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The royal family is considering appointing a diversity czar under new plans to modernize the monarchy.
The move comes after Buckingham Palace conducted a review of the policies, procedures and programs currently in place and found that not enough progress had been made, and acknowledged that “more needs to be done.”
It comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed in an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey that a family member had made a racist comment about their son, Archie.
In the most shocking reveal, Harry and Meghan described how someone in the house had asked how dark their baby son’s skin tone would be, and Winfrey later clarified that neither the Queen nor the Duke of Edinburgh were behind the comment. The accusation of racism inside Buckingham Palace was one of several inflammatory claims in the revealing interview.
While the work being done around diversity precedes the couple’s interview, your comments will be taken into account as part of the process, it is understood.
As part of the campaign encompassing Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace, it is understood that attendees will engage in a ‘listen and learn’ exercise over the next several weeks, which will involve talking to a variety of companies and individuals about how the monarchy can improve representation.
The movement to improve diversity will include LGBTQ + representation and disability and is said to have the full support of the royal family. Its goal is to seek independent viewpoints to help evaluate and improve representation.
A royal source said: “This is an issue that has been taken very seriously in royal houses. We have the policies, procedures and programs in place, but we have not seen the progress that we would like and we accept that more needs to be done, we can always improve.
“Therefore, we are not afraid to look for new ways to approach it. The work to do this has been going on for some time and comes with the full support of the family. “
On the possible appointment of a diversity chief, as the Mail on Sunday first reported, the source added that it was something that needed to be considered, but that it was too early for firm plans to be announced. “We are listening and learning, to do this well,” said the source.
Buckingham Palace said in response to statements from Harry and Meghan’s interview that the issues raised, particularly race, were “worrisome.”
The statement followed two days of crisis talks between royals and palace advisers on how best to handle the public aftermath of the interview.
Buckingham Palace received no advance notice of what the couple had said prior to the broadcast on CBS, which was viewed by more than 11 million viewers in the UK, bringing their transatlantic audience to nearly 30 million.
The couple’s allegations, particularly about race and mental health issues, prompted the palace to request an investigation. The palace declaration indicates that the queen favors private engagement with the couple as the best way forward.
A short statement issued on behalf of the Queen read: “The entire family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly the racial one, are worrying. While some memories may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be dealt with in private by the family.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be very dear family members.”
