A racist discussion about Archie's skin tone wouldn't be out of character for the British monarchy

• Megan Markle and Prince Harry revealed that royals made racist comments about Archie's skin tone.
• The comments are disappointing, but they aren't surprising given the royal family's racist past.
• From colonialism to its treatment of Markle, the royal family hasn't hidden its racist behavior.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry revealed to Oprah Winfrey that members of the royal family made racist comments about their son Archie's skin color before he was born.

The couple said unnamed members of the royal family voiced concerns to Harry about how dark Archie's skin might be when he was born during their sit-down interview with Winfrey.

Winfrey later clarified that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were not part of those discussions, and Harry went on to say that he would never feel comfortable going into detail about the conversations.

Markle and Harry's claims that members of the royal family had racist discussions about Archie's skin tone may have come as a surprise to some, but the reality is that this isn't out of character for the monarchy, which has a history of unapologetic, prejudiced behavior.

Racism plays an integral role in the royal family's history

It's impossible to separate racism from the royal family's history because so much of the monarchy as we know it today was built using colonialism.

Britain colonized dozens of nations and territories in centuries past, many of which were populated by predominantly Black and brown people, such as Nigeria and India.

Queen Elizabeth I publicly supported the slave trader Captain John Hawkins in the 1500s, as Insider's Mikhaila Friel previously reported.

Hawkins abducted over 300 African people who later became slaves in England for the trade of goods, according to the National Portrait Gallery.

When Hawkins went back to Africa for a second plunder later in the century, the royal family contributed a ship to his journey, and slaves frequently entertained the Queen at her palace.

Likewise, the royal family sent Abdul Karim, an Indian attendant of Queen Victoria, back to India following her death because of the color of his skin, according to The Guardian.

The British royals have done little to make up for their family's racist past

Prince Charles has acknowledged "the appalling atrocity of the slave trade, and the unimaginable suffering it caused," according to The Guardian, but the Queen, who is the current head of state, has not.

"It is long overdue that the Queen should apologize for the monarchy's role in the slave trade," human rights activist and journalist Peter Tatchell previously told Insider.

"The fact that she has not done so shows a lack of remorse, an unwillingness to face up to past injustices, and a lack of commitment to a multiracial Britain," he added.

Today, the royal family has stayed silent as civil unrest spread across the globe, with no senior member of the royal family speaking about the Black Lives Matter movement while others used the opportunity to advocate for oppressed communities.

Similarly, people called on the Queen to stop using a badge that is awarded to people for acts of public service in 2020 because the image on it resembles a white person stepping on a Black person's neck, mirroring how George Floyd was killed. The Queen has not stopped using the badge, nor has she made any public comments regarding it at the time of writing.

Multiple incidents suggest racism is still a prominent issue within the royal family. But perhaps the most obvious example of how little has changed is their apparent mistreatment of Meghan Markle.

The monarchy treated Meghan Markle and Archie differently

Markle has been subjected to racist treatment from the media since she and Prince Harry started dating.

For instance, British tabloids have criticized Markle repeatedly for the same things they praise Kate Middleton for, whether it be for cradling a baby bump or eating an avocado.

And in the CBS interview, Markle told Winfrey that the royal family didn't attempt to stop the press from sharing negative, untrue, or racist stories about her. But the monarchy did try to stop false and rude stories about Middleton from spreading, according to Markle, indicating a double standard.

The starkest example Markle gave of the royal family's apparent lack of protection of her was when she said Kate Middleton made Markle cry during the week of her wedding over a discussion about flower-girl dresses. Previous reports stated that Markle made Middleton cry, which Markle said the royal family knew wasn't true.

But Markle said no one from the monarchy attempted to correct the story.

The false story fed into the stereotype that Black women are angry or aggressive, and British tabloids fed on this trope to further a false narrative and make Markle a villain - but the royal family did nothing to stop it, according to Markle.

Markle told Winfrey that the misrepresentation of the story marked a turning point in her relationship with the media, saying it was "the beginning of a character assassination."

Harry said in the interview with Winfrey that it "hurt" that his family didn't advocate for Markle to the press.

In addition, this differential treatment extended to Archie, according to Markle.

When discussing members of the royal family making racist comments about Archie's skin, Markle told Winfrey that members of the family didn't want Archie to have a title and didn't want to provide security for him.

The changes broke with royal tradition surrounding lineage, according to Harry and Markle.

"In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, we have in tandem the conversation of he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born," Markle said to Winfrey.

The timing of these conversations makes it difficult not to think the concerns about Archie's skin color and the disregard of decades-old traditions were related.

Even Prince Harry has been complicit in the royal family's racist behavior

Prince Harry has defended his wife from racist remarks and behavior on multiple occasions since they became an item, but before he and Markle were involved, Harry perpetuated his family's racism both through his own actions and ignorance.

For instance, in 2005, Harry dressed up as a Nazi for Halloween. He later apologized for the outfit, saying "it was a poor choice of costume," according to The New York Times.

But a few years later in 2009, Harry used a racial slur toward a friend in a military training video, as The Guardian reported at the time. He again apologized.

In the interview with Winfrey, Harry also said that he "wasn't aware" of implicit bias until he started dating Markle.

"As sad as it is to say, it takes living in her shoes - in this instance, for a day or those first eight days - to see where it was going to go and how far they were going to take it," he said.

Unlike other members of his family, Prince Harry took responsibility for his actions and previous ignorance, using them as opportunities to become a better ally.

Recently, Harry and Markle have advocated for the Black Lives Matter movement, and Harry has also publicly said it's necessary to acknowledge the racism embedded in the monarchy's history.

"When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past," he said in a joint video call with The Queen's Commonwealth Trust in July of 2020.

Racist discussions about Archie's skin tone shouldn't come as a surprise given the royal family's history

The royal family has been showing the public who they are for decades, so it's unsurprising that they were racist, even toward a member of their own family.

Royal family members' repeated refusal to denounce the monarchy's racist history is proof they aren't invested in changing their ways, making it seem unlikely that the royals will learn from their past mistakes.

Furthermore, a sad and ironic truth of the situation is that Markle and Archie could have revived the monarchy, which some argue is a dying institution thanks to its old-fashioned ways and lack of political use.

Had the monarchy welcomed and defended a person of color who married into the royal family, it could have shifted the perception of it as a dated institution. Celebrating a mixed-race child born into the monarchy could have ushered in a new era for the royals, setting them up to thrive for generations.

Instead, the royal family has failed again to change as the times demand, leaving it more vulnerable than ever.

Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on this story.

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).