Duchess of Sussex talk about race in a recent TV interview

Former US First Lady Michelle Obama has said it "wasn't a complete surprise" to hear the Duchess of Sussex talk about race in a recent TV interview.

Mrs Obama spoke to NBC's Today show about Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Meghan and Harry had opened up about a range of personal topics, including racism and mental health.

Meghan said Harry had been asked by an unnamed royal family member "how dark" their son Archie's skin might be.

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Buckingham Palace said the race issues raised by Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, were "concerning", and would be "taken very seriously" and dealt with privately.

In her interview with NBC, Mrs Obama was asked what had gone through her mind while watching Meghan's candid conversation with Oprah.

"Public service is a bright, sharp, hot spotlight," said Mrs Obama, who spent eight years in the White House while her husband, Barack Obama, was US president.

"And most people don't understand it, and nor should they. The thing that I always keep in mind is that none of this is about us in public service, it's about the people we serve."

Mrs Obama, 57, was asked about the moment Meghan told Oprah she had "experienced racism".

"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," Mrs Obama replied.

In a separate interview with Access Hollywood, Mrs Obama said she hoped Meghan and Harry would find a way to reconcile with the royal family.

"My hope is that, when I think about what they're going through, I think about the importance of family, and I just pray that there is forgiveness, and there is clarity and love and resolve at some point in time," Mrs Obama said.

The former first lady is a long-time supporter of Meghan, calling her a "friend" and "inspiration" in a 2019 Instagram post.

Harry has been friends with the Obamas for years, forming a bond over charity initiatives. The Obamas were early supporters of Harry's Invictus Games Foundation.

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Meghan interviewed Mrs Obama for an edition of British Vogue she guest-edited in 2019.

For this project, the Duchess said she had enlisted the help of Mrs Obama, describing her as an "endearingly frank, down-to-earth" person.

Mrs Obama pioneered a number of initiatives during her time in the White House, with a special focus on children's nutrition and health.

She is currently promoting her new children's cooking series Waffles + Mochi.

But last week, Mrs Obama said she was "moving towards retirement right now" and being selective with the projects she takes on.

One of the biggest allegations from the interview was that there were "several conversations" within the Royal Family about how dark Meghan and Harry's baby might be.

"In those months when I was pregnant [there were] concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born," said Meghan.

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She said the conversations were with Harry, who relayed them to her. Both she and Harry refused to say which royal said it.

"That conversation, I am never going to share," said Harry. "At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked."

Harry also said that it hurt him that his family never spoke out about the "colonial undertones" of news headlines and articles.

One story that circulated in the newspapers a few years ago was that the Duchess of Cambridge was left in tears by Meghan in the run-up to the wedding in a row over flower girl dresses.

But Meghan told Oprah the reverse was true.

"A few days before the wedding [Kate] was upset about the flower girl dresses and it made me cry," Meghan said. She said Kate later apologised and brought flowers and a note to make amends.

"I'm not sharing that piece about Kate to be disparaging about her," Meghan said. She said Kate was "a good person" and hoped that she would have wanted the false stories corrected.

Meghan spoke about how lonely she felt after joining the Royal Family and the loss of her freedom. "When I joined that family, that was the last time until we came here that I saw my passport, my driver's licence, my keys, all that gets turned over," she said.

She said her mental health got so bad that she "didn't want to be alive any more".

"I went to the institution and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help, said I had never felt that way before and need to go somewhere, and I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution."

She said she went to "one of the most senior people" within the institution and then to the palace human resources department. "Nothing was ever done," she added.

Princess Diana's name came up many times throughout the interview - with similarities drawn between their experiences of being in the Royal Family.

"I didn't even know who to turn to," said Meghan, of the time when she was struggling. "One of the people I reached out to who's continued to be a friend and confidante was one of my husband's mom's best friends.

"Because it's like who else could understand what it's actually like on the inside?"

Oprah asked Harry about his relationships with his family and especially with his father, the Prince of Wales, and brother, the Duke of Cambridge.

At one point after stepping back as senior royals, Harry said Charles "stopped taking my calls".

"I feel really let down because he's been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like and Archie's his grandson.

"But at the same time, of course I will always love him but there's a lot of hurt that's happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship."

On William, Harry said he loved him to bits and they have been through hell together. "But we were on different paths."