Meghan Markle and Prince Harry give interview to Oprah Winfrey
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry give interview to Oprah WinfreyReuters

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “tell-all” interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on CBS on Sunday night.

The interview began with a one-on-one conversation between Winfrey and Meghan, who acknowledged that she never looked up information about Prince Harry before she got married. She said that while she knew about the royals, discussion of the monarchy was not something that was a part of the conversation when Meghan was growing up.

"I went into it naively," Meghan told Oprah.

Asked about her first meeting with Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, she replied that "there wasn't a lot of anxiety about meeting the Queen," but then said Harry asked her in the car on the way there, "Do you know how to curtsy?"

"I thought that was part of the fanfare, I didn't think that was what happened inside," Meghan said. "I thought, this is your grandmother."

She said Harry reminded her that his grandmother is the Queen and added that they practiced how to curtsy before the meeting.

"Apparently I did a very deep curtsy — I don't remember it," Meghan said. "It was lovely and easy and thank god I hadn't known a lot about the family — I would have been so in my head about it."

She also revealed that three days before her televised Royal Wedding, she and Prince Harry got married in a secret ceremony, private ceremony without family, with only the Archbishop of Canterbury in attendance. She added that the marriage certificate that hangs in her home has the date of the private ceremony.

Oprah asked Meghan about an incident reported in the British tabloids that she had made her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, cry. However, Meghan said the situation was actually the reverse and that Kate was the one who made Meghan cry about flower girl dresses, though she apologized later and brought her flowers and a note.

Meghan claimed that she was silenced during her time as a senior official of the royal family, revealing she was under the belief that in exchange for not commenting on her life, she would be protected, something she found out was not true.

Meghan stressed that it was important to make a distinction between some members of the royal family and the administration that runs the family. She made particular mention of the Queen, who she said had treated her warmly and always been wonderful to her.

While Meghan was pregnant with her first child Archie, she was informed that her child would not be given the title of prince or security, something that went against tradition. She noted being worried about safe Archie would be, especially given her treatment in the tabloids.

She also revealed that there were discussions while she was pregnant about "how dark" Archie's skin color would be. Meghan would not say who it was who had the conversation and said it "would be very damaging to them", and would only reveal that those discussions were relayed to her from Harry.

Meghan also revealed that she was having "methodical" thoughts about suicide while she was in the royal family.

"That was a very clear and real and frightening thought. I couldn't be left alone," she said, adding she contacted several senior officials, to receive help for her suicidal thoughts, or to be checked into a hospital, but she was told it would not be good for optics.

She described feeling captive, as her license, passport, and credit cards were taken after her wedding and were unavailable to her.

When Harry joined the conversation, the two announced that they are expecting a girl.

Harry said that he was worried his mother's story would repeat itself in Meghan.

"I saw history repeating itself," he said, and added he continued to ask for help and only considered stepping back from the family when it was clear help was not coming.

Harry said he and Meghan talked very deeply about stepping back as senior members of the royal family but never blindsided the family, as reports in the media suggested.

"I never blindsided my grandmother," Harry said. "I have too much respect for her."

Harry said the turning point between Meghan and the Royal family happened after their Australia tour. Members of the crown got jealous, he asserted, over the "effortless" way Megan connected with the people and the commonwealth.

Megan denied she planned to leave the monarchy when she and Prince Harry started dating. Harry said that never would have left if he hadn't married Meghan, but did so only because their relationship opened his eyes to how he was trapped by the "Institution" he was born into.