Prince William has defended the British royal family after his younger brother Harry and wife Meghan accused them of racism in a bombshell interview watched by millions across the world.
“We’re very much not a racist family,” William told reporters during a visit to a multi-racial school in a deprived area of East London, becoming the first royal to directly address the explosive interview.
The Duke of Cambridge, son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, added that he had yet to speak to Harry in California since the interview first aired in the United States on Sunday.
“No, I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I will do,” he said, as his wife Kate Middleton walked by his side.
Harry and Meghan’s allegations of racism and mistreatment have rocked the royal family, and though Buckingham Palace tried to diffuse the situation saying that they will address the couple’s grievances privately, it has failed to quell the controversy.
Meghan, who is biracial, said in the interview she was so isolated and miserable as a working member of the royal family that she had suicidal thoughts. She also said Harry told her there were “concerns and conversations” by a royal family member about the color of her baby’s skin when she was pregnant with their son, Archie.
Meghan and Harry’s comments have touched off conversations around the world about racism, mental health and even the relationship between Britain and its former colonies.
Meanwhile, Charles has yet to comment on the controversy but was filmed on Tuesday touring a Nigerian Christian church in London whose pastors are promoting a drive to vaccinate more black people against the coronavirus.