Prince Charles, the 72-year-old crown prince of Britain, is under assault on social media after featuring in a photo op on Monday surrounded by people of colour. “Subtle,” sniggered the Internet.
On Sunday, Charles’ younger son Harry and his wife Meghan Markle told the world on the Oprah Winfrey show that a member of the royal family had expressed concern over “how dark” their then-unborn child Archie would be. Meghan is of mixed race and the revelation sparked intense speculation on who the racist royal is.
Also read: As racist royal allegations swirl, implications for Charles and Britain’s monarchy
Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, made it clear during the interview that it was a close family member. Harry swore he would never reveal who; Meghan said it would be “very damaging.” But Oprah Winfrey shared later that Harry wanted her to make it known that neither of his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth or her husband Prince Philip, had made the racist remarks.
Allison Langdon, who hosts the popular Today show on Network Nine caused a sensation when she said it was obvious which royal Harry was referring to. ‘Without saying any names, if you read between the lines a little bit yesterday, I think most people are leaning towards a certain royal,” she said, refusing to name anyone while adding, “Well, it’s incredibly defamatory to say so.”
Also read: Timeline of rift between Meghan Markle-Prince Harry and the royal palace
Twitter users were less circumspect. For those playing guess who, the Queen and Prince Philip being ruled out left four contenders. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla and Harry’s older brother Prince William, 38, and his wife, Kate Middleton. The Internet has swifty ruled out the wives and is voting “Prince Charles” or “Prince William.” Both in line to be King of England.
“It was Charles, the next King of England,” said a tweet. In response, another said, “I say William. His relationship with William soured BEFORE he married Meghan. He tried to convince him to ‘slow down’. Charles walked Meghan down the aisle. It was William.” There were many more stacked on either side of the debate.
Also read: Meghan Markle poses with husband Prince Harry and son Archie in adorable family photo
Prince Charles‘ official instagram handle reported on his visit to Jesus House in London, “where a new NHS vaccine pop-up clinic has been put into action.” The post noted that the “Prince previously visited Jesus House, together with The Duchess of Cornwall, in 2007 to celebrate the community work of Black Majority Churches.” During the visit, Charles evaded a question on the bombshell interview, news agency Reuters said.
Also read: Fury and denial as Harry and Meghan prompt new race debate in UK
Anti-Charles memes have flooded the Internet. “Days after a member of the royal family is accused of racism, Prince Charles makes an appearance in one of the biggest black church in England. Of course it’s a coincidence,” said a tweet.
Harry said in the interview that his father had stopped taking his calls after Meghan and he decided to quit royal duties last year. In what has since been described as Megxit, Harry and Meghan, who are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, had announced their decision to “step back as ‘senior’ members” of the royal family and be financially independent. They said they would split their time between the UK and America.
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“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth. “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately,” it said.
