An explosive new book about the royal family has claimed that Buckingham Palace officials admitted they did not take the issue of race “seriously enough” until allegations of racism from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex emerged.
Author Tina Brown, who was formerly editor of Vanity Fair and wrote 2007 biography The Diana Chronicles, says in her tell-all book Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 forced the Palace to acknowledge the lack of diversity among its staff.
The duchess, who is biracial, alleged in the interview that there had been discussions within the royal family about “how dark” the couple’s son Archie’s skin might be before he was born.
She told Winfrey: “In those months when I was pregnant, [there were] concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born.”
The couple never divulged who made the comments. A statement released by the Palace on behalf of the Queen at the time said: “The issues raised, particular that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
Brown writes in her book The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor that before the allegations surfaced, the Palace never considered the “meagre level of diversity within its ranks” and what the impact of this might be.
She quoted a source as saying that there were barely any black people working in the royal household, let alone holding senior positions.
“We didn’t take race seriously enough… We made a mistake as a household,” the source said, according to the author.
Harry and Meghan’s interview with Winfrey, which came a year after they stepped down as senior working royals, sent shockwaves through the royal family.
The television host clarified that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were not involved in the alleged conversation around the skin tone of the Sussexes’ child following the interview.
Since then, the couple have had a second child. Their daughter, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, was born on 4 June 2021.
The Palace Papers, which comprises of more than 120 sources that Brown spoke to over a period of two years, promises to “irrevocably change how the world see the British royal family”.
The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor - The Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown is available from 26 April 2022.
