Gayle King on Tuesday gave an update on recent royal family communications after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey aired last week.
The “CBS This Morning” co-host said she had spoke with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over the weekend, and that Harry had talked to his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William.
“The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive,” King said. “But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation.”
“I think what is still upsetting to them is the palace keep saying they want to work it out privately, but yet, they believe these false stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan still,” King said, adding that “no one in the royal family has talked to Meghan yet ― or at this particular time.”
“I think it’s frustrating for them to see that it’s a racial conversation about the royal family when all they wanted all along was for the royals to intervene and tell the press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant,” King said. “Until you can acknowledge that, I think it’s going to be hard to move forward.”
Harry told Winfrey during their interview about difficulties he’d had communicating with his father, who he said stopped taking his calls at one point.
“He knows what pain feels like, and Archie’s his grandson,” the duke said. “But at the same time, of course 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.”
Harry also said his relationship with his brother “is space, at the moment,” but added that “time heals all things, hopefully.”
Charles has yet to publicly comment on the interview, and William said at an engagement last week that he hadn’t yet spoken to Harry after the interview.
William also said the royals are “very much not a racist family” in response to Meghan’s allegations that a member of the royal family expressed racist concerns about the color of Archie’s skin before he was born.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth two days after the interview aired, writing that “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” the statement said. “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.”
Kensington Palace and a representative for the Sussexes had no comment when reached by HuffPost. Buckingham Palace did not respond to a request for comment.
More revelations from Harry and Meghan’s interview:
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