US Congressman Mondaire Jones says Meghan Markle is ‘bringing down an empire’

A US Congressman has hailed Meghan Markle for ‘bringing down an empire’ with her bombshell Oprah interview.

Democrat Mondaire Jones tweeted: ‘Meghan Markle is bringing down an entire empire tonight, and I’m here for it.’

Last night, the 39-year-old American who married Prince Harry made a series of sensational claims about the British royals, including that her son Archie was denied the title of prince because he is mixed-race.  

Jones was not alone in celebrating the interview, in which Harry claimed that the heirs to the throne, his father Charles and brother William, were ‘trapped’ by the monarchy.

Meghan McCain, daughter of late Republican statesman, tweeted: ‘Monarchy has been an archaic and toxic concept since 1776.’ 

The Queen with Meghan in July 2018

Democrat Congressman Mondaire Jones claimed that Meghan Markle brought down ‘an entire empire’ last night in her interview with Oprah (pictured: Jones, left, the Queen with Meghan in July 2018)

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have insisted their interview with Oprah Winfrey would be the 'last word' on them quitting as senior royals

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have insisted their interview with Oprah Winfrey would be the ‘last word’ on them quitting as senior royals 

She is among critics of the monarchy who are today feasting on the allegations made by Meghan and Harry during their prime-time slot with Oprah.

The hashtag ‘AbolishTheMonarchy’ is even trending in the United Kingdom.  

Joe Biden’s inauguration poet Amanda Gorman wrote: ‘Meghan was the Crown’s greatest opportunity for change, regeneration, and reconciliation in a new era. They didn’t just maltreat her light–they missed out on it.’

She added: ‘Unclear if this will change the Royal family, but Meghan’s strength will certainly redefine family everywhere. Think of the women who will be inspired to stand up for their lives, the partners who will be kinder & more courageous than the kin they were born into.’ 

Meghan’s close friend Serena Williams also released a lengthy statement to Twitter after the interview aired. 

Williams described the Duchess as a ‘selfless friend’ who ‘teaches me every day what it means to be truly noble’. 

‘Her words illustrate the pain and cruelty she’s experienced,’ Williams wrote.  

‘I know first hand the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of color to minimize us, to break us down and demonize us. We must recognize our obligation to decry malicious, unfounded gossip and tabloid journalism.’  

Meghan cited this event at the Royal Albert Hall in January 2019, claiming she was forced to go when struggling with her mental health

Meghan cited this event at the Royal Albert Hall in January 2019, claiming she was forced to go when struggling with her mental health

The Queen is not believed to have watched the show, broadcast at 8pm Eastern Time in the US and 1am UK time, but will this morning be briefed by aides on the sensational claims made by her grandson and his wife that could badly damage the reputation of the Royal Family around the globe. 

The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah she ‘couldn’t be left alone’ and told her husband she ‘didn’t want to be alive anymore’ before claiming the Palace HR department ignored her plea for help because she wasn’t a ‘paid employee’.

Describing how she considered ending her life believing it ‘was better for everyone’, Meghan said: ‘I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. I remember how he just cradled me. I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere’. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution’. 

She said that after confiding in her husband, she was forced to go to the Royal Albert Hall for a charity event in January 2019, claiming photos from that night ‘haunt me’. She told Oprah she later reached out to one of the best friends of Diana, Princess of Wales, because she felt unsupported by the palace. 

She said: ‘When I joined that family, that was the last time I saw my passport, my driving licence, my keys – all of that gets turned over’. Meghan said Harry had ‘saved my life’ by agreeing to move to Los Angeles. 

Meghan also sensationally claimed that a relative of Harry asked him ‘how dark’ their unborn child would be with the Duchess claiming Archie being mixed-race was a ‘problem’ for the royals after Oprah asked her if they were worried their son would be ‘too brown’. 

The former Suits star said she would not name the person because it would be ‘too damaging’ for them.

 

Star supporters: Meghan McCain, Amanda Gorman and Serena Williams praised the Duchess

Star supporters: Meghan McCain, Amanda Gorman and Serena Williams praised the Duchess

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry revealed their second child is a girl during their interview

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry revealed their second child is a girl during their interview

But she confirmed that the duke was asked the question – ‘how dark his skin might be when he’s born’ – ‘by family’.

She then said Archie may have been denied the title of prince because he is mixed-race, but has never been told.

Harry was also asked to identify the culprit but said he didn’t feel ‘comfortable’ discussing it. 

In the most extraordinary royal interview since Diana spoke to the BBC’s Martin Bashir in 1995, Meghan said her sister-in-law Kate made her cry in a row over dresses for the flowergirls, including Princess Charlotte, before her Windsor wedding.

She said: ‘She (Kate) was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers’.

Harry also laid into his own family, claiming their ‘lack of support and understanding’, the couple’s mental health problems and fears ‘history repeating itself’ with Meghan like his mother Diana, who died in 1997.

Harry also said he felt ‘very let down’ by his father Prince Charles, accusing him of refusing to take his calls and and then ‘cut him off’ financially when they emigrated. 

He said: ‘My father and brother. They’re both trapped’ and added that his mother Diana would be ‘angry and sad’ that he felt he had to leave the royal family, but ‘she saw it coming’. Harry said: ‘All she’d ever want for us is to be happy’, adding that his wife had ‘saved me’, declaring: ‘I myself was trapped, as well. I didn’t see a way out’.  

The main bombshells from the Oprah interview

– Meghan’s mental health

The Duchess of Sussex revealed she had suicidal thoughts and said: ‘I just didn’t want to be alive any more.’

She said she begged for help, and asked to go somewhere to get help, and approached one of the most senior people in the institution, but was told it would not look good.

The duchess said: ‘I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that I’ve never felt this way before and I need to go somewhere. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution.’

– Baby Sussex is a girl

Harry and Meghan revealed they are expecting a baby girl.

The duke joined his wife in the second half of the interview, and told the chat show host: ‘It’s a girl.’

He said his first thought was ‘amazing’ when he discovered they were having a girl, adding: ‘Just grateful. To have any child, any one or any two, would have been amazing.

‘But to have a boy and then a girl, I mean what more can you ask for? Now we’ve got our family, we got the four of us and our two dogs.’

Asked if they were ‘done’ with two children, Harry said ‘done’ and Meghan said: ‘Two is it.’

She also confirmed the baby is due in the ‘summertime’.

– Royal family accused of racism

Meghan said, when she was pregnant with Archie, an unnamed member of the royal family raised ‘concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born’.

Asked whether there were concerns that her child would be ‘too brown’ and that would be a problem, Meghan said: ‘If that is the assumption you are making, that is a pretty safe one.’

Pushed by Winfrey on who had those conversations, Meghan refused to say, adding: ‘I think that would be very damaging to them.’

She added: ‘That was relayed to me from Harry, those were conversations the family had with him, and I think it was really hard to be able to see those as compartmentalised conversations.’

– Archie’s title

Meghan suggested she and Harry wanted Archie to be a prince so he would have security and be protected.

The duchess expressed her shock at ‘the idea of our son not being safe’, and the idea of the first member of colour in this family, not being titled in the same way as other grandchildren.

Archie, who is seventh in line to the throne, is not entitled to be an HRH or a prince due to rules set out more than 100 years ago by King George V.

He will be entitled to be an HRH or a prince when the Prince of Wales accedes to the throne.

As the first born son of a duke, Archie could have become Earl of Dumbarton – one of Harry’s subsidiary titles – or have been Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, instead at the time of his birth, a royal source said Harry and Meghan had decided he should a regular Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

– The Prince of Wales

The Duke of Sussex said his father the Prince of Wales stopped taking his calls while Harry and Meghan were in Canada ‘because I took matters into my own hands. I needed to do this for my family’.

He said Charles wanted him to put his plans in writing.

– The Queen

Harry denied that he had ‘blindsided’ his grandmother Queen with the bombshell statement about stepping down as senior royal.

The duke said he believed the report probably could have come from ‘within the institution’.

– The Duchess of Cambridge

Meghan said Kate made her cry ahead of her wedding.

Reports circulated ahead of the Sussexes’ nuptials that Meghan left Kate in tears at Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress fitting.

But Meghan told Winfrey the ‘reverse happened’.

Meghan said she was not sharing the information to be ‘disparaging’, but added it was ‘really important for people to understand the truth’.

‘She’s a good person,’ the duchess added