Meghan Markle 'Destructive And Divisive,' Not First Biracial British Royal, Author Says

Lady Colin Campbell, royal author and longtime critic of Meghan Markle, has once again targeted the Duchess of Sussex following her and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey, describing her as "destructive and divisive."

Last week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex opened up about what led them to break away from the royal family in 2020, including the lack of protection against inaccurate press coverage and alleged racism within the institution. Weighing in on their explosive tell-all, Campbell, who has written several books on the British royal family including "Meghan and Harry: The Real Story," described it as "the cynical ploy on behalf of a greedy woman."

"I think Meghan Markle is … a very destructive and divisive operator who is reckless about the damage she does as long as she achieves her objectives, which are fame and fortune," Campbell was quoted by Page Six as saying.

The Jamaica-born socialite also said that Markle is not the first biracial member of the British royal family. In fact, there was "constant intermarriage" among British and European royals who have "proportionally a large percentage of African blood."

According to historian Mario de Valdes y Cocom, England's first biracial queen may have been Queen Charlotte, who became queen when she married King George III, who reigned from 1760 to 1820, the Washington Post reported in 2017. Fans of Netflix's "Bridgerton" may recognize her name from the hit show.

Born Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, she was a direct descendant of Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a Portuguese noblewoman who traced her family line to Madragana Ben Aloandro, the North African mistress of Portugal’s King Afonso III in the 13th century. Valdes, who researched her roots for a PBS "Frontline" documentary, said Queen Charlotte's African features are visible in royal paintings.

Aside from Queen Charlotte, Philippa of Hainault, the wife and adviser to King Edward III, was of North African Moorish ancestry.

"When you take this history into consideration, accusing the royal family of racism is preposterous," Campbell said, referring to Markle and Prince Harry's claims.

During their sit-down with Winfrey, Markle said some members of The Firm raised "concerns" and had "conversations" regarding how dark their first son's skin would be when he was born, something that her husband also confirmed.

Both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William have since responded to the allegations. The monarch used the phrase "recollections vary" in the statement released by Buckingham Palace, which according to royal experts was telling. It was "an exquisite phrase to accuse the Sussex's of Disney style fantasy," Tom Bower said.

The Duke of Cambridge directly denied the racism claims, telling reporters during an engagement, "We are very much not a racist family."

Royal expert Katie Nicholl noted that the Duke of Cambridge publicly responding to this matter and revealing that he hasn't spoken to Prince Harry were "very unusual" as he does not usually address reports about him or the royal family in this manner.

"It was very unusual for Prince William to answer. I mean, Prince Charles was on an engagement earlier this week, and a member of the press called out ...[and] Prince Charles didn't comment -- [but] William did," Nicholl explained. "He answered not once, but twice. I think that's very telling of his mood at the moment."