CBS

Buckingham Palace finally responded Tuesday to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s bombshell 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,” read the Buckingham Palace statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth. “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,” the statement, shared with HuffPost, added. 

The response comes two days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s prime-time CBS special with the media mogul aired Sunday night. In the two-hour interview, Harry and Meghan presented their side of their step-back-from-royalty story together for the first time.

Meghan told Winfrey that she had contemplated suicide during her lowest moments in “The Firm,” as the royal family establishment is known, and she also revealed that certain (nameless) members of the royal family raised “concerns and conversations” before their son Archie was born about how dark his skin might be. 

The duke opened up about his struggles with a “bigoted” British press and feeling “trapped” within the royal family, and he corrected reports that he had blindsided his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, with news of the couple’s decision to step back as senior members of the royal family.