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Duchess of Sussex says she was ‘scared to go out’ during 2019 Lion King premiere in London

‘I just had Archie. It was such a cruel chapter,’ Meghan said

Inga Parkel
Monday 29 August 2022 16:47 BST
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Meghan Markle attends polo with baby Archie

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The Duchess of Sussex has recalled being “scared to go out” during the 2019 London premiere of The Lion King.

Meghan has spoken before about the alleged racism she experienced while pregnant with her and the Duke of Sussex’s son, Archie.

In a 2021 interview with Oprah, she explained that a big part of their decision to leave the UK was the tabloid racism that created a “toxic environment” of “control and fear”.

Now, in a new interview with The Cut, Meghan described the period of time just after giving birth.

“I just had Archie. It was such a cruel chapter. I was scared to go out,” she said.

Megan described a moment at the premiere when a South African cast member pulled her aside.

“He looked at me, and he’s just like light. He said, ‘I just need you to know: When you married into this family, we rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison.’”

Meghan and Harry
Meghan and Harry (AFP via Getty Images)

Eighteen months after the couple stepped down as senior members of the royal family, Meghan gave birth to her and Harry’s second child, Lilibet, in June 2021.

Since stepping down, the couple launched Archewell, a company that encompasses their post-royal pursuits.

Just last week, Meghan’s new podcast Archetypes released its first episode in which she spoke with professional tennis player Serena Williams about the double standard women face when they are labelled “ambitious”.

Elsewhere in the interview with The Cut, she defended the director of her series Pearl, after its Netflix cancellation.

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