As promised, Oprah Winfrey's tell-all interview with Meghan Markle included no shortage of
revelations about what life was like as the Duchess of Sussex. One of the most upsetting
things she shared was how the royal family handled the topic of race, specifically when
Meghan became pregnant with her and Prince Harry's first child, Archie.
Meghan said she learned through Prince Harry that members of the royal family had spoken
to him and expressed "concerns" about whether or not their unborn baby would have dark skin.
As she recounted to Oprah, there were, quote, "...concerns and conversations about how dark
his skin might be when he was born."
Meghan clarified that no one spoke directly to her about the potential skin color of her
baby-to-be; the conversations were between Harry and members of his family. Harry then
relayed the conversations to Meghan. The couple also both refused to clarify who it was exactly
that had made the comments to Harry in the first place.
Oprah became visibly upset about this horrifying bombshell and asked Meghan to name the royal
family members who had raised the issue of Archie's skin color. She declined,
"And you're not going to tell me who had the conversation with you."
"I think that would be very damaging to them."
The new book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family addresses
the role that racism played in the British media's treatment of Meghan Markle. According
to Harper's Bazaar, the palace refused to refute negative stories about Meghan the same
way they did other members of the royal family.
The outlet shared an excerpt from Finding Freedom,
"Traditionally, the palace has had no comment when it comes to rumors, but the Sussexes
felt it wasn't afraid to bend the rules if it was to correct a story about higher-ranking
family members. Case in point: A spokesman went on the record in July 2019 to deny claims
by a cosmetic clinic that Kate had had 'baby Botox'... Harry and Meghan were frustrated
by this approach."
As reported by NBC News, the treatment of Meghan sent a loud and clear message to Black
Britons. Eniola Ladapo, a student at the London School of Economics, told the outlet that
she didn't pay much attention to the royal family until Meghan became engaged to Harry.
She recalled thinking how "powerful" it would be to have a child of African descent in the
monarchy.
She told NBC News,
"This has been a very rude awakening. It reminded us that we shouldn't get too comfortable,
and no matter how much we think we are accepted into society, we really aren't."
There were those who felt as Oprah did and were shocked by the racist comments made by
the Royal Family, but it appears there were more than a few members of the Twitterati
who might have seen this one coming. One user wrote,
"The people in that house are OLD as [Hell], dating back all the way when slavery was still
around. I absolutely positively believe that there were conversations about that baby's
skin color."
Another person pointed out that the idea that the royal family of Great Britain might have
some racial biases is hardly a new one. They wrote:
"Everyone acting surprised that the royal family is racist as if their entire existence
isn't based in colonial exploitation and imperialist expansion."
A third said,
"For anyone who dares to say the royal family isn't racist, Princess Michael of Kent showed
up to a dinner where she was going to meet Meghan, a mixed woman, wearing a black brooch
and with a smirk on her face"
However, not everyone in the Twitterverse came out in support of Harry and Meghan. One
user wrote,
"Anyone who has had a biracial baby has had the question asked. That is not surprising
at all. Racism is alive and well among us."
Another said:
"I sympathise with her, but she did marry into one of the oldest most famous, talked
about institutions in the world, there are rules! It's complicated, but I will say, that
if the Royal Family were racist they would never have been allowed to marry."
Regardless of how fans and royal watchers may have felt about the bombshell interview,
it's certainly gotten people talking.
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