The palace has dismissed rumours that Prince Charles was the royal who speculated on the racial colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children as ‘fiction.’ During an interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this year, Prince Harry and Meghan accused a member of the Royal Family of racism. The claims now appear in a new book on the royal family in the US.
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According to Meghan, when she was pregnant with Archie, an anonymous Royal Family member expressed ‘concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born.’ However, she refused to name the family member and said:
I think that would be very damaging to them.
Dismissed as Fiction
American author Christopher Andersen claims that Prince Charles made the racist comment on Harry and Meghan’s engagement day. In his new book Brothers and Wives: Inside the Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan, Andersen makes these charges. Prince of Wales says:
I wonder what the children will look like?
Camilla replies that they would be ‘absolutely gorgeous,’ and then allegedly Prince Charles goes on to say,
I mean, what do you think their children's complexion might be?
A palace source told Sky News in response and claimed:
This is fiction and not worth further comment.
Another royal aide added:
There is more of a concern that commenting on it will simply sell more books than actually damage Charles’ reputation.
According to the New York Post's Page Six, Andersen refrained from accusing Prince Charles of racism, claiming that ‘scheming courtiers’ gave it a ‘spin.’
Innocent claims
Mr Andersen implies that Prince Charles' purported remarks on November 27, 2017, were made innocently. However, they had ‘reached toxic proportions’ by the time Harry and Meghan were notified. Mr Andersen added:
The question posed by Charles was being echoed in a less innocent way throughout the halls of Buckingham Palace.
After aides denied the conversation ever happened; reportedly, Prince Charles alerted the royal attorneys to take action if necessary. The charges in the book surfaced only hours before the BBC is set to air the second instalment of its documentary series The Princes and the Press, which is hosted by republican Amol Rajan.
