwise (regarding the letter) is false and frankly ridiculous,” Meghan’s spokesperson continued.
“We encourage tabloid media and various royal correspondents to stop the exhausting circus that they alone are creating.”
‘Harry & Meghan’ addressed unconscious bias
Last year, the couple released a Netflix docuseries — “Harry & Meghan” — during which they accused members of the royal family of having an “unconscious bias” that made it hard for them to understand what they were going through as a biracial couple.
“These are the skeletons in the closet that frequently make an unwelcome appearance in daily life in this family — sometimes, you know, you’re part of the problem rather than part of the solution and there is a huge level of unconscious bias,” Harry said in the Netflix series, per CNN.
“The thing with unconscious bias — it is actually no one’s fault. But once it has been pointed out, or identified within yourself, you then need to make it right.”
Tensions between Harry and the royal family
Tensions between Harry and his family — especially William — have been running high since he and Meghan voluntarily left their royal duties in 2020 and moved to California. The release of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries and Harry’s memoir, “Spare,” strained familial relationships further.
“There is no doubt that relations between William and Harry are at an all-time low,” royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News. “They reportedly are not communicating and are unlikely to be seated near each other at Westminster Abbey. If Harry does, as is apparently intended, depart almost immediately for California after the ceremony, it is highly unlikely that any meaningful interactions with any members of the royal family will occur. They know they can’t trust him, and he is well aware as to why!”
The coronation ceremony will be the first time Harry and William will be reunited since the release of “Spare,” which reveals intimate family details, such as an intense physical altercation between the brothers.
There will probably be little to no interaction between William and Harry at the coronation ceremony.
“I do not anticipate warm interactions between Harry and William,” Kinsey Schofield, the host of the “To Di For Daily” podcast, told Fox News. “We know that palace staff is planning every entry, exit, and seat with the battling brothers in mind. The palace’s ultimate objective is to avoid conflict.”
“Both William and (his wife) Catherine will tolerate Harry’s presence because, despite the bad blood and betrayal, there is a deep love for him in both of them,” Schofield added.