Opportunities to mend Britain's historic relationship with the black race have been squandered
Meghan's statements shook the confidence of black Britons in the monarchy
Harry confirmed his displeasure at his family's failure to support his wife.
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Markle clutching her son.
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TV presenter Pears Morgan kept attacking Megan mercilessly.
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Everyone expected these remarks to be harmful and destructive, but no one expected that the interview of the American journalist, Oprah Winfrey with the Duchess of Sussex, Megan Markle, and her husband Prince Harry, would be so bad and damaging.
During the two-hour interview, Megan said that while she was carrying her son, Archie, a conversation took place in the palace and concerns about how dark his skin was.
She also stated that once she and Harry abdicated their royal duties in 2019, they were informed that they would receive no security protection, even after Megan wrote a letter to the royal family asking her to protect her son and Harry.
Throughout the interview, Harry stressed his displeasure at his family's lack of support for his wife, even as she was bombarded with racism by the press.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing of all is that Megan contemplated suicide, believing that it "will solve the problem for everyone."
When she went to the human resources team at the palace, she was told, "There is nothing we can do to help you, because you are not an authorized member of the Royal Institution with funds."
This is dangerous and potentially fatal racism for Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations.
It shouldn't have turned out this way. Meghan Markle, considered by some to be Britain's first black princess, offered an opportunity to address Britain's brutal and complicated relationship with the black race.
But this opportunity faded due to the racism of the royal establishment itself.
For many in the black community in Britain, Meghan Markle’s marriage to Prince Harry marked the moment when there was no longer any denial of the existence of blacks in the United Kingdom, who, along with their ancestors, had endured the persecution of the British Empire for centuries.
This marriage heralded the entry of blacks into all details of British society with endless other possibilities, and for that the British monarchy was admired, loved and respected on the international stage, and across the African diaspora.
My mother, a Nigerian woman, still held a memorial plaque of Princess Diana and Prince Charles of July 29, 1981, on the wall of her home in West London, and she cleaned and polished it regularly with pride.
I happened to be in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1997 when Diana passed away, where Britain witnessed an uncharacteristic torrent of grief over her death, but more than 3,000 miles away I saw black men and women feeling grief as if someone in their family had died.
And for black women in particular, Meghan's arrival at Buckingham Palace was a moment of truly profound meaning.
Black women in my family and in my office wondered out loud: Would a helicopter land in the Beckham or Seven Sisters neighborhoods in London, so Meghan could buy hair and skin care products?
Will she be allowed to have her skin natural, or will royal protocol require that she straighten her hair?
Will she be allowed to talk about black issues?
When something happens in the community, will you be a voice for us?
Some of it was joking, but the intended meaning was clear: Is she allowed to remain the same, woman of color?
Resounding takeaway
Oprah's interview with Megan and her husband, now blew a resounding tally.
Megan and Harry's marriage should have brought the nation closer together, and British soft power would gain a huge boost for a country that was confident enough to embrace a black American woman at the center of its symbolic power of the royal family.
Instead, the opposite happened.
Instead of defending Megan against press aggression, lies, and intrusiveness, the royal establishment prevented her from defending itself from attacks, and even went on to pit the press against her, and much worse, and the division within the same establishment first led to Megan and Harry effectively fleeing the country, then finally their withdrawal. From life and royal duties completely.
When they appeared on CBS with Winfrey, the show put points on the letters, and drew a picture of a young couple who were trapped and suffocated and left without protection by an unchanging institution.
The public relations of the palace preemptively tried to extract the narration from the televised interview by revealing in the Times that Megan had been bullying two years ago, against a group of palace employees, which led to their expulsion later, and then the palace also claimed that it would launch an unprecedented investigation into the matter. .
Any black person knows this story well.
It is a common tactic for organizations that sense notoriety, or the damage that will befall their brand due to their racism, to strike a preemptive strike against the affected ethnic minority.
Megan's representatives responded to the complaints that resurfaced last week, describing it as a "calculated smear campaign based on harmful and misleading information."
The marriage of Megan and Harry was supposed to help extend the importance of the monarchy and extend the reign of the House of Windsors for a long time to come.
Harry and Meghan may not be a future king and queen, but they undoubtedly represent the future of the monarchy, and with Meghan's political thought, self-empowerment, and fiery intellect, such impressive qualities should have made Meghan a wonderful addition to the royal family rather than dismissing her as '' Planner has a master plan ».
discard
The palace investigation into Meghan ignores the more serious allegations against other members of the royal family, including grave criminal allegations about Prince Andrew's troubling relationship with the underage rapist Geoffrey Epstein.
Since Megan is the only person of color in the royal family other than her son, the actions of the palace unnecessarily called into question her credibility, but these actions also reinforced what she and Harry revealed in an interview with Winfrey.
Racism is so pervasive in British society that attempts to inform and educate people about it, or at least reduce the harm caused by racism, are often seen as an assault on British society and history itself.
As Harry Lewinfrey noted, the palace itself is afraid of the power of British tabloids. (British tabloids are generally not pure scandalous newspapers like many American newspapers are).
One of Britain's most famous journalists, Piers Morgan, the former head of the tabloid newspaper, used his daily morning show on ITV and his column on the Daily Mail to launch a constant attack on Meghan.
Today, even well-established newspapers such as the "Telegraph" continue the war of words against Megan, in an attempt to portray her as loud, complicit, and aggressive, and deny her role in perpetuating racism.
The bullying of the press and palace behavior pushed Megan and Harry into the arms of Oprah Winfrey - the rating magnet and the power of black women's empowerment - as they all met inside a home owned by Hollywood mogul, Tyler Perry (another example of black empowerment).
The entire interview was a permanent national embarrassment to the United Kingdom.
It also represented an opportunity to reveal the seriousness of the problem of racism in British society.
This should have provided an opportunity to develop for the better, heal, and reconcile, but it is unlikely.
Megan Markle, a descendant of kidnapped Africans who were shipped to America in the bottoms of slave ships and then enslaved for centuries, somehow became part of the British royal family, and her story resembles tales of black fairies (and racist horror stories).
This marriage between Megan and Harry was supposed to pose endless symbolic and diplomatic opportunities for the monarchy, for Britain, and for the Commonwealth, yet these opportunities were squandered.
This interview should have reflected the greatness of Britain, it could have been a boost to the public relations of a country burdened with concerns after leaving the European Union, still suffering from the Corona virus.
Instead, the interview revealed why the couple had to flee the untold darkness of Britain, within which they could not live.
• The bullying of the press and palace behavior pushed Megan and Harry into the arms of Oprah Winfrey - the rating magnet and the power of black women's empowerment - as they all met inside a home owned by Hollywood mogul Tyler Perry (another example of black empowerment).
The interview should have reflected the greatness of Britain.
• This could have been tantamount to strengthening public relations for a country burdened with concerns after leaving the European Union, and still suffering from the Corona virus. Instead, the interview revealed why the couple had to flee the untold darkness of Britain in which they could not live.
Nils Abbey - London-based satirical writer and media executive
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