The prince, who publishes an explosive book this week, told British channel ITV that he did not accuse the royal family of racism in 2021
Prince Harry denied on Sunday that he and his mixed-race wife Meghan Markle accused the royal family of racism in 2021 during an interview on US television. The Duke of Sussex was speaking in an interview with Britain’s ITV channel on Sunday to promote his sensational memoir.
Asked that the couple accused a senior royal of racism who questioned the color of their unborn son’s skin, Harry replied ‘no, I didn’t’. adding “the British press said that”.
A year after their big departure for the United States in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave an interview on American television in which they claimed that a member of the royal family (but not the Queen or the prince Philip) had wondered about the skin color that their son Archie would have.
“There is a difference between racism and unconscious bias”
This interview had revived a heated debate in the United Kingdom on racism in the country, by questioning the attitude of the tabloids towards Meghan, pushing Buckingham Palace to react on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.
“Even if the memories may vary, they are taken very seriously,” said the sovereign at the time, adding her intention to treat them “in private”.
“There have been concerns about (his) skin colour,” Harry added on ITV on Sunday. But asked if he considered it racism, he replied “no, not for having lived in this family”. “There is a difference between racism and unconscious bias,” he insisted.
He also evokes a recent episode which caused controversy when a black feminist and anti-racist activist, Ngozi Fulani, was questioned insistently about her origins by a close friend of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
“What happened to Ngozi Fulani is a good example of the environment within the institution,” he adds.
