Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Prince Philip/Photo Courtesy of Elle
Fox news anchor Brian Kilmeade apparently thinks Meghan Markle’s Black girl magic may have the ability to control death.
On Friday, Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, passed away at the age of 99. Prince Philip was the third cousin and husband of Queen Elizabeth II for 74 years.
It was not too much longer after the announcement that Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade went on air and intimated that the interview that Meghan Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, had with Oprah Winfrey was a contributing factor to Prince Philip’s death. On the “Fox & Friends” program, Kilmeade referenced reports that Philip was “enraged” after the televised and widely-viewed special.
“Here he is trying to recover, and then he gets hit with that,” Kilmeade said of Philip. Kilmeade was citing Piers Morgan who quit after his negative comments about Markle, who previously refused to date him. The “that” Kilmeade referred to was the bombshell sitdown that Markle and Prince Harry had with Oprah Winfrey on March 7.
In the interview, Meghan and Harry revealed a pattern of differential treatment by the British royal family, much of which was attributed to racism. According to Markle, there were concerns about how dark their son, Archie, would be while she was pregnant with him. Harry later verified the claim and they said they were told their children would not receive the same royal privileges and titles as Philip and Elizabeth’s other grandchildren.
The broadcast sent media shockwaves from the states to the United Kingdom and the Palace responded by not admitting nor denying the claims. Prince William adamantly claimed the family is not racist while walking with an unidentified Black woman. Several days later, he took a photo with an unidentified Black male friend in order to discredit Harry and Markle’s claims.
Prince Harry took the time to let Oprah known after the interview that it was not his grandmother nor grandfather that made the comments about Archie’s skin tone.
Before his death, Prince Philip had been in grave health for several months. He was released from Kind Edwards VII’s Hospital on March 16 after a month-long stay. At the time, it was
reported that his stay was to treat infection and have a procedure that related to a pre-existing health condition. These are facts that were reported by both American and British media and verified by the Palace. Further, Philip outlived the typical human life expectancy by more than two decades. Kilmeade’s suggestion that statements made by Markle created any direct link to Philip’s death was factually incorrect and journalistically irresponsible.Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan issued a statement on their Archwell website in honor of Prince Philip.