Piers Morgan has explained why he named the British royals who allegedly participated in racist conversations about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Archie ahead of the child’s birth.
The alleged comments first came to light during the couple’s sit-down with Oprah in 2021, with Markle explaining that there were “concerns and conversations about how dark [Archie’s] skin might be when he’s born.”
Although they did not reveal names or details at the time, the Dutch version of journalist Omid Scobie’s explosive new book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival cited King Charles and Kate Middleton as the royals who discussed Archie’s skin color.
Amid the controversy, the book was temporarily pulled from Dutch shelves due to a publishing “error.” The English version of the book does not include the names, and Scobie claimed during an appearance on ITV’s This Morning that he “never submitted a book that had their names in it.”
While the British press largely withheld the names in coverage of the scandal, Piers Morgan identified King Charles and Kate Middleton as the royals in question on his show Uncensored this week, and he explained his full reasoning in The Sunday Times.
“First, it seemed absurd to me that Dutch people should be privy to significant information about our royal family, but British people would be prevented from knowing it too,” he wrote. “Second, because this whole farrago has gone on long enough and caused enough damage.”
“Frankly, it’s time we were told exactly what was allegedly said by whom to who, when and where it was said, and in exactly what context. Otherwise, this deeply divisive, racially charged sore will continue to ooze its way into global public consciousness.”
“Third, because in reporting the names their identities can no longer be held over them as some kind of blackmail threat by the Sussexes,” he added. “My own firm belief, which I’m sure will be shared by most of the British public, is that neither Charles or Kate ever made any racist comments about baby Archie.”
“This is a sickening slur on the characters of two people who’ve spent their lives in public service advocating for racial equality and justice … Poor Omid Scobie seems to have become the first author in history whose book was secretly sabotaged en route to a printer in a random foreign country.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have yet to publicly comment on the situation. King Charles said he was “all right” and cracked a joke during his first public appearance since the scandal, and Buckingham Palace said on Friday that they are “exploring all options” for legal recourse.
