Following the backlash from The Cut exclusive interview the Duchess of Sussex has had to clarify what she meant to say after the publishers stood by their quotes.
The Duchess referred to her husband Prince Harry’s strained relationship with his father, Prince Charles.
In the interview, Meghan says, “Harry said to me, ‘I lost my dad in this process.’ It doesn’t have to be the same for them as it was for me, but that’s his decision.”
While many readers thought she was saying that Harry had lost his relationship with his father, a spokeswoman for Meghan told E! News that she was referring to her rapport with her own estranged father, Thomas Markle, and was saying that she did not want the same outcome for her husband and his dad.
According to BBC, a source close to Charles told the United Kingdom’s PA news agency that he would be disappointed if Harry felt their relationship was gone, adding, “The Prince of Wales loves both his sons.”
This wasn’t the only questionable comment made by the Duchess during the interview.
The feature included an anecdote where a male South African cast member of The Lion King told the Duchess at London premiere: ‘I just need you to know: “When you married into this family, we rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison”.’
Dr John Kani, the only South African actor in the film, said he was ‘baffled’ by her suggestion his country had ‘rejoiced’ when she married Prince Harry and in fact he had never met Meghan Markle. He did point out there was a South African composer in the crew. However when media approached Lebohang Morake, whose professional name is ‘Lebo M’, for comment, he said he spoke to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for ‘less than a minute’ at the West End launch.
And worse yet for Meghan, the whole conversation was recorded on camera. Mr Morake is heard saying: ‘It’s an honour to meet you. Everyone in South Africa’s heard of Meghan Markle’. As Harry tells of their forthcoming trip to Southern Africa, Mr Morake says: ‘Oh, fantastic. Better be seeing you then’. The royal couple then move onto meet Pharrell.
And perhaps the final straw in this story, Nelson Mandela’s grandson also weighed in, saying the release of his freedom-fighting grandfather after 27 years in jail for his beliefs did not ‘equate’ with her marrying a prince.
