Two years after getting married and becoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped away from their royal duties last spring. In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, the couple exposed details of royal family members’ hostile attitudes towards the duchess. 

Meghan Markle opened up about her suicidal thoughts during her run with the royal family, confessing that while pregnant with Archie, she “just didn’t want to be alive anymore.” Constantly under scrutiny based on her personality, attire, and disposition while in public, Markle revealed that she was forced to plaster a smile on her face and attend an event with Harry despite feeling trapped and emotional due to certain situations within the palace walls.

The husband and wife also clarified that they would not have chosen to leave the royal life if they had received proper support from the family. When Markle decided to open up about her depression and isolation to other members of their family, she was refused help for her mental health because it would have made the institution look bad and “was not a conversation to be had.”

Another major aspect of their interview with Oprah included Harry and Meghan attempting to clarify the inaccuracy of media stories that painted Meghan in a negative light. One of the stories circulated originally claimed that Meghan had made Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton cry, but Markle refuted this rumor, saying that the actual situation happened in reverse. Markle revealed that many negative news stories about her were false, but none of the members of the royal family who knew the truth cleared up the lies surrounding such statements.

The two of them also mentioned that during Meghan’s pregnancy with Archie, certain discussions in the family centered around their son’s possible skin tone at birth. In the conversations, family members explained that the baby would not receive a title and a security detail but also brought up how dark Archie’s skin might be. Harry refused to divulge further information about such concerns, stating that it was a conversation that he would never feel comfortable with sharing.

Harry refused to mention specific names of family members who made similar remarks about the baby and his marriage to Markle, but he did say that neither Queen Elizabeth nor her husband Prince Philip were part of these conversations. However, in regards to his and Markle’s announcement on cutting ties with the royal family, Prince Harry did mention that the rift between Harry and his father grew so large that at one point, Prince Charles stopped answering his phone calls.

In Buckingham Palace’s first response to the interview, Queen Elizabeth issued a statement on Tuesday, a day after the interview broadcasted in Great Britain. Her message in its entirety read:

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. 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. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

When questioned on the interview by a reporter on Tuesday, Prince Charles declined to answer. Another result of the interview was the departure of Piers Morgan, a longtime critic of Meghan Markle, from his position on Good Morning Britain following his negative comments on Markle’s revelation of her past suicidal thoughts.