Thomas Markle is defending the British royal family from claims made by his daughter, Meghan Markle, during her explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Meghan revealed an unnamed family member expressed concerns over the skin color of her and Prince Harry's son, Archie. Thomas said the remark was not racist but more likely just a "dumb question," according to Reuters.
"I have great respect for the royals, and I don't think the British royal family are racist at all. I don't think the British are racist, I think Los Angeles is racist, California is a racist, but I don’t think the Brits are," Thomas told ITV. "The thing about what color will the baby be or how dark will the baby be; I’m guessing and hoping it’s just a dumb question from somebody.
"It could be somebody asked a stupid question. Rather than being a total racist."
Speaking with Oprah on Sunday, Meghan said when she was pregnant with Archie, there were "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born."
She added that it was hard for her to understand why there were concerns within the royal family about her son’s skin color. She said it was hard for her to "compartmentalize" those conversations.
In a new clip of the interview that emerged Monday, Meghan and Harry admitted the racism in the U.K. tabloids was one of the reasons they decided to step back from their roles as senior members of the royal family.
"Kate [Middleton] was called Waity Katie, waiting to marry [Prince] William, while I imagine that was really hard and I do ... this is not the same and if a member of his family will comfortably say we've all had to deal with things that are rude," Meghan said, per Fox News. "Rude and racist are not the same.”
Markle has had a strained relationship with her dad since beginning her relationship with Prince Harry.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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