No one has promoted tolerance like the royals – which is why I can’t forgive the Sussexes for their vindictive claims of racism in the family, writes ESTHER KRAKUE
What vapid, meaningless nonsense.
The empty platitudes mouthed by Harry and Meghan as they accepted an award for ‘heroically’ standing up to alleged racism in the Royal Family counted for nothing, benefited nobody but the Sussexes, and will do nothing but damage to the causes they espouse.
After flying in from Los Angeles by private jet (such eco-warriors!) to the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award Gala in New York — an event where tickets sold for up to $1 million (£820,000) — they babbled drivel that would disgrace a GCSE student.
‘Our hope,’ they simpered, ‘is to inspire a new generation of leadership in the arts, where diverse up-and-coming talent have a platform to have their voices heard and their stories told.’
After flying in from Los Angeles by private jet (such eco-warriors!) to the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award Gala in New York, they babbled drivel that would disgrace a GCSE student
Following the trailer of the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary, in which a contributor tells us ‘it’s about hatred; it’s about race’, that the Sussexes are repeating their accusations of racism in order to burnish their own moral credentials
They went on to praise ‘courage over fear and love over hate’, and added. ‘Together we know that a ripple of hope can turn into a wave of change’.
That sentence sounds as though it was generated by a computer programmed with shallow cliches and claptrap.
I’d be perfectly happy to ignore this pampered couple and let them get on with their desperate pursuit of wealth and fame. But I cannot because they are doing such profound damage to an institution I revere — and one that does so much real good for race relations: the Royal Family.
Having spent my childhood in Ghana, where many of my family still live, I’m a proud Brit with a career in journalism and broadcasting that gives me the priceless opportunity to speak my mind.
I owe everything to these two countries, and consider both of them my home. And I think of the Royal Family — through the Commonwealth — as the great unifying factor between them.
As the head of the Commonwealth, the late Queen Elizabeth understood this better than anyone. Over the course of her reign, the Commonwealth ‘family’ grew from just seven nations to 56 members, encompassing more than 2.5 billion people.
She could not have worked harder at fostering unity among all these myriad peoples. It’s why I loved her and why she was revered around the world.
Today, King Charles has taken on his mother’s mantle. Photographs this week of him at a Sikh temple, sitting cross-legged and looking happy to be promoting religious kinship, evidence his dedication to the creed of tolerance.
Photos of King Charles at a Sikh temple offer evidence of his commitment to the creed of tolerance
Thirty years ago King Charles became the patron of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and gave a heartfelt speech on the importance of unity
What were Meghan and Harry doing that same day? Basking in an award that highlighted not just their grievances but glorified their vindictive claims that the royals are racist.
Of all the accusations one can hurl at the Royal Family (and they are by no means beyond fault) racism is surely the last.
It is not just their dedication to the Commonwealth. Some 30 years ago in 1993, Charles became patron of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, giving a heartfelt speech on the importance of unity between religions and races.
‘I believe wholeheartedly that the links between these two worlds matter more today than ever before,’ he said ‘because the degree of misunderstanding between the Islamic and Western worlds remains dangerously high, and because the need for the two to live and work together in our increasingly interdependent world has never been greater.’
Are these really the words of someone whose family is racist? And it appears to me, following the trailer of the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary, in which a contributor tells us ‘it’s about hatred; it’s about race’, that the Sussexes are repeating their accusations of racism in order to burnish their own moral credentials and, shamefully, fuel their earning potential.
Talking about ‘hatred and race’ in this way is toxic. Far from inspiring people, it stirs up resentment and threatens to incite confrontation between people whose only real difference is the colour of their skin. For me, that is truly despicable.
It seems to me that Harry and Meghan crave the global adulation that Princess Diana enjoyed, and Harry draws continual comparisons between his and Meghan’s plight and that of his late mother.
But in contrast to the Sussexes, Diana turned her anger and sorrow to good use, forcing the world to listen when she talked passionately about Aids and landmines.
Harry and Meghan appear to believe passionately in nothing but themselves. They preach about poverty and live in their Montecito mansion, with their £1,000 Hermes blankets and Meghan’s Louis Vuitton designer outfits.
It’s worse than hypocrisy. It’s a betrayal of the downtrodden they claim to represent. Britain and America are home to millions of people currently struggling to feed their families and heat their homes. Many of them come from ethnic minorities and some face real racism in their daily lives, a loathsome prospect.
That boy from a black British family who relies on free school meals and can’t afford his bus fare. That girl who came to the UK as a refugee from the Middle East, who shares a laptop with two siblings for their homework. How inspired do you suppose they will be to see Harry and Meghan tearfully claiming to be the victims of racial hatred?
The point is that the very institution they are levelling their accusations against — the Royal Family — genuinely is a force of change in the lives of many children like that.
The work of The Prince’s Trust, for example, is especially important. Founded by Charles nearly 50 years ago, it is the UK’s leading youth charity and has helped over 950,000 young people of all creeds and races.
This week the Princess of Wales wore a pair of gold hoops designed by London jeweller Lenique Louis, who launched her business in 2009 with the help of a £2,000 loan from the Trust.
‘Kate could have gone to any of the big houses,’ Lenique said proudly, ‘but she wanted to get them from an independent designer — who was helped by her father-in-law.’
That’s practical, honest support. It has real meaning. And everybody wins: from the young black Londoner whose business will surely soar, to the Princess who wears an original and enviable design.
This week the Princess of Wales wore a pair of gold hoops designed by London jeweller Lenique Louis (left)
Compare that with the diamond earrings worn by Meghan on a trip to Fiji in 2018 — a gift from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, whose regime murdered the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
And the Royal Family do not take a lead on tolerance and unity solely in their public duties. At his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire, Charles has a spectacular ‘carpet garden’ inspired by Islamic patterns. Wooden doors in the garden are painted with Arabic designs. The King’s delight in exploring all kinds of spiritual meaning is unfeigned.
What do Harry and Meghan have in their garden? According to the guided tour they gave to Oprah Winfrey and her cameras, it’s a chicken coop and a pair of trees that supposedly ‘look like them’. If they don’t see themselves reflected, I imagine, they are not interested.
It leaves me feeling insulted and frustrated. The Sussexes represent an unattractive version of society, one where allegations of racism can never be challenged, no matter how questionable they are.
The Queen’s triumphant achievement was in bridging racial divides, whether through her resolute support for Nelson Mandela or her peerless diplomacy when, in 1961, she danced with the president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah
What is worst is their willingness to launch this self-serving assault on our greatest institution just weeks after they attended the Queen’s funeral. Clearly, they have learned nothing from her life.
The Queen’s triumphant achievement was in bridging racial divides, whether through her resolute support for Nelson Mandela or her peerless diplomacy when, in 1961, she danced with the president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, and ensured that my two countries were forever joined in the Commonwealth.
She was the embodiment of duty. What a tragedy that the only duty Meghan and Harry appear to know is to themselves.
Esther Krakue is a writer and broadcaster.
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