What it’s Really like to be a Colored British Royal
At the beginning of 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they would be stepping back from their positions as senior royals, surprising not just England, but the world. About a year later, the reasoning for the leave was finally released when the two sat down and filmed a 2-hour segment with Oprah Winfrey: Oprah with Meghan and Harry. The segment exposed the shocking things Meghan and Harry experienced while living with the royal family, which included racism and isolation.
Leading up to the Leave
Before Meghan met Harry, she was oblivious to what the life of a royal would be like. She didn’t know how isolated she would be, how much privilege she would lose, and that she would be silenced.
When she first joined the royal family, it was the last time she saw her passport, driver’s license, and keys… they were the first privileges lost. She was then forced to stay home for months at times. Meghan and everyone in her world was instructed to always respond with “no comment” when reporters asked them questions. Meghan was told that all of this was to protect her character. She didn’t realize that she was being silenced, not protected, until after her marriage.
Meghan realized she was being treated differently and that the Palace was willing to lie to protect the rest of the family, but not her, when an article was published about Meghan making Kate, her sister-in-law, cry. Despite Kate being the one who made Meghan cry, no one from the Palace corrected it, letting Meghan look like a villain.
Meghan felt welcomed into the royal family until she announced her pregnancy. That’s when her mental health took a turn for the worse. She started getting suicidal thoughts that were caused mostly by the damaging, negative British Media coverage on her and had a constant feeling that acting on her thoughts would solve everyone’s problems.
Meghan reached out to a senior member of the Institution, the “business” side of the royal family, for help but was denied because they feared it would cause the royal family’s reputation to be damaged. Desperate, Meghan reached out to the H.R. department of the Institution but was once again denied.
Because of the continuous lack of support and understanding and Harry’s fear of history repeating itself (a reference to his late mother, Princess Diana), Harry and Meghan made the ultimate decision to step back as senior royals. Contrary to popular belief, this did not mean they would be leaving the royal family.
Disastrous Plan
Their original plan was to split their time between North America and the United Kingdom. They would move to a commonwealth country but continue to support the monarchy when needed. They started their new journey in Canada.
After only a few weeks of living in Canada, Meghan and Harry received news that Harry’s security detail would return to England. For safety purposes, the family had to move to the United States, where Tyler Perry provided them security and a roof over their head.
Racism in the Royal Family?
One of the most shocking things mentioned in the interview was that while Meghan was pregnant, a member of the royal family had multiple conversations with Harry regarding the skin color of their future baby. The family member wanted to know how dark their baby’s skin might be and what that would mean.
The Duke and Duchess were also informed that their child would not receive a title or security. The claim was that since the baby would not be a Prince, there was no reason for him to require security. While the reasoning Archie doesn’t have these privileges is not clear, it doesn’t sit well with Meghan that the first colored member to be born into the royal family would not have the usual rights.
Current Family Standings
Around the time Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior royals, Harry’s father, Prince Charles, stopped taking his phone calls. It was also known that Harry and his brother, Prince William, had a damaged relationship.
Harry says that he feels let down by his father, and his brother and he are taking space and are on different paths. Fortunately, he still is in contact with his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip and they have shared numerous calls together.
Responses to the Interview
Two days after the interview came out, Buckingham Palace issued a very brief, four-sentence, statement on behalf of the Queen. It discussed how the royal family is saddened to know how challenging things were for Meghan and Harry, that the issues talked about were concerning, and that Harry, Meghan, and Archie will always be loved by the family. The statement also said that “some recollections may vary”, meaning not everyone has the same memory of the incidents discussed in the interview.
The first royal family member to directly break the silence since the interview came from Prince William. While visiting a school, he was asked if the royal family is racist. He responded with “We are very much not a racist family”. He was also asked if he’s spoken to his brother since the recent interview, and he replied with “No, I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I will do.”
Prince Charles was also asked to comment on the interview but did not respond, he only smiled. An insider tells US Weekly that Charles is upset by the interview and feels that the discussion should have happened in private, instead of “trashing” the family in public.
With the recent passing of Prince Phillip, the relationship between Harry and his family members may change. Harry is set to return to England for his grandfather’s funeral without Meghan, who was not cleared to travel by her doctor due to her being heavily pregnant with their second child – it’s a girl due in the summer!
After watching the shocking interview, numerous questions strike the viewer’s heads. Who had the discussion about Archie’s skin color? Is the royal family racist? Why was the Institution not willing to protect Meghan? Does this have to do with her skin color? Does Archie not receiving a title/security have to do with his skin color?
Overall, the points mentioned in the interview were very concerning. The most troubling thought is that the royal family could be racist. The people that represent England might be racist.
Will the facts presented in the interview ruin the royal monarchy forever? Probably not, but who knows.