Prince William denies UK royal family is racist

Prince William has defended the UK royal family against accusations of racism made by his brother Prince Harry and sister-in-law Meghan.

The royals are "very much not a racist family" William said on Thursday, during a visit to an east London school with his wife Kate.

William is the first royal to directly address the explosive interview his brother and Meghan gave to Oprah Winfrey, that aired on Sunday.

Meghan told Winfrey that Harry had been asked by an unnamed family member "how dark" their son's skin might be.

Buckingham Palace sought to respond to the allegations in a 61-word statement Tuesday, but it has failed to quell the controversy.

William and Harry's relationship

William said he had not talked to Harry since the interview but he said planned on doing so.

During the interview, Harry said there was "space" in his relationship with William.

"I love William to bits, he's my brother, we've been through hell together and we have a shared experience," he said. "But we're on different paths."

William and Kate toured School21 in Stratford, east London as children returned to classes, following lifting of some coronavirus restrictions.

The visit was also meant to mark the rollout to secondary schools of a mental health project Kate launched in primary schools in 2018.

kmm/rt (Reuters, AFP)