In the interview, the Duchess of Sussex said there were concerns about how dark her son Archie’s skin would be before his birth and that such worries explained why he was not given the title of prince.

Meghan, whose mother is black and father is white, said she was naive before she married into the royal family in 2018, but that she ended up having suicidal thoughts and considering self harm after asking for help but getting none.

“They didn’t want him to be a prince or princess, not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn’t going to receive security,” Meghan said in an interview with Winfrey.

“In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, ‘You won’t be given security, not gonna be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

The comments, she said, were made to Harry and relayed to her by her husband.

But she declined to say who in the royal family voiced those concerns, saying “I think that would be very damaging to them”.

The interview came amid an acrimonious row between Meghan and Harry on one side and the British monarchy on the other.

Meghan said people within the royal institution not only failed to protect her against malicious claims but lied to protect others.

“It was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to understand that not only was I not being protected but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family,” she said.

“There’s the family, and then there’s the people that are running the institution, those are two separate things and it’s important to be able to compartmentalise that because the Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me.”

Meghan denied a newspaper story that she had made Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, cry before the wedding and said it was a turning point in her relations with the media.

“That was a turning point,” Meghan said. Asked if she made Kate cry, Meghan replied: “The reverse happened.”

“A few days before the wedding she (Kate) was upset about something, pertaining to yes the issue was correct about the flower girl dresses, and it made me cry. And it really hurt my feelings,” she said.

Meghan told Winfrey she had been naive before her wedding and did not realise what she was marrying into when she joined the British royal family.

“I will say I went into it naively, because I didn’t grow up knowing much about the royal family,” Meghan said.

Meghan explained that she was not being paid for the interview.

Another revelation from the interview was the announcement of the gender of their second child: a baby girl.

“It’s a girl,” Prince Harry said.

When Winfrey asked about his reaction, Harry said, “Amazing. Just grateful. To have any child any one or any two would be amazing. But to have a boy and a girl, what more could you ask for?”

Harry and Meghan’s announcement in January, 2020, that they intended to step down from their royal roles plunged the family into crisis. Last month, Buckingham Palace confirmed the split would be permanent, as the couple looks to forge an independent life in the US.

Harry, 36, said they had stepped back from royal duties because of a lack of understanding.

“I feel really let down,” Harry said of his father, Prince Charles. “My family literally cut me off financially.”

-REUTERS