The Royal Wedding Changes Nothing for Immigrants in the UK
Contrary to popular belief, the royal family has not become more progressive
Yes, a mixed-race girl is now married to the Duke of Sussex. No, the royal family has not become progressive. No, my future as a Black African living in the UK isn’t better for it.
The marriage of Prince Henry of Wales and Meghan Markle has been widely covered by almost all media outlets in the UK and abroad. Not least because it is a Royal wedding, but also because it is the first time in the History of the British Monarchy that a potential Monarch is marrying a biracial individual. While most people are in awe of how progressive the royal family has become because they accepted a biracial woman into their family, others maintain that this union only gives a false sense of hope to women of colour — and I agree with this view. After all, it changes nothing for non-British black women, marrying British citizens, who must jump quite a few immigration hoops along the way and whose stories may not have that fairy-tale ending portrayed by Harry and Meghan’s union — not least because they may be from working-class backgrounds and may decide to save up to pay the exorbitant immigration fees rather than splurge on a wedding ceremony.
Although Meghan is a black woman with a less than perfect past who comes from a dysfunctional family, the royal family is no better. One only needs to look at pictures of Harry wearing the Nazi swastika emblem while partying with a friend in Blackface to know this. In addition to this, Meghan is not your typical Black immigrant. She does not experience the same level of racism as women with traditionally African features i.e. thick nose, thick lips, ebony skin and wide hips. Neither is she struggling to make ends meet in a country that is not her own — she can probably afford to pay the same-day visa fees. To say the least, she is a rich light-skinned woman with a very successful career marrying into a family which has similar problems as hers.
The media’s narrative that this marriage proves how accepting the royal family is of immigrants, is one I disagree with. After all, the Home Office, which is part of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, will continue implementing stricter immigration rules and higher visa application fees. Although one might argue that the Queen’s powers in government are limited to advising, warning and encouraging, I have never heard her advising the Home Office to make visa application procedures simpler and cheaper. In fact, I’ve never heard her openly expressing any support for immigrants at all.
Make no mistake, I am happy for Harry and Meghan and I wish them a blissful married life. I love ‘love’ and I thoroughly enjoyed watching their wedding. But that’s all it was to me — a wedding. Although their wedding changes nothing for me as an immigrant, I hope it opens the eyes of the royal family a bit more to the plight of immigrants in the UK.
Originally published on my blog: mohmanyang.com
