Prince Harry had learnt a lot from Meghan Markle about efforts of systematic racism
Since meeting Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's perspective has changed to see things.
As his memoir Spare enters bookstores, the 38-year-old Duke of Sussex discussed his personal development in this week's exclusive People magazine cover story.
After he started dating his multiracial wife six years ago, Harry thought back on how racism in the media, royal institutions, and society at large opened his eyes.
"My relationship with Meghan has opened my eyes to so much I fear I otherwise would have never fully understood. When we recognize bias within ourselves or others — we have a choice. Be part of the problem through inaction or part of the solution through change," Prince Harry told during an interview.
"We live in a world with systemic racism, and none of us are immune from the effects of that. I am someone who has long benefited from my place in society," he said.
"I understand that much better today than I once did. I had so much to learn and, equally, unlearn. It's not a simple process, but it's a fulfilling one. I'm a better husband, father and human because of it. I feel more grounded and connected."
"To this day I'm doing important and necessary work to understand and address unconscious bias — it's ever-evolving and requires us to step up and speak out where we can — even when it's our friends, families or loved ones," Harry added.
In his first televised interview for the publication of Spare, which came out today, the Duke of Sussex discussed racism, unconscious bias, and his own family.
Tom Bradby brought up Meghan's admission to Oprah Winfrey in their March 2021 interview that there were "concerns and debates about how dark [Archie's] skin would be when he's born" during their conversation, which was shown on Sunday night in the U.K.
Revisiting the claim, Bradby said, "In the Oprah interview, you accuse members of your family of racism..."
"No," Harry interjected as he went on to explain the difference between racism and unconscious bias. "The British press said that. Did Meghan ever mention they're racist?"
Bradby replied: "She said that there were troubling comments about Archie's skin —
Harry interjected, "Yeah, there was concern about his skin color," to which Bradby asked, "Right, but wouldn't you describe that as essentially racism?"
"I wouldn't. Not having lived within that family," Harry said.
"The difference between racism and unconscious bias is, the two things are different. But once it's been acknowledged, or pointed out to you as an individual or as an institution that you have unconscious bias, you, therefore, have an opportunity to learn and grow from that in order, so that you are part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Otherwise, unconscious bias then moves into the category of racism," Harry noted.