White House: Biden believes Harry and Meghan interview took ‘courage’

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that President Biden believes it took “courage” for Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, to open up about their experiences as members of the British royal family and their decision to step down from their posts. 

“For anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story, that takes courage,” Psaki was said a press briefing when asked whether Biden and first lady Jill Biden, who have a documented friendship with the prince, had any reaction to the bombshell CBS News interview Harry and Meghan had with Oprah Winfrey. 

“And that’s certainly something that the president believes, and he’s talked about the importance of investing in a lot of these areas that they’re committed to in the future as well,” Psaki continued.

She also noted that after stepping down as senior members of the royal family, the prince and duchess are now private citizens, adding that the White House wouldn’t provide further commentary on behalf of the president, given “these are private citizens sharing their own story and their own struggles.”

.@PressSec on #HarryMeghanOprah interview: “For anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story, that takes courage. That’s certainly something the president believes.”

Full video: https://t.co/q6GMyNt6Ve pic.twitter.com/Kc75jpaHEI

— CSPAN (@cspan) March 8, 2021

In the tell-all interview that aired late Sunday, Harry and Meghan discussed the struggles they faced in the palace and with British tabloids after getting married in May 2018.

Meghan also disclosed in the interview that she suffered from suicidal thoughts as she faced intense scrutiny from the press as a senior member of the royal family. After speaking to “one of the most senior people” in the family to try to receive mental health resources, she said the person told her there was “nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution.”

Meghan, whose mother is Black and father is white, also revealed that there were discussions in the royal family when she was pregnant with Archie, whom she gave birth to in 2019, about “how dark his skin might be.” 

Psaki on Monday also stressed the United States’s continued alliance with the United Kingdom.

“Let me just reiterate,” Psaki said, “we have a strong and abiding relationship with the British people and a special partnership with the government of the United Kingdom on a range of issues and that will continue.”

–Updated at 1:43 p.m.