Michelle Obama said Tuesday that Meghan Meghan’s claim a member of the British royal family queried the possible darkness of her son’s skin was “heartbreaking” but “not a complete surprise” and she hoped the revelation would teach the world a lesson.
The 39-year-old and her husband, Prince Harry, previously accused an unidentified royal family member of raising racist concerns about their son Archie, now aged one, as Breitbart News reported.
The claim was made during an interview with Oprah Winfrey and ignited a firestorm of global publicty around the couple.
The royal family’s unsolicited remarks about Archie’s skin color were hard for her to understand, Michelle Obama said.
“I could never understand how it wouldn’t be seen as an added benefit and a reflection of the world today, especially right now, to go how inclusive is that that you can see someone who looks like you in this family, much less someone who was born into it,” she said.
Asked about Meghan’s disclosure of the remark about Archie, the Daily Telegraph reports the former first lady told NBC News: “I feel like that was heartbreaking to hear, that she felt like she was in her own family — her own family thought differently of her.”
“As I said before, race isn’t a new construct in this world for people of colour, and so it wasn’t a complete surprise to hear her feelings and to have them articulated,” she said.
Prince Harry, 36, also bemoaned his family’s reaction of the couple’s decision to step back from official duties.
“I think the thing that I hope for, and the thing I think about, is that this, first and foremost, is a family,” Obama added. “I pray for forgiveness and healing for them so that they can use this as a teachable moment for us all.”
Former president Barack Obama and his wife are said to have a close relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, with Michelle Obama once going so far as to call Meghan “a thoughtful leader who is breaking the mold and making our world better for it.”
The Duchess interviewed the former first lady for the September 2019 issue of British Vogue, which the Duchess guest edited. In it the two discussed motherhood, giving advice to children, and girls’ education.
The Duchess of Sussex called the former FLOTUS “magical” and praised her “endearingly frank, down-to-earth personality.”