Prince Charles Openly Questioned Skin Tone of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Children, Book Alleges

Prince Charles might have been the royal family member Prince Harry and Meghan Markle alluded to in their March TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, based on a new account of events in author Christopher Andersen's book Brothers And Wives: Inside The Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan. In Oprah with Meghan and Harry, the couple revealed certain senior royals had raised concerns about the skin color of their upcoming baby, the then-unborn Archie. Andersen's source claims the whole issue may have stemmed from Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and father to Harry.

"I wonder what the children will look like?" Charles, 73, allegedly told his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. She then is said to have replied, "Well, absolutely gorgeous, I'm certain." 

Skin tone is said to have entered the conversation afterward, with Charles allegedly saying, "I mean, what do you think their children's complexion might be?"

That conversation is said to have spiraled from there, spreading throughout the royal family and those who work with them. "The question posed by Charles was being echoed in a less innocent way throughout the halls of Buckingham Palace," Andersen wrote. Harry, 37, is said to have confronted his father about the speculation, but Charles, who is set to inherit the throne following Queen Elizabeth's reign, dismissed his youngest child as being "overly sensitive about the matter." The author goes on to claim Harry's brother Prince William, 39, also dismissed the notion of their father's remark being racist, though he acknowledged it was "tactless."

Charles is actively combatting Andersen's reporting. The royal's representative told The New York Post, "This is fiction and not worth further comment." Prince Harry and Markle have yet to respond to the claims in Brothers And Wives.

In Oprah with Meghan and Harry, Markle, whose mother is Black and father is White, said there were "concerns and conversations about how dark his (Archie's) skin might be when he's born." Markle did not express who had these discussions with Harry about complexion because she thought "that would be very damaging to them." It was later clarified after the interview aired that neither of Harry's royal grandparents, Queen Elizabeth and the now-deceased Prince Philip, were the ones who raised the concerns.