Princess Kate shut down Royal Family race row with 'powerful phrase'

The Duchess of Sussex told Winfrey that an unnamed member of the Royal Family had expressed "concerns and conversations about how dark [her baby's] skin might be".

Buckingham Palace was then forced to issue an unprecedented statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.

It stated: "The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning.

"While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately."

The day after the interview, Princess Kate and Prince William stepped out for an engagement in Stratford, east London.

When asked if the Royal Family was "racist", William challenged the allegations by saying: "We are very much not a racist family."

Robert Jobson, a royal commentator, has written a new biography titled Catherine, Princess of Wales.

In the book, he revealed that it was Kate, 42, who came up with the famous "recollections may vary" jab, directed at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Jobson wrote: "The original draft of the statement had been much milder, but both William and Catherine had been keen to toughen it up.

"It was the then Duchess of Cambridge herself who came up with the powerful phrase 'recollections may vary'."

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The author added: "As far as William was concerned, Harry and Meghan's behaviour was unforgivable, and they could no longer be trusted.

"Catherine herself was said to be deeply wounded by various allegations in the interview, as well as by the Sussexes' later so-called revelations in their Netflix series and in Harry's book Spare."

In a 2023 interview, Prince Harry denied that he or Meghan ever called the Royal Family "racist". He told ITV: "No I didn't. The British press said that. Did Meghan ever mention they were racist?"

Prince Harry later clarified that "racism and unconscious bias, the two things are different".