Harry and Meghan’s U-turn after they received ‘anti-racism’ award,
Since quitting the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made a number of damaging claims about their time in The Firm – but none more than the allegation of racism levelled against a senior family member.
When the Duchess of Sussex, now 44, told Oprah Winfrey there had been concerns about ‘how dark’ her son Archie might be before his birth, a collective gasp could be heard around the world.
Though it caused profound disquiet within the halls of Buckingham Palace, even drawing a rare statement from the late Queen known ‘never to complain, never to explain’, the Sussexes’ statement catapulted them to the big leagues of advocacy.
In recognition of their fight against ‘structural racism’ within the royal family, they were honoured with Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organisation’s Ripple of Hope award in October 2022.
The late American politician’s daughter Kerry Kennedy said the couple has ‘always stood out for their willingness to speak up and change the narrative on racial justice and mental health’ in a statement.
She praised their ‘moral courage’ for speaking out about racial injustice as Kerry said the Sussexes have been ‘heroic in taking this step’.
The duo picked up their award at a lavish reception in New York City on 6 December, two days before the release of their eponymous Netflix docuseries, as they were honoured alongside Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Less than a month later, Prince Harry was accused of ‘hanging his family out to dry’ amid calls to return the award when he denied calling them ‘racist’ in an interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby.
Explaining their Ripple of Hope recognition, Ms Kennedy had said: ‘They went to the oldest institution in UK history and told them what they were doing wrong, that they couldn’t have structural racism within the institution; that they could not maintain a misunderstanding about mental health.’
They ‘knew that if they did this there would be consequences… and that people would blame them for it. They have done it anyway because they believed they couldn’t live with themselves if they didn’t question this authority.’
‘They embody the type of moral courage that my father once called the ‘one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change,’ she added in a separate press release.
Harry and Meghan are among a select group of high-profile figures who have won the Ripple of Hope award, with past recipients including former US presidents Barck Obama, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden, as well as ex-vice president Kamala Harris.
The honour is usually bestowed upon those who have shown ‘an unwavering commitment to social change and worked to protect and advance equity, justice, and human rights’.
Days before the release of their incendiary Netflix docuseries, Harry and Meghan attended the glitzy gala dinner in New York City where they vowed their war against ‘oppression’ had just begun.
The following month, Prince Harry denied ever calling the royal family racist in an astonishing U-turn that drew fierce criticism.
Harry was promoting his memoir Spare in an interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby when the broadcaster brought up the Sussexes’ interview with Oprah Winfrey.
‘You accused members of your family of racism,’ Mr Badby, a friend of Harry’s began.
But Harry snapped back: ‘No I didn’t. The British press said that. Did Meghan ever mention that they’re racist?’
The duke then insisted the comments made about his son Archie’s skin colour were ‘unconscious bias’. Mr Bradby appeared taken aback by the answer – while experts said that Harry clearly didn’t understand the term he was now using.
At the time, the BBC’s former royal correspondent Jennie Bond said it was ‘unforgivable’ that Harry ‘hung his family out to dry on an accusation of racism’ that the duke has since backtracked.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson said Harry and Meghan should ‘give the award back’ while ITV News’s royal editor Chris Ship pointed out that while the couple did not explicitly use the word ‘racist’ during their Oprah interview, neither did they ‘correct the narrative’.
Mr Shop explained: ‘Harry is right to say [they] didn’t use the word “racist” at any point… [but] Harry didn’t correct the narrative when this whole racism row then started, and not correcting the narrative is something he accused the Royal Family of not doing, when he criticised Jeremy Clarkson and other things as well.’
During the ITV interiew, which aired on January 8, 2023, Mr Bradby asked Harry whether he would describe the comments about Archie’s skin colour as ‘essentially racist’.
The duke replied: ‘I wouldn’t, not having lived within that family.’ But he added: ‘The difference between racism and unconscious bias… the two things are different.
‘But once it’s been acknowledged, or pointed out to you as an individual, or as an institution, that you have unconscious bias, you therefore have an opportunity to learn and grow from that so that you are part of the solution rather than part of the problem.’
And he accused Buckingham Palace of failing to follow up on promises it made in the wake of the Oprah controversy, including appointing a ‘diversity tsar’.
He also spoke about the royal family’s ‘unconscious bias’ during an appearance on Good Morning America.
Asked if he thinks there is a place for the British monarchy in the 21st century, he said: ‘I genuinely believe that there is. Not the way that it is now.’
Asked if they need to modernise and if so in what way, Harry said: ‘I think the same process that I went through with regarding my own unconscious bias would be hugely beneficial to them.
‘Not racism, but unconscious bias, if not confronted, if not learned and grown from, that can then move into racism.
‘But there was an enormous missed opportunity with my wife.’
