Against the backdrop of the terrible suffering of the British people during the coronavirus pandemic,complaints about being denied taxpayer-funded security,debates about whether their son Archie should be called a prince,and revelations about a tiff between Meghan and Catherine,the Duchess of Cambridge over a flower girl’s dress are at best tone-deaf and at worst insensitive.
But three key revelations blow away those more trivial moments.
The first – that asenior member of the monarchy fretted to Harry about how dark his baby’s skin would be – was a genuine bombshell and must have been sickening to hear at the time.
This direct charge of racism at the heart of the royal family will be highly damaging in multicultural Britain. About 15 million of the United Kingdom’s 66 million residents weren’t born there. And the Queen’s beloved Commonwealth has a highly diverse membership. In refusing to name the offending person,Harry and Meghan have cast a big cloud over the whole monarchy.
In refusing to name the offending person,Harry and Meghan have cast a big cloud over the whole monarchy.
Harry also took a shot at every member of his family for not defending Meghan against what he said was racially slanted press coverage. “One of the saddest parts is that over 70 female members of Parliament called out the colonial undertones of articles written about Meghan,but nobody in my family said anything over the course of three years,” he said. “That hurts.”
He theorised that the family never took a stand publicly because they were worried about upsetting the press. Harry’s message is that turning a blind eye to racism is just as bad as being a racist.