Prince William says royals are ‘very much not a racist family’

Prince William has denied the royal family is racist in his first public remarks since his brother Prince Harry, and his wife Meghan, made explosive claims in a TV interview.

Asked by a reporter during a visit to a school in east London if the royals were a “racist family,” the Duke of Cambridge said: “We’re very much not a racist family.”

Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, made a series of damning accusations against the royal family in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in the UK on Monday night.

In response to a question on whether he had spoken to his brother since the interview with Oprah Winfrey, Prince William said, “I haven’t spoken to him yet but I will do.”

Harry and Meghan’s interview has sent the Palace into a tailspin and triggered a nationwide debate on the royals, race and the role of the media in perpetuating xenophobia.

In the interview, the Duchess said that the skin tone of the couple’s child, Archie, was discussed as a potential issue before he was born. The couple would not reveal who had made the remarks.

In the interview, Meghan described having regular suicidal thoughts during her brief time as a working royal, and said the palace had offered her and her son inadequate security and protection.

Buckingham Palace broke its silence on Tuesday evening, saying in a statement on behalf of the Queen that the allegations of racism were concerning and were being “taken very seriously.”

“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 reads.