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* Johnson declines to comment on accusations
* Praises queen for her unifying role
* Meghan made accusation in 2-hour interview
(Adds background, UK poll)
By Kate Holton and Alistair Smout
LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson
avoided wading into the clash of British royals on Monday,
praising the queen but sidestepping questions about racism and
insensitivity at the palace after an interview by Prince Harry
and his wife Meghan.
The former Hollywood actress, whose mother is Black and
father is white, accused the royal family of pushing her to the
brink of suicide. In a tell-all television interview, she said
someone in the royal household had raised questions about the
colour of her son's skin.
Prime ministers rarely comment on royal matters. But
journalists repeatedly asked Johnson about it on Monday.
"I've always had the highest admiration for the queen and
the unifying role that she plays in our country and across the
Commonwealth," he said.
"As for the rest, all other matters to do with the royal
family: I've spent a long time now not commenting on royal
family matters and I don't intend to depart from that today."
Harry and Meghan left Britain last year and have given up
their royal duties to forge a new life in Los Angeles, earning
media production deals. The interview with Oprah Winfrey was
aired late on Sunday in the United States and was to be
broadcast on Monday evening in Britain.
Meghan, 39, said her son Archie, now aged one, had been
denied the title of prince because there were concerns within
the royal family "about how dark his skin might be when he's
born". She and Harry both declined to say who had raised the
subject. Winfrey later told CBS that Harry had said it was not
Queen Elizabeth or her husband Philip.
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment.
The two-hour broadcast was the most anticipated royal
interview since Harry's late mother Princess Diana shared
intimate details of her failed marriage to Prince Charles in
1995, denting the reputation of the heir.
On Monday a YouGov poll, based on snippets of the interview
and the media coverage, said 47% of people in Britain thought it
was inappropriate that the couple had given the interview. A
third had sympathy for them, but a third had none.
Harry also used the interview to attack the press, parts of
which he has despised since his mother was killed in a 1997
crash as her car sped away from chasing photographers. Britain's
Society of Editors said it was not bigoted and would continue to
hold the "rich and powerful" to account.
(Additional reporting by Paul Sandle
Writing by Elizabeth Piper and Kate Holton
Editing by Peter Graff)
