Almost every young woman at one point or another wanted to be a princess. When Kate’s royal wedding happened I was glued to the tv basically swooning because the wedding was so romantic. However, when Meghan Markle married Prince Harry I found myself personally excited.
Although I’m not delusional enough to think that I look anything like Meghan Markle I loved what she symbolized to a girl like me. I grew up in a world where princesses were depicted to be lily-white. Seeing a mixed raced woman marry her prince was a dream come true to me. I along with other mixed-raced people know that there’s little to no representation of mixed within the media. I found that Meghan Markle’s marriage legitimized my childhood belief that anyone could be a princess. Meghan’s wedding symbolized progress to me.
I should have known that it was too good to be true.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah was a conversation heard around the world. Despite not being surprised to hear the racial allegations I was disappointed. The fantasy of a mixed-raced princess was destroyed.
Meghan admitted in the interview that the royals had, “concerns and conversations about how dark {Archie’s} skin might be when he was born.”. The royal family was and is afraid of what blackness would look like within the walls of Kensington Palace. Needless to say this heartbreaking but again not surprising.
It’s a reminder of the one-drop rule where even a little bit of black heritage is viewed as too much. The royal family is pressing a stigma that every mixed kid has to realize–a surplus of the world refuses to acknowledge your identity. Even if you identify as mixed the world will see you as black. And you will be a victim of racism because of this.
According to People Magazine, unlike his cousins, Archie doesn’t have a royal title and is instead called “Master Archie”. Markle admitted in the interview that this was not their decision and instead the couple was told that Archie would not be receiving a title or security.
It’s obvious that even royalty are not exempt from racism.
I used to be an avid fan of the royal family and would love to be up to date on news surrounding royalty. But, seeing these acts of racism took away the allure for me. The royal family is yet another systemic structure that actively works against people of color. And I refuse to support the royal family anymore.