‘What Meghan wants, Meghan gets’

Britain's royal family has begun a fight back against explosive racism claims made by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, indicating the couple's comments will not go unchallenged as the country divides into partisan camps. 

A keenly awaited statement from Queen Elizabeth II issued Tuesday was conciliatory towards her grandson and his mixed-race spouse after they had an interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey.

But it also stressed that "some recollections may vary", as the Buckingham Palace vowed to look into the couple's assertion that an unidentified royal had asked how dark their unborn son Archie's skin would be.

"Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members," Elizabeth stressed.

The row is being watched worldwide, in the United States where the couple now live and across the multi-racial Commonwealth, which the queen heads, dragging Britain's most famous family further into a debate about racism and the country's colonial past.

The UK government is refusing to get involved in the family's biggest crisis since the very public collapse of the marriage of Harry's parents, other than to praise Elizabeth's stewardship of the country and the 54-nation Commonwealth.

But pointedly, Downing Street has declined to disown remarks by junior foreign minister Zac Goldsmith, who accused former army captain Harry of "blowing up his family".

"What Meghan wants, Meghan gets," added the Conservative politician, who is a close ally of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Senior minister Jacob Rees-Mogg denied there were any wider ramifications for the 94-year-old queen, who has reigned over Britain and 15 Commonwealth realms including Australia and Canada since 1952.

"I think she is loved across her realms for that," Rees-Mogg said. "And I don't think interviews with chat show hosts in the United States makes a great deal of difference to that."

However, former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said the allegations should pave the way towards his country holding another referendum on abolishing the monarchy.

One of Meghan's complaints was that she had suicidal thoughts during her time in Britain, but received no support, provoking fresh debate about the royal family's ability to connect with ordinary people. A YouGov poll of 4,656 people after the interview aired in Britain indicated almost a third felt the couple was unfairly treated, the same proportion as those who thought the opposite.

Younger people and opposition Labour supporters were more favourable to Harry and Meghan. Older respondents and Conservatives took the royal family's side.