Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex hosts the Rugby League World Cup 2021; Meghan, Duchess of Sussex travels down The Mall

Prince HarrytoldAnderson Cooperhe was “probably bigoted” before he metMeghan Marklein 2016.The Duke of Sussex, 38, sat down with the CNN anchor for his first U.S. television interview to promote his memoirSpare, out Jan. 10. He spoke about how he thinks his perspective changed after dating Meghan, who is biracial, in a preview of the interview shared toTwitterThursday.“What Meghan had to go through was similar, in some part, to whatKate [Middleton]and what[Queen] Camillawent through — very different circumstances,” Prince Harry said of the scrutiny the women faced because of their respective relationships withPrince WilliamandKing Charles III. “But then you add in the race element, which was what the press, British press, jumped on straight away,” Harry said of what differentiated how Meghan, 41, was mistreated.“I went into this incredibly naïve. I had no idea the British press were so bigoted,” he continued. “Hell, I was probably bigoted, before the relationship with Meghan.“60 Minutes TwitterRepeating the statement, Cooper asked, “You think you were bigoted before the relationship with Meghan?““I don’t know,” Harry replied. “Put it this way — I didn’t see what I now see.“For more on Prince Harry’s memoir, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.Prince Harrypreviously spoke about the racism his wife faced after their relationship was revealed in the fall of 2016 in their Netflix docuseriesHarry & Meghan, released in December.Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.Karwai Tang/WireImageIn an interview,Prince Harryrecalled how after news of their relationship broke, theDaily Mailran a story with the headline “Harry’s girl is (almost) straight outta Compton.““I was like, whoa,” Harry said.Meghan was born and raised in Los Angeles, adding in her own interview, “Well, firstly, I’m not from Compton, I’ve never lived in Compton. So it’s factually incorrect. But why do you have to make a dig at Compton?““The direction from the palace was, ‘Don’t say anything.’ But what people need to understand is, as far as a lot of the family were concerned, everything that she was being put through, they had been put through as well,” Harry said.The book jacket of Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’.PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE"So it was almost like a rite of passage, and some of the members of the family were like, ‘My wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected?’ " as old footage of his motherPrincess Diana,Sarah Fergusonand Princess Kate dodging photographers rolled.“I said, ‘The difference here is the race element,’ " Harry said.

Prince HarrytoldAnderson Cooperhe was “probably bigoted” before he metMeghan Marklein 2016.

The Duke of Sussex, 38, sat down with the CNN anchor for his first U.S. television interview to promote his memoirSpare, out Jan. 10. He spoke about how he thinks his perspective changed after dating Meghan, who is biracial, in a preview of the interview shared toTwitterThursday.

“What Meghan had to go through was similar, in some part, to whatKate [Middleton]and what[Queen] Camillawent through — very different circumstances,” Prince Harry said of the scrutiny the women faced because of their respective relationships withPrince WilliamandKing Charles III. “But then you add in the race element, which was what the press, British press, jumped on straight away,” Harry said of what differentiated how Meghan, 41, was mistreated.

“I went into this incredibly naïve. I had no idea the British press were so bigoted,” he continued. “Hell, I was probably bigoted, before the relationship with Meghan.”

60 Minutes Twitter

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Repeating the statement, Cooper asked, “You think you were bigoted before the relationship with Meghan?”

“I don’t know,” Harry replied. “Put it this way — I didn’t see what I now see.”

For more on Prince Harry’s memoir, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.

Prince Harrypreviously spoke about the racism his wife faced after their relationship was revealed in the fall of 2016 in their Netflix docuseriesHarry & Meghan, released in December.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.Karwai Tang/WireImage

Harry and Meghan Invictus Games

In an interview,Prince Harryrecalled how after news of their relationship broke, theDaily Mailran a story with the headline “Harry’s girl is (almost) straight outta Compton.”

“I was like, whoa,” Harry said.

Meghan was born and raised in Los Angeles, adding in her own interview, “Well, firstly, I’m not from Compton, I’ve never lived in Compton. So it’s factually incorrect. But why do you have to make a dig at Compton?”

“The direction from the palace was, ‘Don’t say anything.’ But what people need to understand is, as far as a lot of the family were concerned, everything that she was being put through, they had been put through as well,” Harry said.

The book jacket of Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’.PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE

Prince Harry book

“So it was almost like a rite of passage, and some of the members of the family were like, ‘My wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected?’ " as old footage of his motherPrincess Diana,Sarah Fergusonand Princess Kate dodging photographers rolled.

“I said, ‘The difference here is the race element,’ " Harry said.

source: people.com