In his upcoming book Brothers And Wives: Inside The Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan, Christopher Andersen seemingly reveals the identity of the royal who asked about Archie’s skin colour, a claim that was originally made in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s astonishing interview with Oprah earlier this year.
The book claims that following the announcement of Harry and Meghan’s engagement, on November 27, 2017, Prince Charles sat down to breakfast with Camilla and asked, “I wonder what the children will look like?”, to which Camilla responded, “absolutely gorgeous, I’m certain”. Charles then clarified what he meant by following up with, “I mean, what do you think their children’s complexion might be?”
According to the book, Camilla was “somewhat taken aback” by the question. While the source for these claims is “well-placed”, Andersen stops short of claiming that Charles is the unnamed “senior royal” referred to in the Oprah interview.
In their March interview with Oprah, Meghan said there were “concerns and conversations about how dark [Archie’s] skin might be when he was born… Those were conversations that family had with Harry”.
Andersen presents the question as an example of Charles’ curious nature that was seized upon and distorted by “scheming courtiers” to make it look racist, pointing the finger at a group of palace advisers known as the “Men in Grey”.
Andersen writes, “The question posed by Charles was being echoed in a less innocent way throughout the halls of Buckingham Palace.” The gossip allegedly focused on how the royals would “look to the rest of the world” once Meghan’s blood became part of the mix.
Andersen also reveals Harry’s frustration with his relatives throughout the saga, with Charles telling him he was being “overly sensitive about the matter” and William describing Charles’ comment as “tactless” but “not a sign of racism within the family”.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prince Charles told the New York Post, “This is fiction and not worth further comment,” while a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan did not respond to requests for comment.
Image: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
This article first appeared on Over60.