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Royal family appoints “diversity czar”
The royal family is to appoint a “diversity czar,” the Mail on Sunday reports. This Huh!-only-now-you-think-this-might-be-a-good idea? appointment is being made with a view to “modernizing the monarchy,” the Mail on Sunday said, adding that it was an acknowledgment that “more needs to be done to champion minorities’ rights.”
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Aides from Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace “will undertake a ‘listen and learn’ exercise over the coming weeks which will involve speaking to a range of businesses and individuals about how the monarchy can improve representation,” the paper reports.
Whether the move is a piece of reactive PR following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s claim that they had faced racism within the royal family itself, with a family member speculating about their then-unborn baby’s skin color—a claim that has still not been directly responded to by the royal family—may be a question in many minds. (Harry and Meghan told Oprah the person was not the queen or Prince Philip.)
Here’s one suggestion for the review or the new czar. If you have a member of the royal family who is Black or biracial, or anything other than white, could other family members not be openly, covertly, or in any other way be racist towards them. If you have staff members who are from ethnic minorities, don’t discriminate against them, and ensure their equal representation and fair treatment within the royal household. There, hope that helps.
The Palace will “seek independent views” to improve its record on diversity “including ethnic minorities, the disabled, and the gay and trans communities,” the Mail on Sunday reports.
A Royal source said: “This is an issue which has been taken very seriously across the Households. We have the policies, procedures and programs in place but we haven’t seen the progress we would like and accept more needs to be done. We can always improve. We are not afraid to look at new ways of approaching it. The work to do this has been under way for some time now and comes with the full support of the family.”
Again, fine words. But an independent review, or investigation into royal family diversity, still needs to answer Meghan and Harry’s claim that they faced racism themselves. Or it simply looks like diversionary window dressing to take attention away from what they said happened.
Quite understandably, Harry and Meghan are unhappy that the palace is moving ahead with its formal investigation into allegations of staff bullying by Meghan, while not doing the same when it comes to the allegations of racism they made in their Oprah interview.
The palace’s official response was contained in the 31-word statement issued by the queen, claiming that “recollections may vary,” mistily seeming to suggest that the palace did not accept Harry and Meghan’s claims. Prince William also told a reporter, “We are very much not a racist family,” while on an official visit to a school with wife Kate.
After Gayle King told CBS This Morning viewers earlier this week that post-Oprah talks between Harry and William had not been “productive,” the Mail on Sunday said the issue of alleged racism is at the heart of the ongoing disagreement between the brothers.
King, saying that a conversation was at least underway within the royal family, also said of Harry and Meghan: “I think what is still upsetting to them is the palace keep saying they want to work it out privately, but yet, they believe these false stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan, still. I think it’s frustrating to [Harry and Meghan] to see 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. Until you can acknowledge that, I think it’s hard to move forward. But they both want to move forward with this, and they both want healing in this family. At the end of the day, that’s Harry's family.”
Meghan also has evidence to back up her claims, King added, while questioning the bullying allegations against her—and investigation into them. “Anyone who has worked with her will tell you exactly who she is. She’s really a very sweet, caring person. And as I say, Meghan has documents to back up everything that she said on Oprah’s interview. Everything.”
William’s head “all over the place”
Prince William has been left “reeling” by Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah interview, according to the U.K. Sunday Times. His “head is all over the place,” the paper reports. A friend also denies Harry’s claim that William felt “trapped” by his royal life.
A close friend of both brothers told the Sunday Times that William “has a path set for him and he’s completely accepting of his role. He is very much his grandmother’s grandson in that respect of duty and service.”
The long, in-depth profile of William also makes clear he felt “blindsided” by Harry and Meghan outlining their “Megxit” plans before finalizing anything with the royal family over a year ago, and was “upset the most” over the launch of their website detailing their future plans.
William found it “staggering” that Harry and Meghan claimed there was no “jurisdiction” over the use of the word “royal” overseas.“That was it for William, he felt they’d blindsided the Queen in such an insulting and disrespectful way,” the source told the Sunday Times.
William was “at the heart of all discussions” about how the royal family should respond to the Oprah interview. “He was keen that the issue of race should be acknowledged in the queen’s statement as an area of particular concern that ‘will be addressed.’ A friend told the paper, “He’s a small-c conservative. He values tradition and the need to go around the country, but he realizes he can make a difference beyond traditional royal duties.”
William misses Harry, an aide told the Sunday Times. “Once he got over the anger of how things happened, he was left with the absence of his brother. They shared everything about their lives, an office, a foundation, meetings together most days and there was a lot of fun along the way. He’ll miss it for ever.” A close friend told the paper that William “definitely feels the pressure now it’s all on him—his future looks different because of his brother’s choices, it’s not easy.”
“It’s still raw,” another friend said. “He’s very upset by what’s happened, though absolutely intent that he and Harry’s relationship will heal in time.”
The long feature looks at how William has settled into a more focused, public royal role after spending a few years living in Norfolk with Kate and their kids, when he worked as an air ambulance pilot.
“The queen is not some sort of puppet”
Buckingham Palace sources have been emphasizing how in charge the queen is, after the volcanic fallout from Harry and Meghan’s interview, and the impression of a stunned palace trying to respond.
“There is a sense of order, not panic,” a source told the Mail on Sunday, adding the queen was “greatly relieved” when Prince Philip was released from hospital on March 16.
The queen responded “with a show of force” after the Oprah interview, the Mail on Sunday claimed. “She has made it as clear as possible that she, and she alone, remains in charge… Take, for example, the uncompromising way in which Harry was stripped of his honors and patronages, the couple banned from carrying out engagements on behalf of the queen, and from using their HRH titles to further their financial interests.”
The queen was spurred into action, the paper reported, after Harry and Meghan had turned their fire on the family so thoroughly. Apparently, the staff are as pissed off as the royals they are serving. “The place feels like a crumbling mansion—with no one in charge of the housekeeping,” one insider—clearly with the spirit of Dorothy Parker flowing through their veins—said.
Another said: “Her Majesty can do—and does do—what she chooses. The queen is not some sort of puppet. The queen is the monarch. The head of the monarchy. The head of the royal family. Her Majesty is the institution. It’s not run by a sinister organization, which is what the Sussexes seemed to be suggesting.”
The queen is also negotiating a new deal with the British government over how much the royal family is funded, with the likelihood this will involve a “substantial” cut in the new deal, set for 2022—especially in light of how Brits have financially suffered as a result of the pandemic.
“The last settlement was exceptional and we cannot expect that to be repeated,” a courtier told the Daily Mail. “Her Majesty is very much aware of the hardships people have been through during the pandemic and is happy to play her part in cutting costs.”
Philip wants a “no-fuss” funeral
An apparently well-placed source has told the Mail on Sunday that Prince Philip wants a “no-fuss” funeral. “Philip has told the Queen that he should just be driven off to the Chapel in Windsor in the back of a Land Rover. No fanfare. No fuss.”
The unseen bits of the Oprah interview
Your response to this may be to beg: “No more, please NO MORE.”
But yes, there could be even more material from the Harry and Meghan interview with Oprah Winfrey. The Sunday People reports that more than 90 minutes from Oprah’s explosive sit-down have not been aired—and palace aides rightly fear more damaging fallout should any of it be transmitted.
An industry source told the People: “There is a lot of interest in showing the interview in full. The original program was the biggest show of the year so far in the UK and was bought by firms around the world. Showing more of it would be a guaranteed ratings winner. Oprah’s production company know they’re sitting on a goldmine so it’s possible a deal could be done.”
This week in royal history
Happy 31st birthday to Princess Eugenie on March 23. On February 9, she gave birth to her and husband Jack Brooksbank’s first child, a son named August.
Unanswered questions
So many royal mysteries! Has the royal family identified who speculated about the skin color of Harry and Meghan’s unborn baby? How often are Harry and William talking? And will we ever know what really happened between Meghan and Kate, pre-Meghan’s wedding?
