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One topic in particular stirs strong emotions in many of Britain’s former colonies.
Everything seemed to be joy and sadness when Prince Harry and Meghan in 2018 visited Bondi Beach in Australia. But the harsh accusations they are making against the royal family have given water in the mill to those who want Australia to become a republic. Photo: Dominic Lipinski, PA / NTB
On Tuesday night, Queen Elizabeth issued a rare press release. The background is the interview that his granddaughter Harry and his wife Meghan gave to Oprah Winfrey. There is one statement in particular that has sparked reactions.
The couple came with strong criticism of the royal family. Among other things, they claimed that a member of the royal family had expressed concern about the dark skin color of Prince Harry and Meghan’s son.
Whoever said it must have said it, or how the words fell, they don’t say it.
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In 2018, Prince Harry married Meghan Markle. In the interview, the couple praises Queen Elizabeth, but comes with strong criticism of the royal family as an institution. Photo: John Stillwell, REUTERS / NTB
Arouse reactions in the Commonwealth
Buckingham Palace’s response states that the issues raised by the duke couple are disturbing. Especially the accusations of racism. He takes it seriously, he is insured.
The Buckingham Palace press release
But it is not only in the United States and the United Kingdom where this has hit many in the chest. It has also created a debate in many former British Commonwealth colonies. Accusations of racism also have a special resonance in many of the 54 Commonwealth countries where only a small minority is white.
Now the interview is also used as an argument to end the British monarch’s head of state in the former colonies, writes The Guardian.
In the interview, Meghan Markle spoke about how important it is that people can recognize themselves in those who represent them. She said that she, who has a black mother and a white father, knows how important it is to see someone similar to her in important positions.
Prince Harry said that Meghan was one of the best contributions to the Commonwealth that the royal family could wish for.
One of the most controversial statements in the interview is about the couple’s son, Archie. Before the birth, a member of the royal family expressed concern about the dark skin color she would get. Photo: Dominic Lipinski, PA / NTB
After Elizabeth
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull believes the interview is another reason the country should become a republic. Turnbull was prime minister when Meghan and Prince Harry visited him in 2018.
He believes that an Australian should be the island’s next head of state. Today, Queen Elizabeth is the Head of State of Australia. The explosive interview with the duke couple has given Turnbull water at the mill.
– After the Queen’s reign is over, it’s time for us to say: Okay, we’ve reached a tipping point, and we really want someone who is the head of state, king or queen of Great Britain to be our head of condition. ? he said Tuesday.
In 1999, there was a referendum on the issue in Australia. So Turnbull and his associates lost.
In 2019, Meghan and Harry were in South Africa as envoys of the royal family. Later they talked about settling, for example, in South Africa or Canada. But they ended up outside the Commonwealth, in the United States. Photo: Courtney Africa. African News Agency / NTB
Awaken memories
In Canada, too, the question of becoming a republic has arisen. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will not discuss these issues now. The pandemic is more important.
He says that others can participate in the debate on constitutional change. But he won’t accept it now, according to the CBA.
According to the Associated Press, reactions to the interview are particularly strong in Africa. In 2019, South African Mohammed Groenewald showed the duke couple a mosque in Cape Town. He tells the news agency that the allegations in the interview evoke memories of “British colonial racism.”
Others express disappointment. They question the fact that the countries that were previously oppressed by the British are still in the same club as the former colonial masters.
Throughout her long reign, Queen Elizabeth has been very concerned with keeping ties with the Commonwealth warm.
