LONDON — Harry and Meghan’s allegations of ill-treatment by the royal household are so serious that observers say Buckingham Palace’s silence has only added to the furor surrounding their TV interview with Oprah Winfrey.

During the interview, which aired Sunday, Meghan detailed a hostile press environment and a lack of support from the Royal Family that drove her to thoughts of suicide. She also alleged racist comments from unnamed palace members regarding the skin tone of their child.

While Harry says he still is on good terms with Queen Elizabeth, he said he went several months without speaking to his father, Prince Charles and described a rocky relationship with his brother, Prince William.

While the palace often tries to stay above controversy by riding out the storm, royal biographer Angela Levin says the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s charges are so damaging to the royal family that it will have to respond.

Levin, author of a biography on Harry, says the palace response is likely being delayed by Queen Elizabeth II’s struggle to balance her roles as monarch and grandmother.

She says there's little doubt the queen will make her decision based on what’s best for the 1,000-year-old institution she has led since 1952.