Following Meghan Markle’s allegations of racism, unfair treatment and an overall lack of support from her royal in-laws in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Queen Elizabeth II is admitting Buckingham Palace could use some help — and has actually begun the search for a royal “Diversity Czar.”
Reporter Sara Dorn from PageSix writes that “In an official statement issued by the 94-year-old monarch following the interview, she said the racism accusations were ‘concerning’ and ‘will be addressed by the family privately.’”
“In addition to the [diversity czar’s] hire, the monarchy will engage in an upcoming ‘listen and learn’ exercise in which the royals will ‘seek independent views’ on how it can improve diversity efforts encompassing minorities and the LGBT community,” Dorn wrote.
“This is an issue which has been taken very seriously across the Households,” a palace official was quoted as saying. “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 underway for some time now and comes with the full support of the family.”
“The work began before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex [Prince Harry and Markle] made allegations of racism within the Royal Family,” reported Daniela Relph of the BBC.
Relph reported that the focus on diversity will now be a “major drive” for the Royal Family. It will involve “collaboration with people from minority backgrounds, disabled people and gay and transgender communities,” and is intended to show “we are listening and we want to get this right.”
Following the bombshell Oprah interview, the Royal Family received rampant blowback from around the globe, especially following revelations that there had been conversations among the Royal Family about how dark the skin of Harry and Markle’s son Archie would be. The couple ultimately confirmed that racism had played a role in their decision to flee London for California.
Related: For more recent diversity and inclusion news, click here.
