LONDON — Amid a growing outcry in Britain over explosive allegations of palace bigotry leveled by Prince Harry and his wife, Prince William — Harry's brother and second in line to the throne — told reporters Thursday that "we're very much not a racist family."
Harry and Meghan’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired this week — in which the couple described episodes of racism after the biracial American ex-actress married into the royal family — has triggered wide-ranging debate in Britain over questions of race, class and the sometimes hidebound nature of the centuries-old monarchy.
After the interview aired Sunday in the United States and on Monday in Britain, Buckingham Palace issued a 61-word statement Tuesday saying, in part, that "issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning." Critics said that did not go far enough in acknowledging deeply rooted prejudice encountered in society at large by Britons of color.
William's brief comments, in response to shouted questions by journalists as he and his wife, Kate, visited a school in East London, were the first direct public remarks by a member of the royal family in response to the interview, which took place near Harry and Meghan's home in Montecito, California.
Harry and Meghan, together with baby son Archie, moved to California in the culmination of a messy split that began a year ago when they announced they were stepping back from duties as senior royals. The schism left them retaining the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but resulted, by their account, in an abrupt financial cutoff and a painful personal rupture with some close family members.
They said Queen Elizabeth II, 94, had treated Meghan kindly, but Harry disclosed in the interview that at one point, his father Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, had stopped taking his phone calls after the two decided to step away from some duties and become financially independent. He also said the queen, seemingly at the behest of courtiers, had abruptly rescinded a personal invitation late last year for a visit by the couple to her royal retreat, Sandringham.
William said he had not spoken with his younger brother since the interview aired, but said "I will do" so.
Many Britons have been saddened by the evident rift between William and Harry, princes who were once close and who together endured the death of their mother, Princess Diana, who was fatally injured in a car crash in Paris in 1997. At the time, William was 15 and Harry was 12.
Harry said relentless tabloid assaults on Meghan were a constant reminder of the intrusive coverage of his mother, by then divorced from Prince Charles, who died with paparazzi in pursuit.
But the fiercest fallout from the interview has been over the topic of racism in Britain, both in royal circles and society as a whole. Harry and Meghan told Winfrey that a member of the family — whom they refused to name — had raised "concerns" when Meghan was pregnant with Archie about how dark-skinned the child would be, and that the palace had not taken issue with overtly racist coverage of the duchess in the tabloid press.
Tuesday's palace statement said any scrutiny of race issues within the royal institution would be dealt with in private. That stung for many, especially in light of reports, shortly before the interview aired, that there would be a palace human resources investigation of whether Meghan mistreated staff members — suggesting a willingness to air that issue, but not one of far weightier social import.
The duchess vehemently denied the allegations, and said they were all the more troubling because she herself had been bullied.
The palace, in its statement, also said "recollections may vary" as to episodes described by the couple, without addressing the specifics of their account.
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(Special correspondent Boyle reported from London and Times staff writer King from Washington.)
