Oprah Winfrey’s Mar. 7 tell-all interview with Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, revealed Britain’s royal family’s deep seated anti-blackness. While the general public believed that racial progress was being made when a biracial woman married into the royal family in 2018, Winfrey’s interview explicitly disproved that sentiment and revealed the royal family’s true destructive nature.
However, this revelation should not be of any surprise or even required an interview. A family directly descended from the creators of chattel slavery is never going to be progressive enough to ever see a black woman as equal. If a black member of a respected, royal family is not safe, where can we be safe?
Markle discussed with Winfrey the many personal attacks she had endured. Before officially entering the royal family, Markle had been continually harassed by the British media. Markle’s every action was somehow demonized and criticized. News articles ranging from holding her belly bump to having her hands in her pockets all somehow managed to be controversial. Even Markle’s consumption of an avocado became a national controversy as tabloids linked her snack to murder and drought. Conversely, Kate Middleton enjoyed avocados and was applauded for their health benefits.
British media even made blatantly racist comments towards Markle (that the royal family of course did not condemn) describing her as “gangster royalty” and “exotic.” Markle’s Los Angeles upbringing was described as “straight outta Compton” as she was depicted as a stereotypical Black girl from the hood – everyone agreed that she was undeserving of a British prince.
She silently suffered through suicidal ideation while pregnant, and was denied help from the palace. This parallels the experiences of Princess Diana (Harry’s mom) who, while four months pregnant, threw herself down the stairs in what was labeled a possible suicide attempt.
The royal family and its racist structure, left Markle unprotected and feeling helpless. Providing yet another narrative of a Black woman harassed, neglected, and not receiving the care she needed. The British tabloids’ relentless criticism and the royal family’s explicit racism against Markle led the couple to flee to Canada.
Further into the interview, Markle explained an additional contributing factor to the couple’s relocation to Canada: her son’s safety. The media compared her son Archie, to a monkey, and the royal family denied Archie a royal title and the protection along with it. Markle commented that his life would be at risk and this was due to Archie being mixed.
One of the most memorable parts of the Mar. 7 interview is when Markle tells Winfrey that there were even concerns of how dark Archie’s skin might be when born. A child that is a quarter black is nonetheless seen by the royals as a threat to the white family structure despite his royal status. This introduces a further troubling question- if a quarter black child is seen as a disgrace and threat, where does that leave the non-royal black people that the Monarch rules over?
This interview was jaw dropping to many people. The royal family is supposed to project the image of brave and just leaders, however, their racist rhetoric shows that they have clearly failed.
People were surprised as Markle recounted her experiences, people felt deceived. The family welcomed a black woman and fabricated the false belief that they were progressive, ultimately plastering on fake smiles and posing for the media to hide their true horrible nature.
However, I did not find this interview particularly revealing. This family is the direct descendants of the monarchy that created chattel slavery. The power, wealth and authority of the British empire that they now rule over was indisputably built on the backs of slaves.
Though only a quarter black, the conversation over phenotypical Black features being present in Archie is quite reminscent of the “One-drop” racial classification system present during chattel slavery which declared that any child with even a “drop” of blackness was designated to the status of a slave.
The same royal family that helped create the “One-drop” rule to preserve their slave states in the 1600s wouldn’t hesitate to deploy it again when their power in the current-day was being tainted by blackness. Mistreating Archie and Markle, being worried over skin tone, and exhibiting overall racist tendencies, speaks truly to how behind the times and unprogressive they really are.
Colorism, or the prejudice against darker-skinned individuals of a racial or ethnic group, also plays a huge role in the relationship between Markle and the royal family. If this much hate is expressed when a lightskin, mixed woman married into the family, I could not imagine the fallout if Prince Harry had fallen in love with a darker-skinned black woman. Would he have even introduced her to his family? Would he have even married her? Markle has the privilege of being white-passing, yet is still a victim of anti blackness within her own “family”.
Ultimately, the royal family is only a microcosm for Britain as a whole. Black people in Britain, like almost everywhere else, are not safe. Not safe to speak up, safe under the wing of a powerful family, safe to carry on their blackness to their children, and more.
The hate Markle received from both the family’s refusal to protect her and her son, and the media’s attacks are just a couple examples of society’s need to silence, attack and demonize Black women. Markle’s interview with Winfrey overwhelmingly confirmed what Black people were already acutely aware of – anti-blackness is so firmly fixed worldwide.