The Queen has broken her silence on Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview to say that 'while some recollections may vary' the &...
The Queen has broken her silence on Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview to say that 'while some recollections may vary' the 'whole family is saddened' to hear of the couple's 'challenging few years'.
Her Majesty said an alleged racist comment made about what colour the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's baby Archie would be was 'concerning' and will be 'addressed by the family privately'.
The monarch will reportedly speak to senior royals - including Charles, Camilla, William and Kate - behind closed doors over the couple's allegations.
Her statement added that Harry and Meghan - using their names rather than titles - and their son 'will always be much loved family members'.
The Queen said: 'The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
'The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.'
It is understood the Queen waited until Tuesday to comment on the devastating interview with Oprah Winfrey so Britons had the chance to watch it first - but 'the Firm' is not expected to make any further comments.
Prince William seen driving through London today a day after Meghan and Harry gave their shattering interview to Oprah Winfrey
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said her response assures Harry and Meghan and the public that the concerns raised in the interview will be addressed.
He told MailOnline: 'It would always have been inappropriate to do a point by point rebuttal of claims which they made with which the Palace disagree. Since the interview reportedly runs to 3 hours, 20 minutes, it was very likely further extracts would be released which would obviously cause complications.
'The Queen, part of whose life's work has been to nurture the Commonwealth, a symbol of diversity, has rightly expressed concern about the issue of race being raised.
'As has been widely reported, the views expressed on several issues by the Sussexes were highly questionable. The Queen's use of the phrase ''while some recollections may vary'' handles this with sensitivity.
'We know from her Christmas messages how important the family is to the Queen. All families have their differences and difficulties and the strength of Harry and Meghan's feeling that they had been badly treated was obvious.
'The reference to Harry, Meghan and Archie as ''loved family members'' is therefore highly appropriate.
'They are assured that their concerns are taken very seriously and that the way to handle the issues they have raised is to do so privately, as a family.
'This is a short statement which, in the Queen's inimitable way, has a healing touch. Let us hope that, after yesterday's shock interview, it begins a process where the royal family and the Sussexes, who are part of it, can realise their undoubtedly unique potential together and solve their differences away from the public gaze.'
It comes after senior royals broke cover today amid claims the palace was paralysed with fear that Harry and Meghan could reveal the figure accused of commenting on Archie's skin colour.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, were out and about visiting several vaccination centres as part of their official duties, while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were seen driving around London on personal errands.
A senior palace source earlier today claimed the delayed statement from the Queen was partly down to a lack of 'trust' between the Windsors and the Sussexes, with fears a denial without fully investigating the claims could lead to Harry and Meghan naming the person they accuse of making the comment.
The Duchess of Sussex's allegation a senior royal asked Harry how 'dark' Archie's skin would be and the claim the one-year-old was denied the title of prince because he is mixed-race - rather than because of protocol - are the most damaging to the royals.
'A denial could lead the Sussexes breaking their vow and naming the member of the royal family who discussed their son's skin colour. There is a lack of trust,' an insider told the Evening Standard.
The source added: 'It could lead to the Sussexes naming names and it blowing up again.'
Prince Charles smiled but stayed silent as he was quizzed about the interview on the first official engagement by a royal since it aired - as he told a nurse 'I can imagine how exhausting it is' as she described her work handing out vaccines.
The Prince of Wales - who is said to be 'absolutely devastated' at Harry's claims he cut him off, put on a brave face as he spoke to medics, clerics and patients at Jesus House church near Brent Cross in London, following the deluge of personal attacks in front of a TV audience of 28million in the UK and US alone.
He was alone for that visit, although Camilla joined him later for trips to a vaccination centre in Elephant and Castle, south London, and the headquarters of NHS England.
One parishioner at Jesus House, who only gave her first name, Grace, highlighted that Charles had visited a 'black church', adding: 'All that effort and someone turns around and says there's racism, I don't believe that'.
Harry - through back-stage comments to Oprah - has ruled out the Queen and Prince Philip as having made the comments about Archie but left other royals under suspicion.
Charles is said to be 'deeply' concerned over the racism claims, with a source saying: 'It goes against everything the Prince of Wales believes in. He believes diversity is the strength of our society.'
This morning's visit is understood to have been in the palace diary for some time, although the royals may have had a suspicion about what could be discussed in the Oprah interview in advance of it airing.
Charles seemed at ease as he chatted with people waiting for their vaccinations, including one woman who said she was from Nigeria.
The prince - who previously visited the church in 2007 - replied: 'Oh fantastic, yes, I've been there. Lots of different ethnic groups. Do give them my kind regards next time you speak to them.'
As Charles left the church, a reporter asked, 'Sir, what did you think of the interview?', and after turning to see who had called out, he smiled and carried on walking.
In the Oprah interview, Charles was personally referenced by Prince Harry, who said he felt 'really let down' by his father after he allegedly refused to answer his calls during his time in Canada.
Harry also claimed his family had cut him off financially and suggested the Queen had been badly advised and had cancelled a meeting scheduled at Sandringham.
Discussing his father, Harry said: 'I feel really let down because he's been through something similar. He knows what pain feels like. I will always love him, but there's a lot of hurt that's happened. And I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship.'
Royal insiders have rubbished the claims and said Charles feels 'let down' by his son's comments.
'The Prince of Wales went out of his way to make sure his son and daughter in law were financially supported,' a senior source told the Standard.
Harry's remarks raised eyebrows as the couple had themselves made clear their express wish to be 'financially independent' when announcing their decision to quit in January 2020.
Meanwhile, another source close to the heir to the throne told the Telegraph Charles will be left 'absolutely devastated' by what his youngest son had said about him.
As senior officials tried to work out how to respond:
- Piers Morgan sensationally quit Good Morning Britain hours after the launch of a social media campaign which saw more than 40,000 complaints made to Ofcom;
- Meghan says everyone should have 'basic right to privacy' in the latest unseen Oprah clip amid 'hypocrisy' claims;
- Hillary Clinton says the 'cruelty' the British press showed to Meghan was 'outrageous' and slams the Royals for 'not supporting' a 'young woman who was just trying to live her life';
- The Prime Minister's official spokesman says Boris Johnson watched the interview but would not be commenting on it, despite White House giving its verdict;
- YouGov survey found Britons are standing by the Queen, with 36% having sympathy for Her Majesty compared to 22% for couple;
- Labour's Diane Abbott slams Royal Family 'racism' and says Palace aides did not 'adjust well' to Harry marrying a 'mixed race woman';
- Figures show more than a million viewers turned off Harry and Meghan interview on ITV, with an average audience of 11.1m;
- Meghan's father Thomas Markle takes swipe at 'snotty' Prince Harry for 'dressing up like Hitler';
- Nearly half of Britons believe Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah was 'inappropriate', snap poll fines;
- Meghan's half-sister Samantha slams her Oprah interview, accusing Duchess of using 'depression as an excuse to treat people like dishrags'.
The Royal Family are said to be concerned that Harry and Meghan could out the royal accused of commenting on Archie's skin colour if it denies the Royal Family is institutionally racist. Pictured is the Duchess of Cambridge driving through London today
Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince Charles visiting Skipton House in Elephant and Castle this afternoon
Prince Charles wore a face mask as he toured Jesus House in Brent Cross, meeting NHS and church staff working on the vaccination pop-up clinic as well as community members due to receive their jab
The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William were all locked in crisis talks over how to react to a string of incendiary accusations unleashed by Harry and wife Meghan during a two-hour special with Oprah Winfrey on American TV (pictured)
The Prince of Wales was praised for visiting the NHS pop-up vaccine clinic in spite of ongoing 'family drama'. One woman, who only gave her name as Grace, claimed she briefly spoke to the heir to the throne.
'He was quite interactive with the people in there in spite of all the drama going on,' the 50-year-old said. 'He took the time to come out here. I'm very happy he came out to encourage us to take the vaccine as well.'
She hailed the work of the church to help people 'not to be afraid of the vaccine' and for 'creating a platform' that had given 'a lot more reassurance to black people and ethnic minorities'.
Grace said it would have been 'rude' for anyone to mention the Oprah Winfrey interview and repeated: 'In spite of the family drama he still took time out to come here.'
In an apparent reference to Harry and Meghan's claim an unnamed member of the royal family made a racist comment, Grace highlighted Charles had visited a 'black church', adding: 'All that effort and someone turns around and says there's racism, I don't believe that'.
She added: 'Every family has issues, I don't think it's right for anyone to wash their dirty linen in public.'
Another patient said 'private matters didn't come up at all' during the visit by the Prince of Wales.
Maziya Marzook, 42, from Harrow, said: 'He didn't bring up anything, he was more interested in how the vaccine was and how we feel.'
She said Charles was 'doing his job' and that he seemed 'quite a nice person' and appeared 'humble'.
Ms Marzook, a housewife, added: 'It's good that he comes like this, the encouragement he's giving.'
Royal aides were paralysed with 'horror and dismay' when watching the stream of damaging allegations yesterday as the Duke of Sussex stood accused of 'blowing up his family'.
Earlier today, the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William were all locked in crisis talks over how to react to the string of incendiary accusations unleashed by Harry and Meghan during a two-hour special with Oprah Winfrey on American TV.
Palace insiders described a mood of 'intense personal shock and sadness' that the prince had pressed the 'nuclear button on his own family'. 'People are just reeling,' a source said.
The couple's interview on CBS late on Sunday night sent shock waves around the world yesterday as the couple laid bare the extent of their rift with the Queen and other senior royals.
They accused an unnamed Royal Family member of racism, suggesting the relative had asked 'how dark' their baby would be; said they had been driven out of Britain, in part, by racism; and accused the Palace machinery of failing to support a 'suicidal' Meghan.
Meghan also accused her sister-in-law Kate of making her cry; suggested senior royals plotted to ensure Archie would never have a title or adequate security; and said officials had failed to stand up for the couple against 'racist' commentary, while lying to protect other royals.
A senior Government minister and Boris Johnson ally, Lord [Zac] Goldsmith, echoed the mood of many in royal circles yesterday. Responding to the suggestion that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had 'loaded up a plane and dropped bomb after heavy bomb on Buckingham Palace', he tweeted: 'Not 'Buckingham Palace' – Harry's family. Harry is blowing up his family.'
A statement was understood to have been prepared by Buckingham Palace last night highlighting the Royal Family's love for the couple, in an attempt to avoid tensions mounting even further. However the Queen was keen not to rush it out without careful consideration overnight, according to The Times.
Buckingham Palace, which was not informed about the couple's decision to do the interview before it was first announced last month, had been bracing itself for the worst.
Charles told a nurse 'I can imagine how exhausting it is' as she told him of the work she was doing to help Britain's vaccination drive during a visit to Jesus House church near Brent Cross in north London
Charles seemed at ease as he chatted to the workers at the church, which has been leading efforts to combat vaccine hesitancy
Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, leave today after another visit, this time to the headquarters of NHS England
Today's visit is understood to have been in the palace diary for some time, although the royals may have had a suspicion about what could be discussed in the chat in advance of it airing
The Prince of Wales - who is said to be 'absolutely devastated' at Harry's claims he cut him off, put on a brave face during today's visit
The Prince of Wales with Pastor Agu Irukwu (right) during his visit to an NHS vaccine pop-up clinic at Jesus House church
The Prince of Wales arrives for a visit to an NHS vaccine pop-up clinic at Jesus House church, London, as he continued his duties this morning
But aides could not have predicted how devastatingly brutal the couple's interview – watched by 17million in the US alone but set to air last night to a global audience of many times more, including on ITV in the UK – would be.
The Mail has been told that royal staff stayed up until 3am to watch the interview via video link live from the US with a mounting sense of horror – and sadness.
The Queen's private secretary Sir Edward Young and Charles's private secretary Clive Alderton are both said to have watched the interview from Buckingham Palace.
Palace IT staff had set up a computer link so they could see it, while other members of staff watched it on their laptops while working from home, reported the Daily Telegraph.
Aides then had to prepare briefings from members of the Royal Family and agreed any response would have to be co-ordinated between the Queen, Charles and William.
As morning broke, crisis meetings were called involving senior officials as well as senior royals, in person and on the phone, as well via video call.
The Queen, at Windsor, spoke with her son Charles, who was at Clarence House, his London home, and grandson William, who has also moved back to the capital from Norfolk in preparation for his children to return to school.
Sources told the Mail household staff, many of whom had supported the couple as best they could during an 'extremely difficult and trying three years', felt 'angry and let down' but were determined to put a brave face on the situation for the sake of the elderly monarch.
'Staff are reeling. But there is [also] a strong sense of needing to retain a dignified silence and show kindness and compassion. There's a lot people want to say but no one wins with a tit-for-tat battle,' said one. 'Bridges need to be built after all this is over, after all.'
Most damaging are the couple's claims that not only were they unsupported by both family members and staff, but they also suffered as a result of an apparent racist agenda against them.
Meghan suggested that race was the heart of every decision made against them.
But there was bemusement among royal insiders at her claims that senior royals had tried to prevent their son, Archie, from having a title – or security – because of blatant prejudice.
'They didn't want him to be a prince,' she told Miss Winfrey.
Long-standing rules, laid down by George V, mean that the title of HRH passes only to the children of a sovereign and their grandchildren through the male line, meaning Archie will only be given a title when his grandfather, Prince Charles, accedes to the throne.
The Queen can issue letters patent to change that on an individual basis but aides for Harry and Meghan briefed journalists at the time of his birth that they were very happy for him to be styled 'Master Archie' because they wanted him to have the same kind of freedoms as the prince's cousins, Zara and Peter Phillips. 
The Prince of Wales put on a brave face today as he visited a pop-up vaccination centre at Jesus House church near Brent Cross in north London, as he continued with his public duties amid the continuing fallout
Today Charles met with clerics and parishioners at the majority black church - which has overseen a drive to increase the uptake of the Covid vaccine among BAME people
The Prince of Wales re-adjusts his face mask after visiting Jesus House church near Brent Cross this morning - in the first royal engagement since the Oprah interview
Charles got into the back of a car after ignoring a question about the interview, as he put on a brave face amid the continuing scandal
With pressure growing for a statement today, Palace insiders described a mood of 'intense personal shock and sadness' that the prince had pressed the 'nuclear button on his own family'. 'People are just reeling,' a source said
A source close to the Sussexes suggested yesterday the couple were so concerned about Archie's security because of his mixed race heritage that they wanted him to become a prince so he would be afforded suitable security.
But insiders say there was never any doubt that the Queen's great-grandson would be protected and although the Prince of Wales has made no secret of his desire to have a slimmed-down monarch, Harry and his family were always part of his plan.
There was no comment, however, on Meghan's astonishing accusation that Kate had reduced her to tears ahead of the 2018 royal wedding over a bridesmaid dress fitting with her daughter, Princess Charlotte.
She even claimed her future sister-in-law 'owned' her mistake, apologised and bought her flowers, contrary to claims that it was she who had made Kate cry with her unrealistic demands.
'She did what I would do if I hurt someone. Just take accountability for it,' Meghan said.
The Duchess of Cambridge was yesterday seen driving, stony faced, near Kensington Palace as her office released a video of conducting a call to mark International Women's Day by speaking to the youngest woman to row solo across an ocean.
The picture of strain was a stark contrast to a new image of Harry and Meghan, pregnant and cuddling Archie, in the garden of their home in California released by her friend, Misan Hariman, to also mark IWD.
The black and white portrait emerged on social media just hours after their interview – in which the couple revealed the second baby they were expecting was a girl – had aired.
A message read: 'Welcome to the girldad club H!'
The Prime Minister refused yesterday to comment on the details of the Sussexes' allegations – even when asked whether he believed members of the Royal Family might be racist.
Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton bore a grim expression as she was seen driving herself through London yesterday
But the White House backed the couple's decision to speak out, a spokesman saying it took 'courage' for Meghan to open up about struggles with mental health problems.
And Labour called on the Palace to launch an investigation into the couple's claims of racism.
Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was 'really sad to see the family in turmoil like this' and that the allegations made by the duchess must be taken seriously.
He added: 'The issues that Meghan has raised of racism and mental health are really serious issues.
'It is a reminder that too many people experience racism in 21st century Britain. We have to take that very, very seriously.
'Nobody, but nobody, should be prejudiced (against) because of the colour of their skin or because of their mental health issues.'
Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg told Conservative Home today that he had not seen the interview.
But he said: 'I don't think it does any damage to the Royal Family or to the monarchy.
'One of the constitutional issues, well I don't think there are many, the only real constitutional issue is the question of title because people have been talking about the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' title, which to my mine is absolute, it is there and would require legislation to take it away.
'And their son has a title, he is Lord Dumbarton, he is entitled to use his father's subsidiary title if he so chooses, and his sister as I understand is coming along the way, will be lady, christian name, Mountbatten-Windsor, and that's perfectly normal constitutional process in line with what has always been the case before.'
He added: 'Nothing constitutional has happened and I think most sensible people in this country want the monarchy to continue.'
Former minister Steve Brine told Times Radio: 'They, for well known reasons, decided they wanted to take off to the other side of the pond and I think people wish them well with that.
'They said they wanted to get away from the limelight. They wanted to get off the front pages, they wanted to have, quote, ''something of a normal life''. I have never known two people to seek a normal life so desperate to have the very opposite.'
He added: 'I think they have been used by her and I think when they are older they'll look back on this week and I think they'll regret doing it.'
Labour education spokesman Kate Green went further, saying the duchess's claims should be 'fully investigated' by the Palace.
But Tory MP Michael Fabricant accused Labour of trying to 'politicise' the row. He told the Mail: 'Labour are wrong to politicise this. They know full well that there will be inquiries going on.
'They really do trying to be desperately insert themselves into the story to get attention.' Mr Fabricant said: 'Every family is dysfunctional one way or another.
The MP added: 'The holder of every high position will have personal little secrets they want hidden. We are all human.'
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