CAPE TOWN, South Africa (PA) – In countries with historical ties to Britain, Prince Harry and Meghan say an unnamed member of the royal family had “concerns” about how dark their baby’s skin might be. unborn have raised a thorny question: Do those nations really want to be so closely connected to Britain and its royal family?
The interview was expected to expose several ruptures in the royal family. Now it seems to risk divisions within the Commonwealth’s “family” – an association of 54 countries, most of them former British colonies, united by historical ties. For decades, Queen Elizabeth II has been the driving force behind the Commonwealth.
After the TV interview, presented in the USA on the eve of Commonwealth Day, the former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull invoked it as another reason for the country to break its constitutional ties with the British monarchy.
“After the end of the queen’s reign, this is the time for us to say, ‘OK, we’ve crossed that river basin,'” Turnbull told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Do we really want to have whoever happens to be the head of state, the king or queen of Great Britain, automatically the head of our state? ”
The value of the Commonwealth has been debated before, with critics questioning whether countries and people once colonized – and even oppressed – should remain in such an association with a former colonizer. Its stated aim is to improve international relations, but Britain’s relationship with its members has been marred by diplomatic mistakes and the empire’s legacy. In a speech to mark Commonwealth Day, the queen spoke of the “spirit of unity.”
Charismatic kings such as Harry and Meghan have been deployed in the past to Commonwealth-related events with young people, companies and volunteer groups.
But this week’s interview “continues to open our eyes” to the merits of the Commonwealth, wrote Nicholas Sengoba, a journalist from the former Ugandan colony.
He cited “unresolved issues” in his country regarding the abuses of colonialism and questioned whether the heads of Commonwealth countries should be “proud to eat” with members of the British royal family, given the allegations.
Meghan, who is biracial, said in the interview that an unidentified member of the royal family raised “concerns” about the color of her baby with Harry when she was pregnant with her son, Archie, and that the palace failed to help her when she had suicidal thoughts. Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday that Harry and Meghan’s accusations of racism were “worrying”. and would be addressed privately by the royal family.
Reaction to the interview it was particularly fierce in Africa. He was encapsulated by a South African Twitter user who wrote: “It is Great Britain and the royal family. What do you expect? They have oppressed us for years. ”
Meghan and Harry traveled to South Africa in 2019, where their imminent separation from the royal family became clearer and they even talked about the possibility of living in Cape Town.
Mohammed Groenewald, who showed them at a mosque in Cape Town, was still digesting the interview, which was only presented in South Africa on Monday. But he said that, more than anything, it evoked memories of “British colonial racism.”
“It’s very clear,” he said.
In Kenya, a former colony where a young Princess Elizabeth was visiting in 1952, when she learned of her father’s death and thus became queen, news of the interview began to appear in the country’s newspapers.
“We are very upset when we see our fellow African sister being harassed because she is black,” said Nairobi resident Sylvia Wangari, referring to Meghan. She added that the 1952 Kenyans did not show Elizabeth “any racism and she stayed here without us showing her any discrimination.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to comment on the interview. He said many institutions in Canada are built around colonialism and systematic racism, including in Parliament, and said the answer is to listen to Canadians who face discrimination so that institutions can be repaired.
“The answer is not to suddenly throw out all the institutions and start over,” Trudeau said.
“I wish all the members of the royal family all the best, but my focus is to get through this pandemic. If people later want to talk about constitutional change and about changing our system of government, it’s okay and I can have these conversations, but now I don’t have these conversations. ”
Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the opposition New Democratic Party, said the monarchy “is in no way beneficial to Canadians in their daily lives.”
“And with the systematic racism we’ve seen, it seems to be in that institution as well,” he said.
The interview was not broadcast on TV in India, the most populous member country of the Commonwealth, with 1.3 billion people, but it was still covered by the media and attracted negative reactions from the public towards the royals.
“Behind the whole elegant façade are thoughts that are not so elegant.” said fashion writer Meenakshi Singh.
Lawyer Sunaina Phul said that the Commonwealth “is relevant to the royal family, of course, because it shows that they have run so many places. I don’t know why we’re still a part of this. ”
Meghan and Harry’s complaints about racism show that it is time for her country to end its relationship with the royal family, said a retired professor in Kingston, Jamaica.
“What it should mean for us is that we should jump in and get rid of the queen as head of state,” said Carolyn Cooper. “It is an undisputed institution. He is responsible for enslaving the millions of people who came here to work on the plantations. It is part of the whole legacy of colonialism and we must get rid of it. “
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Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.
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