United Kingdom: the royal family "concerned" by the accusations of racism of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
In an interview broadcast on Sunday, Prince Harry and his wife claimed members of the British royal family were concerned about the skin color of their son, Archie, before he was born.
Queen Elizabeth II assured Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, of her affection on Tuesday, March 9, and promised to deal "in private" with the accusations of racism launched by the couple, ensuring to take them "very seriously".
The princely couple's explosive confessions to Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in the United States on Sunday March 7, plunged the British monarchy into a new crisis, reminiscent of the time of Lady Di, Harry's mother, in the 1990s, who had revealed in public his marital troubles.
Under pressure to come out of its silence, Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of the Queen. A rare fact, commensurate with the earthquake shaking the royal family, accused of having been insensitive to the suicidal thoughts of Meghan Markle and, through an unnamed member, of having wondered about the skin color of her future child.
"The whole family is saddened to learn how difficult the past few years have been for Harry and Meghan," the very short text reports, stressing that the couple and their son, Archie, "will always be much loved family members. ".
"Concerns" about Archie's skin color
Installed for a year in California, the ex-Métis American actress Meghan Markle, 39, and Prince Harry, 36 and sixth in the order of succession to the British throne, have questioned untenable media pressure, racism British media and the royal family's misunderstanding of their situation to explain their withdrawal from the monarchy.
They painted a grim picture of the "firm" which, according to Meghan Markle, at times moved to tears in the interview, refused the help she asked for when she was plagued with suicidal thoughts. Above all, causing much ink to flow in the UK, they reported on conversations within the royal family about what skin color their 22-month-old son Archie would have before he was born.
On the identity of the person who asked this question, the couple made it clear that it was neither Queen Elizabeth II, 94, nor her husband, Prince Philip, 99, currently hospitalized. .
Some, within the government, fear that these accusations will have a lasting impact on the aura of the monarchy, in a country recently brought to question its colonial past in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, and do not call into question in the stride of the organization of the Commonwealth, dear to the Queen.
The British Divided
The British are divided over the couple, which sections of the press criticize for weakening the monarchy out of self-interest. The same proportion (32%) found they were treated fairly or unfairly by the royal family, according to a YouGov Institute survey. But 61% of 18-24 year olds feel they have not been treated fairly.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to be drawn into the debate, merely expressing his "greatest admiration" for Elizabeth II. Considered close to Mr Johnson, Secretary of State for the Pacific Zac Goldsmith tweeted that "Harry is blasting his family."
The interview continues to spark heated discussion. Piers Morgan, famous host and fierce Meghan critic, questioned the Duchess’s words on a show on Monday and slammed the door of his own studio during another heated debate on the subject on Tuesday. Finally, he will quit his show "Good Morning Britain", announced his employer, the ITV channel on Tuesday.
Seen by 17 million Americans then by 11 million viewers in the United Kingdom, the couple's interview echoes that granted by Princess Diana in 1995, where she had stunned by lifting the veil on her life within the monarchy. "The fallout [of the interview] will be felt through the generations, like Diana's," Lady Di's biographer Andrew Morton told ITV.
