The Royal Family: Are They Racist?
A harmful label, but is it TRUE? To many, this may be hard to believe…
The details still seem somewhat hazy. True or otherwise, we must continue to challenge institutional racism and strive to normalise racial equality.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few weeks, you’ll have seen on various News outlets and Social Media platforms that the Sussexes; Duke Harry and Duchess Meghan, have stepped down from the Royal Family amidst alleged racism which resulted in Meghan having “Suicidal thoughts”.
In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, which so far has been watched by over 50 million people woldwide, Meghan claimed that a royal had shown concern over “how dark” their son Archie’s skin would be, with hints at the implications that this might have for his princeship.
This poignant revelation has shocked our nation and triggered widespread debate. Most of us by now will have seen the particularly explosive debate on Good Morning Britain (GMB), where host Piers Morgan’s acrimonious comments towards Meghan Markle and his refusal to “…believe a word she was saying” saw him clash with presenter Alex Beresford and ultimately be forced to quit his job at Good Morning Britain (GMB) following 41,000 complaints being made to Ofcom against him.
If you haven’t yet watched it, here it is:
During the debate, Piers is quick to exonerate the Royal Family and seems to be indifferent to the possibility that racism, overt or subconscious, COULD be an actuality within the monarchy. At this point, it is not clear who made the comment or whether the comment made had derogatory racist undertones, but we cannot dismiss the idea. According to Piers, Harry was the one who had heard and reported the comment to Meghan, and he mentioned no indication that the comment was phrased in a way wherein worry was the key word: whether they were worried about what the baby’s skin colour would be. However, Meghan has claimed that the comment was made in this manner.
Unfortunately, without context; without being able to hear, on-record, the tone that was used and the way in which the comment was phrased, we cannot judge the intentions of the speaker. As of yet, we cannot say, with resolute certainty, whether it was a harmless inquiry about what shade the parents think their baby’s skin would be, or a comment fuelled by a racist perception. Considering how ‘in the dark’ we are in this situation, then, is it OK to be attributing such a damaging label to the whole Royal Family? A label which is notoriously hard to shake off? Prince William has publicly defended the Royal Family, stating that they are “very much not racist”. The Palace have acknowledged that the claim was “concerning”, but that “recollections vary”.
The comment has propagated outrage and unrest within the UK’s black community. For Meghan and husband Harry, the impact of the comment was such that they have become estranged from the Royal Family and decided to leave the country. A large part of their decision to leave the UK also has to do with the influence of supposedly racist British tabloid newspapers such as The Sun, which Harry has slammed for being “bigoted”. Naturally, editors have been quick to refute this accusation; maintaing that racism is never present in their coverage. Either way, it is quite clear that the pair, but Meghan in particular, have been subject to persistent attack which the Royal Family failed to defend them from:
Curious to find an example of flagrant racism in the media, I did a little digging. And I was horrified by what I found:
This was the front cover of infamously sardonic French magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’, which mocks George Floyd’s death in May last year and Meghan Markle’s racism concerns. The caption reads ‘ Why Meghan left Buckingham palace’ , with a speech bubble coming from Meghan which says ‘Because I couldn’t breathe’, as the Queen is compared to Officer Derek Chauvin whom killed George Floyd’s by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes. This is NOT OK. It’s that simple.
On top of this , many have been quick to deny the biracial actor’s experiences of racism. Following the Oprah Winfrey interview one commentator, Candace Owens, suggested that Meghan is “lying about her experiences because she’s not black enough to be a victim…” We must remember that repudiating ones experiences with racism is, itself, a form of racism too.
- “You would not be able to discern just by looking at Meghan Markle that she’s Black.”
And comments like these are just as troubling…questioning the blackness of another; stripping them of their identity.
