Buckingham Palace remained silent on Monday, a day after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made incendiary revelations against the monarchy that have threatened devastating repercussions on the royal family’s reputation.
In the explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Sunday night in the U.S. and on Monday in the U.K., Meghan and Harry accused the palace of a pattern of toxic behavior that ultimately resulted in their decision to step back from royal duties.
From the shocking claim that a family member expressed racist concerns to Harry about “how dark” his son Archie’s skin might be to Meghan’s revelation that she found life in the royal family so difficult she contemplated suicide and was refused help when she asked for it, the couple’s comments have made headlines around the world. They did not name the individuals involved in those incidents.
Buckingham Palace has not issued any response.
Meghan and Harry said that racism was a large part of their decision to leave the U.K., and the palace failed to support or protect them against malicious attacks from the media while being “willing to lie” to defend other members of the family.
Asked about the firestorm, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had the “highest admiration” for Queen Elizabeth II but said that he refused to comment on royal family matters.
Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party and opposition, said the issues raised must be taken seriously.
“Nobody, but nobody, should be prejudiced [against] because of the color of their skin or because of their mental health issues,” he said, per The Guardian. “This is bigger than the royal family. For too many years we have been too dismissive and too willing to put these issues to one side.”
Kate Green, the shadow secretary of state for education, called on the palace to conduct a full investigation into the matter.
Earlier this month, the palace launched a probe into bullying allegations against Meghan, less than 24 hours after the claims from palace staffers were published.