Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey: 6 biggest bombshells

As expected, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey was chock-full of stunning revelations about their marriage, life as royals and their decision to quit being senior members of the monarch. 

The primetime special marked the first time that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were interviewed after stepping down from their royal duties. The duo’s lengthy two-hour interview covered a myriad of topics and gave them the chance to speak out seemingly unencumbered by royal influence for the first time. 

The interview included several key moments and revelations that are sure to send shockwaves throughout the U.K. and the royal family. To help keep track, below are some of the biggest bombshells revealed during the interview: 

Gender reveal

The couple confirmed to Fox News on Valentine’s Day that they were expecting their second child together after the Duchess gave birth to baby Archie in May of 2019. 

At the time, a statement from the couple confirmed that Archie would be a big brother, but the duo has now officially revealed that the youngster, who turns two in May, can expect a little sister sometime this summer. 

"To have a boy and then a girl, what more can you ask for? But now we’ve got our family. We’ve got the four of us and our two dogs," Harry said during the interview, implying that they’re done having children.

Origin of Kate Middleton feud

Markle spoke about her relationship with sister-in-law Kate Middleton and their alleged feud that stemmed from a rumor reported in 2018 that she made the Duchess of Cambridge cry ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry.

Markle told Oprah that "the reverse happened" but stated that the alleged beef between them that made for such media fodder was quickly squashed. 

Instead, she alleged that a few days before the wedding, Middleton was upset about the flower girl dress that her daughter, Princess Charlotte, was meant to wear. 

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"It made me cry and it really hurt my feelings," Markle explained. "And I thought in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding that it didn’t make sense to not be just doing whatever everyone else was doing, which was trying to be supportive."

However, she said that an apology from Middleton was swift and accepted. 

"It was a really hard week of the wedding," Meghan explained. "And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologized. And she brought me flowers and a note, apologizing. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it."

Markle concluded her thoughts on the matter by noting that the real issue she took with the incident was the way in which the media seemed keen to present a "hero and a villain" dichotomy between them.

Markle’s mental health 

A big topic of conversation throughout the interview included Markle being open and honest about the mental health struggles she experienced during her time as part of the royal family. 

Winfrey asked the Duchess of Sussex if the media attention had any impact on her mental health, prompting her to reveal she experienced suicidal thoughts and tried to seek help through the palace’s human resources department, but to no avail. 

She claims to have been told by a "senior" member of the institution that her receiving mental health care would reflect poorly on the family.

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"I was really ashamed to say it at the time and a shame to have to admit it to Harry, especially because I know how much loss he suffered," she said. "But I knew that if I didn’t say it that I would do it. And I just didn’t, I just didn’t want to be alive anymore."

Harry admitted that he also "went to a very dark place" when Meghan was feeling suicidal and was hesitant to speak up to his family about the issue. When he began witnessing parallels to the media’s treatment of his wife to its treatment of his late mother, Princess Diana, he decided to step down as a senior royal. 

Conversations about baby’s skin tone

Many revelations were made during the interview about the couple’s baby, Archie, including the decision not to give him a title and the tension around getting him security.

She also revealed that, when she was pregnant, there were "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born." 

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The Duchess declined to specifically mention who was having the conversations, but noted that revealing their identity would be "very damaging." However, Prince Harry made sure to note after the interview aired that neither the Queen nor Prince Phillip inquired about the child’s skin tone. 

Prince Harry felt trapped

The Duke of Sussex took a big step in his life by agreeing to step away from his family and live with his wife in California. It meant not only relinquishing the life he’s known, but financial and personal security as well. 

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 tabloid attacks and false stories.

Markle noted that she feared not only for her husband’s safety but for the safety of their child as well. 

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"He needs to be safe," a teary-eyed Meghan recalled. "We’re not saying don’t make him a prince or princess, whatever it’s going to be. But if you’re saying the title is going to affect their protection, we haven’t created this monster machine around us in terms of clickbait and tabloid fodder. You’ve allowed that to happen, which means our son needs to be safe."

Secret wedding

One of the more surprising revelations to emerge from the packed interview was the fact that the couple claims they held a private wedding ceremony prior to their massively public royal wedding in May of 2018.

During the interview with Winfrey, Meghan was showing the American TV host around their California property and explained that she and Harry wanted to do something private to solidify their union before the public "spectacle" of her royal wedding.

"Three days before our wedding, we got married," Markle revealed during the interview. "No one knows that, but we called the archbishop and we just said ‘look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us.’"

She continued: "So, like the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our back yard with the Archbishop of Canterbury." 

Prince Harry then chimed in to specify that it was "just the three of us."

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However, per the rules for legally binding weddings set forth by the Church of England, this claim raises several questions as the legality and legitimacy of the alleged private ceremony.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.