In an exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle, alongside her husband, Prince Harry, opened up about thoughts of suicide, alleged that family members expressed "concerns" about how dark their son Archie's skin would be, and new details about their rift with the royal family in their first sit-down since leaving their roles as senior members of the Royal family last year. 

The highly-anticipated interview was years in the making; in a preview clip released in the lead-up to Sunday’s sit-down, Winfrey said she reached out to Meghan to request an interview before the couple wed in May 2018. 

"I wasn't even allowed to have that conversation with you personally,” Markle responded. It was a topic she touched on much during the interview, alleging that the Royal Family exercised tight control over the young couple during their years as working royals. 

It comes as little surprise that Winfrey, one of the top interviewers of her generation and longtime friend to Markle, was the one to interview the sought-after couple. Not only did Oprah attend their wedding a little under three years ago, she also partnered with Harry to release a documentary focusing on mental health that is set to premiere later this year. 

Here are the biggest moments from the interview: 

About six months after Meghan and Harry wed, an explosive story about the day was plastered across UK tabloid headlines claiming Markle had made her sister-in-law, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, cry after a dispute over Princess Charlotte’s flower girl dress. 

Not only did that not happen, Markle told Winfrey, but in fact said “the reverse happened,” explaining that it was Middleton who made Markle cry. 

“A few days before the wedding she was upset about something… about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings,” Markle said, adding that she didn’t mean “to be disparaging to anyone.” 

Kate later apologized and brought Markle flowers, she added, and she does not hold any ill will towards her sister-in-law in regards to the incident. 

What was most eye-opening for the new member of the family, she said, was that “everyone in the institution knew (the story) wasn't true,” but refused to allow any member of Markle’s communication team to negate the story in the media. 

“I can see now what layers were at play there,” she said. “They seem to want a narrative of a hero and villain.” 

The entire debacle was a “turning point” for the couple, as Meghan said she realized “not only was I not being protected, but they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family, but they weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.”

Harry and Meghan share one child together — Archie, born in 2019 — and Meghan is currently pregnant with their second. The two revealed their second child will be a girl.

“Amazing. Just grateful, to have any child, any one or two would just be amazing,” Harry said of their daughter. “But to have a boy and then a girl, what more can you ask for?”

But parts of the couple’s first pregnancy weren't always so happy. 

Meghan said when she was first pregnant with son Archie, there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.” The statement led Winfrey to ask “What?” incredulously and sit in silence for a moment.

Meghan declined to say who had this conversation with Harry that he relayed to her, saying revealing their name would be “very damaging.”

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

Meghan also said she was stunned when she was told he would not be a prince and would not receive security from the palace.

Meghan said she did not worry about being a divorced, mixed-race American actress entering the British royal family, but later she “thought about it because they made me think about it.”

Meghan said it was not so much the royal family members themselves who treated her this way, but the people behind the institution.

She emphasized that the queen herself “has always been wonderful to me.”

In the later months of her pregnancy — amid the struggle with the family over Archie’s potential title — Meghan revealed that she struggled with intense suicidal thoughts. 

She said she went to a senior royal staffer and said she needed to get help for her mental health, but was told it would be bad for the family if she did. 

“I just didn't want to be alive anymore,” Markle told Winfrey. “And that was a really clear, and real, and frightening, and constant thought.” 

“I went to the Institution and I said I need to go somewhere to get help … and I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the Institution,” she continued. 

When asked why she didn’t check herself into an institution on her own, Meghan described feeling trapped by her circumstances, explaining that her keys, passport, and all forms of identification were taken once she formally joined the Royal Family. 

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, or text HOME to 741741 for support from the Crisis Text Line.

Harry joined his wife during the second hour of Sunday’s interview, where he expressed in his own words when and how he decided to officially leave the Royal Family. 

When Harry and Meghan moved to Canada in late 2019, many in the media speculated that their decision to move on from royal duties was a sudden one. That wasn’t so, Harry and Meghan said — in fact, they had offered to simply step back into less senior roles, but were told that wasn’t an option. 

Harry went on to say that the firm’s decision to remove the couple’s security was a contributing factor to their departure. After confirming with team members that the level of threats against them had not decreased, Harry said he “was desperate” to ensure his family’s safety, adding: “I went to all the places to which I thought I should go to to ask for help,” but was repeatedly denied. 

Still, Harry insisted that his family was not taken by surprise by his and Meghan’s ultimate departure.

“I never blindsided my grandmother. I have too much respect for her,” Harry said. “When we were in Canada, I had three conversations with my grandmother and two conversations with my father, before he stopped taking my calls."

Harry later said that while his father is now taking his calls, “there’s a lot to work through there” in order to mend their relationship.

“I feel really let down, because he’s been through something similar. He knows what pain feels like. And Archie’s his grandson,” Harry said of his father. “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.”

Harry highlighted the similarities between how his mother, the late Princess Diana, and Meghan were treated by the press, saying he “saw history repeating itself.” 

“I think she would feel very angry with how this has panned out, and very sad,” Harry said of how he thinks his mother would feel about his leaving the royal family. “But ultimately, all she would ever want is for us to be happy.” 

And it was thanks to Diana that Harry and Meghan were actually able to sever ties with the firm, Harry said. After being cut off financially by his family in the beginning of 2020, the young father said without the money his mother left him, he would not have been able to leave his duties. 

"I've got all my mum left me. And without that, we would not have been able to do this," Harry said.

"I think she saw it coming,” he added. “I certainly felt her presence throughout this whole process. I'm just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side.”

And in a special nod to Diana, Meghan appeared to don one of the late princess’ diamond bracelets. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.