Piers Morgan says several members of the royal family contacted him after he criticized Meghan Markle's Oprah interview

• Piers Morgan said he received messages on behalf of several royals after criticizing Meghan Markle.
• He did not say who contacted him but said they had "gratitude that somebody was standing up."
• Morgan made the comments during an interview with the "Extra" host Billy Bush.

Piers Morgan said the royal family contacted him after his comments about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Speaking to the "Extra" host Billy Bush on Tuesday, the former "Good Morning Britain" host said he had heard from the royal family.

"I've had some messages communicated to me on behalf of several members of the royal family," Morgan said.

When Bush asked whether he'd received support from "upper-level people," Morgan responded: "I'm not going to go into who it was. But what I would say is, gratitude that somebody was standing up."

Morgan quit his role as a "Good Morning Britain" host in March after he received criticism for saying he did not believe Markle had experienced suicidal thoughts.

When asked what he would say to Markle, Morgan said he wants to ask the couple to sit down with him for another interview that matches the duration of the "Oprah With Meghan and Harry" prime-time special so he can ask more difficult questions.

'"If you hate the royal family that much, why do you keep your royal titles? Why do you keep calling yourselves the duke and duchess of Sussex? Why would you do that if it's just not to make millions and millions of dollars? And playing the victim as you do is frankly nauseating,"' he told Bush.

He also addressed reports that Markle wrote to ITV executives to lodge a complaint about his criticism of her and the message it could send to those suffering from mental-health issues.

"Well I didn't even know that Meghan Markle contacted my bosses at ITV. I didn't find that out until I left," he said. "It was certainly a very interesting revelation from where I sit because, clearly, she was trying to put huge pressure on my bosses to take action against me."

Morgan's bosses reportedly asked him to apologize for his comments on air, but he refused and resigned.

Speaking to Bush, Morgan said his commentary was not racially motivated.

"It's not racist to disbelieve Meghan Markle. I don't give a damn about her skin color," he said. "I do care about the veracity of what she was saying."

Speaking to Fox Nation's Tucker Carlson on Monday, in his first TV interview since walking off the "Good Morning Britain" set, Morgan said he has "universal support" from the British public, despite Ofcom, the UK's TV regulator, receiving 57,000 complaints about his comments.

Representatives for Morgan and Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.