The royal race controversy that began more than two years ago, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex disclosed to Oprah Winfrey that a member of the royal family had made a comment about Prince Archie’s skin color before he was born, has continued to simmer ever since. Now it has exploded once more as the Dutch translation of a new book claims to have named King Charles and the Princess of Wales among family members who are said to have made such statements. This has caused the situation to become exponentially more complicated.
According to Meghan, during her pregnancy with Archie, a member of the royal family had brought up “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.” Meghan made this claim in an interview with the host of a chatshow in the United States. When asked about the royal, Meghan declined to name them and stated, “I think it would very damaging to them.” After that, Harry shared with Winfrey, “That conversation, I’m never going to share, but at the time it was awkward.” “I was a little taken aback.” Meghan also said that the fact that Archie was of mixed race meant that he was first refused the title of prince as well as the security protection that came along with the title. In a later statement, Winfrey stated that Harry had confided in her in a private conversation that the person in question was neither Queen Elizabeth nor the Duke of Edinburgh. Following the passing of their great-grandmother, the queen, and the accession of their grandfather, Charles, to the throne, Archie and his sister, Lilibet, were given the titles of prince and princess, as indicated by the established convention.
When Prince William was attending an engagement at a school in east London the day after the interview, he was asked by a reporter, “Is the royal family a racist family, sir?” William’s response was succinct and to the point: “We are in no way a racist family.” Following a period of crisis discussions that lasted for two days, Buckingham Palace attempted to put an end to the dispute. The queen issued a statement in which she said, “The issues that have been brought up, particularly the one pertaining to race, are concerning.” Although there may be some differences in recollections, you can rest assured that they are taken very seriously and will be discussed in private by the family.
When the couple attended a banquet in New York, just a few days before their highly anticipated Netflix documentary series was published in December 2022, they were presented with the Ripple of Hope award, which was presented to them by Robert F. Kennedy the Human Rights organization in recognition of their efforts in the areas of racial justice and mental health. They did not return to their allegations on Netflix, despite the fact that it led to anticipation that they would do so.
The bombshell memoir that Harry wrote, Spare, which was published in January 2023, did not include any mention whatsoever. Tom Bradby, who was doing the interview for the purpose of promoting the book, said the following in an interview with ITV: “In the Oprah interview, you accused members of your family of being racist.” In response, Harry stated, “No, I did not,” and went on to say, “The British press said that.” The conversation continued with Bradby stating that Meghan had mentioned that there were “troubling comments about [Archie’s] skin color.” The response that Harry gave was, “There was – there was concern about his skin color.” The question that Bradby posed was, “Right, wouldn’t you say that has a fundamentally racist quality?” The response that Harry gave was, “I wouldn’t, because I have never lived within that family.” Following that, Harry proceeded to provide an overview of his perspectives on “the difference between racism and unconscious bias.”
An adaptation of the author Omid Scobie’s most recent work available in Dutch. It would appear that the book Endgame, which was released this week, names not just one but two senior royals who are suspected of having made the remarks. Rick Evers, a Dutch journalist who possesses a copy of the book and has uploaded images of the excerpts on social media, has reported that Charles and Catherine are both said to have discussed Archie’s skin color before to his birth. Evers has also released photographs of the excerpts on social media.
It is important to note that the names are not included in the English version. Additionally, Scobie writes in the English version that Meghan referenced the individual who is believed to have made the statements in a letter that she addressed to Charles. This letter was written after Charles had written to her expressing his sadness for the breakup of the family. But Scobie argues that restrictions bar him from disclosing any further information.
At the time that Piers Morgan broadcasted the identities on TalkTV, they were already widely disseminated over social media platforms, and they have since been published by many media sites in the United Kingdom.
Scobie first attributed the error to a “translation” error; however, the Dutch publishers, Xander Uitgevers, quickly withdrew and pulped copies, stating that corrected editions would be available on December 8th.
It has been emphasized by the Dutch translator that the names were included in the manuscript that she was given. According to Saskia Peeters, who was interviewed by Mail Online, “As a translator, I translate what is in front of me.” There was a black and white list listing the names of the royal family members. I did not include them in the list. Simply put, I translated the book from English to another language, which was the task for which I was paid.
During his appearance on the ITV This Morning show, Scobie stated that he had “never submitted a book that had their names in it,” and that he could only discuss the English version of the book that he had written.
Additionally, he stated that he had never used the term “racist” in his writing, and that his book made reference to “unconscious bias.” According to what he claimed, the fact that the names were included was still being looked into.
Scobie stated that he was “hurt” by “conspiracy theories that this is a publicity stunt” when he was asked on media whether the identities had been purposefully inserted in the Dutch version in order to stimulate interest in the book.
It has been hypothesized that the Dutch publisher might have received an early draft of Endgame by accident before the names were deleted by the attorneys. This is one of the possible explanations.
Although Buckingham Palace has not issued an official statement, there have been reports that sources have stated that the palace is “exploring all options.” There is a lack of clarity regarding whether or not this does entail the prospect of legal action, and if it does, against whom.
