Meghan and Harry interview with Oprah lays bare royal rift

This image provided by Harpo Productions shows Prince Harry, left, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in conversation with Oprah Winfrey. "Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special" airs March 7, 2021. Britain's royal family and television have a complicated relationship. The medium has helped define the modern monarchy: The 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was Britain's first mass TV spectacle. Since then, rare interviews have given a glimpse behind palace curtains at the all-too-human family within. [File photo: Harpo Productions via AP/Joe Pugliese]

This image provided by Harpo Productions shows Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, left, in conversation with Oprah Winfrey. [File photo: Harpo Productions via AP/Joe Pugliese]

This image provided by Harpo Productions shows Prince Harry, from left, and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, in conversation with Oprah Winfrey. [File photo: Harpo Productions via AP/Joe Pugliese]

In a wide-ranging interview aired Sunday, Harry and Meghan described painful discussions about the color of their son's skin, losing royal protection and the intense pressures that led the Duchess of Sussex to contemplate suicide.

The interview with Oprah Winfrey was the couple's first since they stepped down from royal duties and the two-hour special included numerous revelations.

Harry told Winfrey that he felt trapped by royal life and was surprised that he was cut off financially and lost his security last year. He also said he felt his family did not support Meghan, who acknowledged her naivete about royal life before marrying Harry, as she endured media attacks and false stories.

Meghan, who is biracial, described that when she was first pregnant with son Archie, there were "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born." The statement led Winfrey to ask "What," incredulously and sit in silence for a moment.

In a rare positive moment in the interview, Harry and Meghan revealed their second would be a girl. The interview opened with Winfrey gushing over Meghan's pregnancy and lamenting that COVID-19 protocols kept them from hugging.

The interview aired Sunday night in the United States, a full day before it will air in Britain. The revelations aren't over: Winfrey teased additional bits of the interview would be shown Monday morning on CBS.

In response to a question from Winfrey, Harry said he wouldn't have left royal life if he hadn't married Meghan, but that it was their relationship that revealed the strictures of royal life.

"I wouldn't have been able to, because I myself was trapped," Harry said. "I didn't see a way out.

"I was trapped, but I didn't know I was trapped," Harry said, before adding, "My father and my brother, they are trapped."

Harry acknowledged that he does not have a close relationship presently with his brother William, who is heir to the throne after their father, Prince Charles.

The prince disputed rumors that he intentionally blindsided his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, with his decision to split. He suspects the rumors came from the institution.

"I've never blindsided my grandmother," he said. "I have too much respect for her."

Meghan, too, was complimentary toward the queen, despite saying at one point she realized some in the palace were willing to lie to "protect other members of the family."

"The queen has always been wonderful to me," Meghan said.

Winfrey at various points in the interview ran through headlines about Meghan and at one point asked about the mental health impact. Meghan responded that she experienced suicidal thoughts and had sought help through the palace's human resources department, but was told there was nothing they could do.