Prince Harry has candidly praised the Dutch royal family and the Norwegian royal family for their work in combating racism and addressing unconscious bias.
The Duke of Sussex applauded Willem-Alexander, the King of the Netherlands, and Harald V, the King of Norway, for “leading by example” during an ABC special “Prince Harry: In His Own Words” with Michael Strahan on Monday 9 January.
During the conversation, which aired on the eve of the release of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, the duke criticised the British press for its treatment of his wife Meghan Markle, while noting the steps the other monarchs have taken to condemn such behaviour in their respective countries.
As noted by Strahan, the King of the Netherlands has “acknowledged and apologised for the role that slavery and colonialism took in shaping the country” and has taken steps to ensure that citizens “do not feel that they are being discriminated against”.
Prince Harry also praised the King of Norway, who has spoken out in defence of his daughter Princess Märtha Louise’s relationship with self-described American shaman Durek Verrett, who is Black. In light of racist comments about the couple, Harald V has asked that the “conscious and unconscious racism” be stopped.
“I congratulate them for that, enormously. And I don’t think they’ve been given enough credit for what they’ve done,” Harry said about the respective rulers. “But it is huge. And more of that is needed.”
Harry made the comments while acknowledging the need for the British monarchy to “modernise” considering their role in the Commonwealth.
During the interview, Harry also reflected on his own country’s relationship with race and racism, with the duke alleging that “the UK is not bigoted,” but rather the “British press is bigoted”.
The royal’s claim comes after Harry denied that he or his wife ever accused the British royal family of racism during their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 while speaking to ITV’s Tom Bradby on Sunday.
“The British press said that, right? Did Meghan ever mention ‘they’re racists?’” Harry asked in response to Bradby’s comment. When the interviewer then questioned whether Harry would describe conversations he claimed to have taken place about the colour of his son’s skin as racist, he said that he would not.
Rather, Harry said that the royal family was guilty of “unconscious bias”.
“The difference between racism and unconscious bias … the two things are different,” Harry said. “Once it’s been acknowledged or pointed out to you as an individual, otherwise an institution, that you have unconscious bias, you have an opportunity to learn and grow from that … otherwise unconscious bias then moves into the category of racism.”
