Meghan Markle says her race was only ever "made an issue" when she came to UK
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Meghan Markle has opened up about how she was welcomed into the Royal Family at the beginning of her relationship with Prince Harry, but says in her newly released Netflix documentary that her race impacted her reception in the UK.
In episode two of the docu-series, titled Harry & Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex recalled how she'd previously never been treated differently because of her race. "I'd never in my life heard someone say the n-word," she said, adding that "most people didn't treat me like a Black woman". Because of this, Meghan's mum, Doria Ragland, never had "that [race] talk" with her.
Initially, Meghan says she "wasn't thinking about how race played a part in this", but that soon changed. "Obviously, now everybody is aware of my race, because they made it such an issue when I went to the UK," Meghan went on, referencing how she was treated by the British public after joining the Royal Family.
The docu-series then cuts to Meghan's mum, who said that the Duchess' treatment was "very clearly" about race. Doria added that "in hindsight" she would go back and have a chat with Meghan about race and "how the world sees you".
Continuing on the conversation around Meghan's race being made "an issue" in the UK, Harry recalls seeing a newspaper article with the headline: "Harry's new girl is (almost) straight outta Compton".
As for how the Palace instructed the pair to handle the situation, Harry said "the direction from the Palace was 'just dont say anything'." Meghan then jumps in, revealing that the pair were told not to "comment" on anything and that experiencing such attention in the media was a "rite-of-passage".
So far, there has been no response from the Palace on the claims made in the Harry & Meghan documentary, which also includes a suggestion from the Duke that the royals 'planted' stories in the press. However, a disclaimer at the beginning of episode one states that the Royal Family declined to take part in the series.
The first three episodes of Harry & Meghan are available on Netflix now, with Volume II set to drop next week on 15 December.
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