Queen 'saddened', takes racism claims 'seriously' after Harry-Meghan interview

Buckingham Palace said Tuesday that Queen Elizabeth II is saddened by the challenges faced by her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, and takes their allegations of racism in the royal family seriously.

The queen and her family promised to address the issues around race that were raised by the couple in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

"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," the palace said in a statement released on the queen's behalf.

"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."

Britain's royal family faced pressure on Tuesday to respond to racism claims by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, triggering a crisis for the institution not seen since the anguished days of his late mother, Diana.

The couple set off a whirl of speculation about the identity of the senior royal who asked how dark their child's skin would be before he was born.

Meghan, whose mother is black and father is white, also spoke about how she had suicidal thoughts, but failed to receive any support during her time in the royal family.

"That was relayed to me from Harry, those were conversations that family had with him," Meghan recounted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on CBS late on Sunday.

Meghan declined to say who had aired such concerns, as did Harry. Winfrey later told CBS that Harry had said it was not Queen Elizabeth or her husband Philip.

Harry said his family had cut them off financially and his father Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, had let him down and refused to take his calls at one point.