Palace under pressure to respond to Harry and Meghan racism claims

Hand grenade' Oprah interview shakes royal family to its foundations and leaves members open to suspicion

• Meghan and Harry Oprah interview live updates

Buckingham Palace was under pressure to respond to allegations of racism within the highest echelons of the royal family following an interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that threatened to have a devastating effect on the reputation of the monarchy.

In the most shocking disclosure, Harry and Meghan described how someone within the household had asked about how dark the skin tone of their baby son Archie would be - with the US chatshow host Oprah Winfrey clarifying later that neither the Queen nor the Duke of Edinburgh were behind the remark.