Meghan Markle's Friend Reveals Disturbing New Details About A Senior Member Of The Royal Family
Meghan Markle doesn't appear to be the only person to have been a victim of prejudice within the palace. Not only did the Duchess of Sussex receive quite a bit of negative press once her relationship with Prince Harry went public, but it only seemed to increase once the two were married. Meghan also felt a disconnect within the royal family and detailed some of her experiences living under the monarchy's rule during her interview with Oprah Winfrey.
One of the claims that she and Harry brought up that seemed to get the most attention was one in which the couple accused an unnamed member of The Firm of raising questions about Harry and Meghan's then-unborn son's skin tone. "[There were] concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born," Meghan told Oprah, according to CNN. "That was relayed to me from Harry. Those were conversations that family had with him," she added, telling Oprah that she wouldn't reveal the name of the person who was behind the question.
It seems as though Meghan's longtime friend, journalist Omid Scobie, personally noticed something similar during an interaction he had with the royal family — and he spoke out about these experiences in an interview with "Good Morning Britain," according to the Daily Mail. Read on to find out what he had to say.
Omid Scobie explained his first-hand experience with prejudice within the palace
Co-author of "Finding Freedom" Omid Scobie sat down for an interview with "This Morning" in which he was asked about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's claim that racism lives within the palace walls. "We knew they had contended with issues surrounding race within the institution," he said, according to the Daily Mail. "I myself have experienced some prejudice from one or two royal aides in the past, so you can kind of know what Meghan was entering. And so it didn't surprise me, but I think for it to mention a family member, that was kind of the moment that even myself, my jaw was on the floor – just like Oprah, it was the same reaction," he explained.
Scobie went on to explain his own experience. "I'm mixed race, there aren't many mixed race royal correspondents out there," he said (via the Daily Mail). "I would not name that person. Someone very senior within the palace who found it really peculiar that I spoke as well as I do, and that was pretty much how they said it to me," he explained, adding that he felt the comment was "very loaded." While Scobie admits that he doesn't believe the comment came from a "nasty place," he said that it "shows perhaps a level of unawareness within certain quarters of the institution."
The palace was rocked by another racism scandal in June
In June, the royal family found themselves the subject of another more racism claims, though these stem from years past. A report published by The Guardian stated that the queen's top courtiers previously banned "[colored] immigrants or foreigners" from serving in clerical roles "although they were permitted to work as domestic servants" in the royal household. According to the report, the papers that highlighted this law were discovered by the outlet at the National Archives. It wasn't until the 1960s that "government ministers sought to introduce laws that would make it illegal to refuse to employ an individual on the grounds of their race or ethnicity."
The royal family has been rocked by racism claims that date back decades, but, as Insider points out, the majority of these issues have not been acknowledged by the palace. In fact, royal expert Kristen Meinzer told the outlet that "[the monarchy] was instrumental in supporting the slave trade," but that the queen has never issued an apology on the matter. "The Church of England, which the Queen is the head of, actively perpetrated slavery and profited from it. It's not enough for the son of the monarch to apologize. The monarch should," Meinzer said.
The royal family is notorious for keeping things private
Despite what has transpired over the past several months, the palace has remained fairly tight-lipped when it comes to the claims of racism and prejudice brought against the royal family. Queen Elizabeth did release a statement following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's racism claims made during their interview with Oprah Winfrey, however, and promised that these issues would be handled in private. "The whole 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 that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately," the statement read, according to Today.
In addition, reporters caught up with Prince William just days after the interview aired, and asked him about the claims made by Harry and Meghan. When a reporter asked William if the royal family was a "racist family," William responded, "we're very much not a racist family," according to BBC News. No other family member has spoken out about any of the other claims, including the ones made by Omid Scobie.