Explained | Royal baby colour row - Why are King Charles and Kate Middleton being called racist?

A new controversy is plaguing the British royal family. It all started in 2021 when Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle sat down for an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey and spoke at length about their rift with the royal family and how they decided to move to the US after quitting their roles as senior members of the family. Both Harry and Meghan claimed that certain members of the royal family had raised concerns about their then-unborn child's skin colour. The couple, often referred to as The Sussexes, refused to name the royals who remarked on their firstborn's skin colour. Speculations started doing the rounds and the guessing game among members of the media began, while the couple remained mum and refrained from revealing the names.

Two years on, the controversy has exploded like never before, posing a threat to the reputation of the British monarchy like never before.

The royals exposed

The Dutch version of a new book appears to have named King Charles and the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton as the family members who allegedly made the remarks. The Dutch version of Endgame by author Omid Scobie published last week, appears to name not one but two senior royals to have allegedly made the remarks. Charles and Catherine are both alleged to have had conversations about Archie’s skin colour before he was born. The author, Omid Scobie is known to be close to Harry and Meghan. The book excerpts, mentioning the names of the royal family, were first reported by the Dutch journalist Rick Evers, who posted photographs of the book on social media.

The names, however, do not appear in the English version. Scobie does write in the English version that Meghan mentioned the person alleged to have made the remarks in a letter she sent to Charles after he wrote to her expressing his sorrow at the split in the family. But, Scobie writes, laws prevent him from revealing more.

Last week, British broadcaster Piers Morgan made the names public which was then subsequently published by most media outlets across the world.

What did The Sussexes tell Oprah Winfrey in the 2021 interview?

Meghan claimed in the interview with the US chat show host that while she was pregnant with Archie, a member of the royal family raised with Harry“concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born”.

Without naming the person, Meghan said: “I think it would be very damaging to them.” Harry then told Winfrey: “That conversation, I’m never going to share, but at the time it was awkward. I was a bit shocked.”

Without being specific, Meghan also suggested the fact that since Archie was mixed race, he was initially denied the title of prince and the security protection that went with the title. Winfrey later said Harry had told her privately that the individual was neither Queen Elizabeth nor the Duke of Edinburgh.

Archie and his sister, Lilibet, were officially styled prince and princess after their great-grandmother, the queen, died and their grandfather Charles became king, in line with protocol.

How did the royal family react?

The day after the explosive interview was aired, Prince William, at a public event, was asked by a reporter: “Is the royal family a racist family, sir?” William stated, “We are very much not a racist family.”

After two days of crisis talks, Buckingham Palace decided to respond to the speculations. The queen released a statement saying, “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.”

Have Harry and Meghan repeated this claim post the interview?

The couple accepted the Ripple of Hope award from the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Organisation for their racial justice and mental health work in New York in December 2022. Days later, their highly anticipated Netflix docuseries was released. The couple did not revisit their claims, which many had anticipated they would.

Harry made no mention of it in his bombshell memoir, Spare, either, which released in January 2023. In an ITV interview to promote the book, the interviewer Tom Bradby said: “In the Oprah interview you accused members of your family of racism.” Harry replied: “No, I didn’t,” adding, “The British press said that.” Bradby continued, saying Meghan had said there were “troubling comments about (Archie’s)skin colour”.

Harry replied, “There was – there was concern about his skin colour.” Bradby asked, “Right, wouldn’t you describe that as essentially racist?” Harry replied, “I wouldn’t, not having lived within that family.” Harry then went on to explain “the difference between racism and unconscious bias”.

Lost in translation?

When the Dutch version of the book was released and the names were pointed out, Scobie initially blamed a “translation” mistake, and the Dutch publishers, Xander Uitgevers, immediately withdrew and pulped copies, saying rectified editions would be available on December 8.

Meanwhile, the Dutch translator has insisted the names were in the manuscript she received. “As a translator, I translate what is in front of me,” Saskia Peeters told Mail Online. “The names of the royals were there in black and white. I did not add them. I just did what I was paid to do and that was translate the book from English.”

Scobie appeared on the ITV This Morning show and said that he had "never submitted a book that had their names in it", and could only talk about the English version that he wrote.

He said he had never used the word “racist”, and that his book referred to “unconscious bias”. The inclusion of the names in the Dutch version was still being investigated, he said.

When the BBC asked if the names were mentioned in the Dutch version deliberately to generate curiosity over the book, Scobie said he was 'hurt' on learning about the theories that termed the whole controversy a 'publicity stunt'.

Some media reports are also speculating that the manuscript that the Dutch publisher received was possibly an early draft of Endgame before lawyers removed the names. Of course, by mistake. Or not? That only the investigation would be able to clear.

What happens next?

So far, Buckingham Palace has made no official comment, but sources have reportedly indicated it is “exploring all options”. Other reports claim that the palace may take the legal route. The Palace, for sure, would release a statement in the coming days, considering the accusations made against the current British monarch.