According to a prominent royal representative, the Queen and the British royal family all support the Black Lives Matter movement.
Sir Ken Olisa, London’s first black Lord-Lieutenant, has been photographed with Her Majesty on numerous occasions, and he told Channel 4 that he had discussed the “issue of race” with the royal household “particularly in the last 12 months since the George Floyd incident” in the United States.
“It’s a hot topic of discussion. “They [the royals] care passionately about making this one nation bound by the same values,” he said.”
When asked if the palace supported the BLM movement, he confirmed, “The answer is easily yes.”
Sir Ken’s remarks follow Meghan Markle’s accusation that the royal household questioned how dark her son Archie’s skin was prior to his birth.
Meghan insisted it was neither the Queen nor the Duke of Edinburgh during a shocking Oprah Winfrey interview in March, but she refused to be drawn on who made the remarks.
Later, Prince Harry stated that he believed racism played a role in the decision to deny Archie, the Queen’s first mixed-race great-grandchild, security protection and the title of prince.
After the interview aired, the Queen issued a statement saying that the issues raised would be handled privately as a family, but that “some recollections may vary.”
The Duke of Cambridge, Harry’s brother, defended the monarchy, saying, “We’re not a racist family.”
Buckingham Palace also admitted that it is “not where it would like to be” in terms of diversity, after releasing figures showing that the proportion of ethnic minority employees at the palace is only 8.5 percent, with a goal of 10% by 2022.
In early 2020, the Queen’s household changed its Diversity Strategy to one that actively emphasizes the importance of inclusion, which predates the Oprah interview.
