The founder and conductor of the Black choir that performed at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s wedding is weighing in on allegations that the royal family was racist in its treatment of Markle raised during the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s sit-down with Oprah Winfrey Sunday. Karen Gibson, who leads the Kingdom Choir told TMZ Thursday that she didn’t believe Prince Charles was racist, being that he personally invited her gospel group to perform at the royal wedding.
She continued that Charles came off as sincere in his invitation and went out of his way to congratulate them on their success in the days since, categorizing all of their interactions as gracious. Markle and Harry didn’t specifically name Charles as they alleged in their tell-all interview that there were “concerns and conversations” about the color of 1-year-old son Archie’s skin before he was born, but did rule out grandparents Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip as the person who had raised the issue.
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Markle shared during the interview that Archie was not granted a royal title or royal protection and that it was not her choice. “They didn’t want him to be a prince . . . which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn’t going to receive security,” Markle explained, adding there were “also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.” Markle declined to say who had made the comments, as it would be damaging to the royal family, and Harry added, “That conversation I’m never going to share. It was awkward. I was a bit shocked.”
Queen Elizabeth gave an official statement through Buckingham Palace Tuesday addressing the issues raised, including Markle’s mental health and racism, during the interview. “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” the statement issued read. “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members.”
Prince William addressed the allegations to a reporter Thursday head-on, saying specifically, “We are very much not a racist family.” The full interview is available to stream on CBS.com and the CBS app. Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.
