White House praises Meghan's ‘courage’ after Oprah interview airs in UK
9 March 2021, 08:15 | Updated: 9 March 2021, 08:20
The White House has praised Meghan Markle's "courage" for speaking out about her mental health in the interview with Oprah Winfrey that has sparked a royal crisis.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki praised Harry and Meghan's courage when asked if US President Joe Biden had watched the interview.
Ms Psaki told journalists on Monday: "For anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story, that takes courage.
READ MORE: Buckingham Palace silent after Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview airs in UK
READ MORE: How the UK's newspapers reacted
"That's certainly something the president believes."
Hillary Clinton said it was a shame that Meghan didn't receive more support after some stories that appeared in the British media.
She said: "Their [the media's] cruelty in going after Meghan was just outrageous and the fact she did not get more support, that the reaction was, you know, let's just paper it over and pretend that it didn't happen or it will go away, just keep your head down, well, you know, this young woman was not about to keep her head down, you know, this is 2021."
The Palace will have to respond to Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview
Meghan and Harry laid bare their lives as a working royal couple, alleging that a member of the family - not the Queen or Duke of Edinburgh - made a racist comment about their unborn son.
Palace officials reportedly had a prepared statement highlighting the family's love and concern for the couple, but it was not signed off by the Queen.
Oprah was left open-mouthed when the duchess - the first mixed-race member of the modern monarchy - said a fellow royal was worried about how dark their son Archie's skin tone might be before he was born.
The interview was aired on Sunday night to US audiences, before being shown in the UK on Monday evening.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton said the fallout from the interview will "shudder down through the generations in the same way that Diana's did".
