Queen Elizabeth II is reportedly considering the appointment of a “diversity chief” following claims of racism within Britain’s Royal Family from the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
The Queen is said to be looking at a range of woke proposals to increase the representation of so-called marginalised groups, such as ethnic minorities, the transgendered, and the disabled. The move would potentially empower the diversity chief to oversee operations at Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and Clarence House — the official residences of the Queen, the Duke of Cambridge (Prince William), and the Prince of Wales (Prince Charles).
The revelation comes in the wake of Meghan and Prince Harry being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, with Meghan and her husband alleging that a member of the family raised “concerns” over the potential skin colour of their then-unborn son, Archie.
A royal source told The Times: “This is an issue which has been taken very seriously across the royal households. We have the policies, the procedures and programmes in place but we haven’t seen the progress we would like and accept more needs to be done… we can always improve.
“Therefore we are not afraid to look at new ways of approaching it. The work to do this has been underway for some time now and comes with the full support of the family,” the source added.
As to the idea of appointing a diversity chief, the source said: “It is something that has to be considered but it is too early for any firm plans to be announced. We are listening and learning, to get this right.”
During her tell-all interview, Meghan also strongly suggested that her son was denied the title of prince out of prejudice. As Breitbart London reported, however, it is royal conventions laid down over a hundred years ago to stem the proliferation of minor royals which mean he is not due the title automatically — although he could be styled as Lord Archie, Earl of Dumbarton, if his parents so chose.
Several of the Queen’s other great-grandchildren and even grandchildren have titles below the rank of prince or no titles at all.
Following the widely publicised interview, Buckingham Palace made an uncharacteristic public statement on the matter, saying that while the allegations of racism were “concerning”, “some recollections may vary”.
Separately, Harry’s older brother Prince William said that “We are very much not a racist family.”
American TV personality and friend to both the Sussexes and Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, suggested last week that the woke couple are unhappy over the fact that the media coverage of the interview focussed so strongly on racism.
“I think it’s frustrating for them to see that it’s a racial conversation about the Royal family when all they wanted all along was for the royals to intervene and tell the press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant. And until you can acknowledge that, I think it’s going to be hard to move forward,” King told CBS.
“I think what is still upsetting to them, is that the Palace keeps saying they want to work it out privately, but yet, the false stories are coming out that are disparaging against Meghan still,” she added.
King also revealed that Prince Harry had “unproductive” conversations with his brother Prince William, as well as his father, Prince Charles.
She claimed that, so far, no-one within the Royal Family has spoken with Markle.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka
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