Expert says 'we should know better' amid royal race row after 'nonsense' claim

09 December 2023 , 12:42

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Image: Getty Images)

It's been more than a week since King Charles and the Princess of Wales were dragged into a royal race row following the explosive release of Endgame.

They were reportedly named in 'error' in the Dutch translation of the book, authored by Omid Scobie, as the two senior royals who allegedly questioned the skin colour of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's then unborn son, Prince Archie. According to the manuscript, which has been pulled from shelves, the pair made the comments - an issue that was first raised by the couple in their bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah.

When the Sussexes made their allegations, in the interview broadcast around the world, they set in train a public debate about who in the royal family might harbour the views. In a multicultural modern Britain, such allegations against the monarchy generated debate on a matter of such public importance with Scobie's new book claiming to add to that public debate.

A copy of Omid Scobie's book "Endgame" (AFP via Getty Images)

Former head of the Equalities Commissions, Trevor Phillips, suggested the alleged remark is a 'natural enquiry' anyone would think of. The broadcaster said that it's "normal" to discuss the baby's skin colour and described the claims as "nonsense." On his Sunday Morning show on Sky News, Phillips, 69, went further to say that the reported statement would have been the same as discussing the eye colour of the baby. He said: "I think that there is no family of colour anywhere in the entire world where that conversation doesn't take place.

"I have a grandson who is absolutely gorgeous and delicious, I wish I could show you a photograph of him, and of course, we as a family talk about whether he is going to look more like his mother, who looks like me, or his father, who is of Puerto Rican heritage. In the same way that I guess your family might talk about what hair colour, what eye colour. We all have the same hair colour. The thing that is different about us is skin colour."

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Sir Trevor Phillips at this year's Wimbledon (WireImage)

But talking to the Mirror, British academic, professor and author Kehinde Andrews, disagrees with Phillips and says the alleged remark cannot be compared or generalised. "It's not the same as talking about hair colour or eye colour. It's a whole different conversation, and we should know better."

Andrews, who specialises in Black Studies and appeared in Netflix's Harry and Meghan 2022 documentary, went on to share his disappointment over Black men like Trevor expressing 'diminishing rhetoric' on such important topics as race. "Because Trevor is Black, saying this is very dangerous because it’s not okay," he added.

Responding to the allegation against Charles and Kate, Prof Andrews said: "I’m not surprised with that comment, it’s what you expect. I think a lot of people are surprised that it’s Kate because she is younger. But, this is the kind of racism we get all the time."

While Prof Andrews, 40, is firm in stating that there is a big difference when discussing the colour of someone's skin compared to their features and that it is not to be confused with, he can agree that it is a small issue compared to the number of instances of racism.

Professor Kehinde Andrews

He also believes that the two royals being named are distracting from the bigger picture of the country's colonial past. "Racism is a major issue in the royal family and the real problem is that the royal family still exists, that is what we should be talking about," he claims. "The fact that the King is still the head of state of Jamaica, and the Commonwealth is the real problem. The worst way to think about racism is that it is about bad individuals who do bad things, we can’t look at it like that. It does distract us."

Prof Andrews doesn't believe the new allegations will influence opinions. "I don’t think it’ll change people’s perceptions of them," he added. "But I think it is a reminder that it still exists. Last year they had issues with the whole Caribbean tour, so it's not an age thing it's just this is who the royal family are."

According to aides for the royals, it will be “business as usual” – as they continued with their glittering ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday and a charity carol concert at Westminster Abbey on Friday evening.

Sources say the events will show the royals at their very best, “rising above” the tumultuous events of the past week. Meanwhile, mystery has deepened over how exactly the two royals ended up in the Dutch version of the book. Author Mr Scobie insists he never included any names in the original text.

However, one source speaking to The Times said United Talent Agency, Scobie's agent, had sent a draft version of the 400-page book to Dutch publisher Xander Uitgevers which featured the names. A final proof was sent later on, but the translators had started work from the earlier draft. Saskia Peeters, one of the translators, told the MailOnline at the weekend that the "names of the royals were there in black and white" when she was sent the text, and that she had only done her job to "translate what is in front of me".

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