Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview exposed “serious fault lines” in race relations across British society, according to a leading diversity expert.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey that a member of the royal family asked Prince Harry "how dark" his unborn son Archie's skin tone would be.
Meghan, who is of mixed race, said media coverage with racial undertones and social media abuse contributed to her depression during her time as a royal in the UK.
Marcus Ryder, a visiting professor of media diversity at Birmingham City University, told The National that her allegations should be taken seriously because they revealed problems in a central British institution.
“Sometimes you can get into the gossip of it, almost like the Real Housewives of Windsor, or the Kardashians, but what we're really talking about, and the reason why it is so important, is because [the monarchy] is one of the pillars of the British State,” he said.
“If any black person had trouble entering the Bank of England, or trouble entering a government ministry and working there, and had allegations of racist treatment, that would be really important. That's how we need to look at this story ... a black woman alleging racism in one of the most important institutions.”
Buckingham Palace broke its silence on Tuesday afternoon, saying the allegations would be addressed privately.
The palace said the race allegations were particularly concerning, but that “some recollections may vary”.
Prof Ryder, who co-wrote Access All Areas: The Diversity Manifesto for TV and Beyond, said the public's reaction to the interview demonstrated that Britain was uncomfortable with talking about race.
“The reaction to it has exposed serious fault lines and serious factions in society when it comes to how we think about race, how we think about diversity and how we discuss racism,” he said.
“And so I hope that one of the consequences of the last few days is that we have a more intelligent and more informed analysis. That isn’t happening yet – there seems to be a lot more smoke and a lot less light, a lot more noise and not enough signal.”
He said it was unhelpful to compare the UK’s experience with race with other major countries such as the US, where the Black Lives Matter movement was born.
“The specifics are that Britain needs to do better – this isn't just to do with Meghan Markle and the royal family,” he said.
Halima Begum, the chief executive of equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, said many would be thankful for the duke and duchess speaking about their struggles.
“If as anti-racists we want to make progress, we are going to have to deal with uncomfortable conversations,” she said.
Others were expecting a “more forceful” response from the palace addressing the racism allegations.
Opposition Labour Party MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy – who co-signed a cross-party letter from 72 MPs in support of the duchess in 2019 – rejected the monarchy's decision to discuss the matter privately.
“They are a public institution and as such they should condemn racism and they should tell the public what we should be expecting of them,” she told the BBC.
Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said the palace did the “bare minimum” by issuing a short statement nearly a day and a half after the interview was broadcast.
Royal historian Hugo Vickers, however, said the royal family’s response was aimed at building bridges with the duke and duchess.
“The message was very sensible, calm, generous under the circumstances and in the spirit of conciliation,” he said.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the allegations around racism and mental health needed to be taken “very seriously”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson acted with caution and said he “had the highest admiration for the Queen and the unifying role that she plays in our country and across the Commonwealth”.
“As for the rest, all other matters to do with the royal family, I’ve spent a long time now not commenting on royal family matters, and I don’t intend to depart from that today,” he said.
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience
by David Gilmour
Allen Lane
Januzaj's club record
Manchester United 50 appearances, 5 goals
Borussia Dortmund (loan) 6 appearances, 0 goals
Sunderland (loan) 25 appearances, 0 goals
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Bernardo Silva 16', Sterling 57', Gundogan 79'
Bournemouth 1
Wilson 44'
Man of the match: Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
WHY%20AAYAN%20IS%20'PERFECT%20EXAMPLE'
%3Cp%3EDavid%20White%20might%20be%20new%20to%20the%20country%2C%20but%20he%20has%20clearly%20already%20built%20up%20an%20affinity%20with%20the%20place.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAfter%20the%20UAE%20shocked%20Pakistan%20in%20the%20semi-final%20of%20the%20Under%2019%20Asia%20Cup%20last%20month%2C%20White%20was%20hugged%20on%20the%20field%20by%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20the%20team%E2%80%99s%20captain.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EWhite%20suggests%20that%20was%20more%20a%20sign%20of%20Aayan%E2%80%99s%20amiability%20than%20anything%20else.%20But%20he%20believes%20the%20young%20all-rounder%2C%20who%20was%20part%20of%20the%20winning%20Gulf%20Giants%20team%20last%20year%2C%20is%20just%20the%20sort%20of%20player%20the%20country%20should%20be%20seeking%20to%20produce%20via%20the%20ILT20.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20is%20a%20delightful%20young%20man%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20said.%20%E2%80%9CHe%20played%20in%20the%20competition%20last%20year%20at%2017%2C%20and%20look%20at%20his%20development%20from%20there%20till%20now%2C%20and%20where%20he%20is%20representing%20the%20UAE.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20was%20influential%20in%20the%20U19%20team%20which%20beat%20Pakistan.%20He%20is%20the%20perfect%20example%20of%20what%20we%20are%20all%20trying%20to%20achieve%20here.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20about%20the%20development%20of%20players%20who%20are%20going%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE%20and%20go%20on%20to%20help%20make%20UAE%20a%20force%20in%20world%20cricket.%E2%80%9D%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
