Prince Harry Describes How the Royal Family Stereotyped Duchess Meghan

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In his bombshell interviews with ITV and CBS, Prince Harry says members of the royal family, including brother Prince William, initially judged Meghan Markle by buying into certain stereotypes, including her race.

The royal speaks on his family's initial reactions to his and Meghan's relationship in his 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper. Though King Charles III quickly took a liking to Meghan, Harry writes in his memoir, Spare, that several other family members were very uneasy about her, with William referring to her as an unpredictable and complicated "American actress."

When asked what their initial negative feelings were based on, Harry says it was "the fact that she was American, an actress, divorced, Black, biracial, with a Black mother."

"Those were just [some] of the typical stereotypes that becomes a feeding frenzy for the British press," he says, explaining that the local media fueled much of the negativity toward Meghan, and eventually, his family somewhat bought into it.

"My family reads the tabloids," he says. "It's laid out at breakfast and everyone comes together. So, whether you walk around saying you believe it or not, it's still leaving an imprint in your mind. If you have that judgment based on a stereotype in the beginning, it's really really hard to get over that."

Harry then notes that both his own family and the public have at times blamed Meghan for his life changes since their meeting, including his exit from the monarchy and estrangement from his relatives.

"A large part of it for the family, but also the British press and numerous other people is like, 'He's changed. She must be a witch,'" he says, dropping into a whisper for the last part.

He adds, "Yeah, I did change, and I'm really glad I changed. Rather than getting drunk, falling out of clubs, taking drugs, I have now found the love of my life and I now have the opportunity to start a family with her."

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