Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview: the five most shocking revelations

From revealing the sex of their baby to opening up about royal rifts, the pair did not hold back

Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace on November 27, 2017 in London, England. Getty Images

Prince Harry and his fiancee US actress Meghan Markle visit the Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day charity fair at Nottingham Contemporary on December 1, 2017 in Nottingham, England. Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Reprezent 107.3FM in Pop Brixton on January 9, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle attend a street dance class during their visit to Star Hub on January 18, 2018 in Cardiff, Wales. Getty Images

Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle pose with award winners Ben Lee, Sean Gane, Daniel Claricoates and the other award nominees during the 'Endeavour Fund Awards' Ceremony at Goldsmiths Hall on February 1, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Meghan Markle meets well wishers during a walkabout on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle on February 13, 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attend the first annual Royal Foundation Forum held at Aviva on February 28, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry meet school children in the Dean's yard before attending a Reception after attending the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 12, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle take their seats at a star-studded concert to celebrate the Queen's 92nd birthday at the Royal Albert Hall on April 21, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend an Anzac Day service at Westminster Abbey on April 25, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. Getty Images

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend The Prince of Wales' 70th Birthday Patronage Celebration held at Buckingham Palace on May 22, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II sitts and laughs with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex during a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on June 14, 2018 in the town of Widnes in Halton, Cheshire, England. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2018 in Ascot, United Kingdom. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive to attend the Your Commonwealth Youth Challenge reception at Marlborough House on July 05, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend as members of the Royal Family attend events to mark the centenary of the RAF on July 10, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex chats with Sinead Burke, writer and advocate of fashion and disability rights during a reception at Glencairn, the residence of Robin Barnett, the British Ambassador to Ireland during day one of their visit to Ireland on July 10, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet Ireland's President, Michael Higgins and his wife Sabina Coyne at Aras an Uachtarain during day two of their visit to Ireland on July 11, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visit Trinity College on the second day of their official two day royal visit to Ireland on July 11, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland. Getty Images

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 14, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex helps to prepare food at an event to mark the launch of a cookbook with recipes from a group of women affected by the Grenfell Tower fire at Kensington Palace on September 20, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are presented with native flowers from children, Dasha Gallagher and Finley Blue, during a ceremony at Taronga Zoo on October 16, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex interact with Luke Vincent, 5 years old, after arriving at Dubbo Airport on October 17, 2018 in Dubbo, Australia. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet with lifeguards at South Melbourne Beach on October 18, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visit the University of the South Pacific on October 24, 2018 in Suva, Fiji. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speaks on stage during the 2018 Invictus Games Closing Ceremony at Qudos Bank Arena on October 27, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex addresses a reception hosted by the Governor-General celebrating the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage in New Zealand at Government House on October 28, 2018 in Wellington, New Zealand. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex react during their gumboot throwing competition after unveiling a plaque after dedicating 20 hectares of native bush to the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy project at The North Shore Riding Club on October 30, 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand. Getty Images

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex meets a Jack Russell called "Minnie" during her visit to the Mayhew, an animal welfare charity on January 16, 2019 in London, England. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex greets Gary Barlow and Howard Donald at The Royal Variety Performance 2018 at London Palladium on November 19, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watch students play football during their visit to Lycee Qualifiant Grand Atlas, the local secondary school on February 24, 2019 in Asni, Morocco. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pose with their newborn son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor during a photocall in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle on May 8, 2019 in Windsor, England. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meets cast and crew, including Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z as she attends the European Premiere of Disney's "The Lion King" at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 14, 2019 in London, England. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits Auwal Mosque on Heritage Day with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex during their royal tour of South Africa on September 24, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and their baby son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation during their royal tour of South Africa on September 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive to attend the Mountbatten Music Festival at Royal Albert Hall on March 7, 2020 in London, England. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speaks to stundents during a visit to Robert Clack School in Dagenham ahead of International Women's Day (IWD) held on Sunday 8th March, on March 6, 2020 in London, England. Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey interviews Meghan Markle on A CBS Primetime Special premiering on CBS on March 7, 2021. Getty Images

After months of carefully worded statements and media speculation, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview detailing their split from the UK royal family, which showed in the US on Sunday night.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that “no subject was off limits” for the interview and, as expected, the couple shared many revelations.

Here are five of the most shocking things we learnt from the interview:

Concerns over Archie’s skin colour

Members of the royal family expressed concerns to Prince Harry about how dark his son, Archie's, skin colour would be ahead of his birth, the duchess told Winfrey during one of the interview's most shocking moments.

Revealing she was told when pregnant that her son would not receive a royal title, and therefore the same level of protection as other members of the family, she said: "The first member of colour in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren were…

"We were very scared having to offer up our baby, knowing they weren't going to be kept safe," she added.

"In those months when I was pregnant, all around the same time ... So we have in tandem the conversation of, he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title. And also, concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born."

"What? Who is having that conversation with you?" Winfrey asked. "There's a conversation with you ...? Hold up. There's a conversation?"

There are several conversations ... with Harry," Meghan said.

"With how dark your baby is going to be?" Winfrey asked.

"Potentially. And what that would mean or look like," Meghan said.

"And you're not going to tell me who had that conversation?" Winfrey said.

"I think that it would be very damaging to them," Meghan answered. "That was relayed to me from Harry. Those were conversations that family had with him."

Meghan says Kate made her cry

The relationship between Meghan and Kate Middleton, wives of brothers Prince Harry and Prince William, was the subject of much media speculation ahead of Markle’s 2018 wedding and in the years since.

Addressing tabloid rumours that the pair had a row over flower girls’ dresses, Markle said it was the Duchess of Cambridge who made her cry, not the other way round as reported in the media at the time.

“I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone because it was a really hard week of the wedding and she was upset about something,” she said. “A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something. Yes, the issue was correct, about flower girl dresses.

“I thought in the context of everything else going on in the days leading to the wedding, it didn’t make sense to not doing what everyone else was doing, which was being supportive,” said Meghan, whose father had two heart attacks in the weeks ahead of her wedding.

“What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn’t do, but what happened to me and the people that were a part of my wedding going to my comms team, saying, 'I know this didn’t happen',” she added. “Everyone in the institution knew it wasn’t true ...”

When asked why the Palace did not clear up rumours at the time, she told Winfrey: “I don’t know why. I can see now what layers were at play there ... They really seemed to want a narrative of a hero and a villain.”

The pair were secretly married three days before their Windsor Castle wedding

In the first few minutes of the interview, Meghan revealed that she married Prince Harry in private, three days before her Windsor Castle wedding which was watched around the world.

“You know, three days before our wedding, we got married," Markle told Winfrey. "No one knows that. But we called the archbishop, and we just said, 'Look, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us.'

"The vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury," she explained, as Harry added: "Just the three of us."

Prince Charles ‘stopped taking Harry’s calls’

Prince Harry said that his father Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, had stopped taking his calls.

He denied blindsiding his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, over stepping back as a senior member of the royal family, saying he had too much respect for her.

“I had three conversations with my grandmother and two conversations with my father before he stopped taking my calls. And then he said, ‘can you put this all in writing?’”

Asked why Charles had stopped taking his calls, Harry said: “By that point I took matters into my own hands, it was like, I needed to do this for my family. This is not a surprise to anybody. It’s really sad that it’s got to this point, but I’ve got to do something for my own mental health, my wife’s and for Archie’s as well.”

Harry reveals their second child is a girl

Harry and Meghan revealed they were expecting their second child on Valentine's Day, with a sweet black and white image of the pair posed in their California garden. And, during their interview with Winfrey, they revealed they were expecting a girl.

“To have a boy then a girl — what more can you ask for?" Harry said.

They also said they will not have any more children following their baby girl's arrival. "Two is it," Harry said.