MEGHAN Markle’s pal claims emails and texts support her account of racism from an unnamed royal – after the Queen last night said “recollections may vary”. US actress and musician Janina Gavankar, a long-time pal of the Duchess, said the royals spoke to friends about the allegations long before their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview. She […]
MEGHAN Markle’s pal claims emails and texts support her account of racism from an unnamed royal – after the Queen last night said “recollections may vary”.
US actress and musician Janina Gavankar, a long-time pal of the Duchess, said the royals spoke to friends about the allegations long before their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview.
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She spoke hours after the Queen said the incendiary claims a member of the family raised concerns over the colour of baby Archie’s skin would be investigated and “addressed privately”.
It comes as:
A statement released by the palace last night said the Royal Family are “saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been” for the couple.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,” the statement reads.
“Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
But in an interview on This Morning, Janina said: “After reading this short statement that came out from Buckingham Palace, I thought two things.
“On one side, I thought I’m so thankful they’ve finally acknowledged the experience, but on the other side, I know the family and the staff were well aware of the extent of it, and though their recollections may very, ours don’t.
“That’s because we lived through it with them, and there are many emails and texts to support that.”
Janina called the Duchess “kind” in her interview today.
“She’s kind and generous. She’s the girl you go to when you’ve got a problem,” she said.
“She’s wonderful. She’s low maintenance.”
And she said Meghan and Harry are meant to be, adding: “It was clear she found her soulmate early on.”
Janina and Meghan have maintained a close friendship for 17 years.
And in her interview this morning, Janina appeared to suggest she’d video-called Meghan to watch the Oprah interview when it aired on US TV.
“I talk to them all the time,” she said.
“We watched the special together.”
She admitted hearing that Meghan felt suicidal while pregnant with Archie had left her devastated.
Asked for her reaction, Janina said she was “worried, terrified and sad” that the Duchess had struggled with her mental health.
In the interview, the royal, 39, battled back tears as she told Oprah Winfrey she “didn’t want to be alive anymore” when she was pregnant with Archie.
And she claimed an unnamed senior royal had quizzed Prince Harry about what skin colour baby Archie would have and “what that would mean or look like”.
Meghan said the concerns had been raised at the same time that the future parents were told Archie would not receive security as he was not a prince.
The Duchess shared her upset at the “idea of the first member of colour in this family, not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be”.
“It’s not their right to take it away,” she added.
She said: “All the grandeur around this stuff is not really important to me.
“But in those months when I was pregnant, all around same time: we have in tandem he won’t be given security, a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
Asked whether there were concerns that her child would be “too brown” and that would be a problem, Meghan said: “If that is the assumption you are making, that is a pretty safe one.”
Meghan and Harry refused to reveal who made the “racist” accusations in the Royal Family – but confirmed it wasn’t the Queen or Prince Philip.
Senior members of the Royal Family – including the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William – were said to be locked in crisis talks after it aired in the US.
The Queen had initially refused to sign off a prepared statement that officials hoped would ease tensions and show the royal’s love for the couple.
The monarch was understood to have wanted more time to consider her response.
A royal insider says Harry pressed the “nuclear button on his own family” with the sensational two-hour interview.
They claimed there was a sense of “intense personal shock and sadness” – with the palace said to be paralysed with “horror and dismay”.
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Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
