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The ‘dark skin conversation’ Prince Harry won’t have
Early into the cataclysmic interview with Oprah, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex spoke of a troubling conversation with other royals about how ‘dark’ her baby would be. Soon after this conversation, she learned her future son, Archie, would not be given the title of a Prince. No reason was given for the withdrawal of the expected title. Meghan clearly stated that she believed it was because the royal family did not want a ‘black’ prince. Disappointingly, Harry refused point blank to discuss the dark skin conversation that will follow the Royal family for the forseeable future.
It almost seems comical that this was the Royal Family’s concern because apart from anything else, Meghan’s skin is white. Like one of the twins in the bestselling novel, The Vanishing Half, who passes for white in America’s South in the 1940s, Meghan is even lighter than some white people. If she said she was Mediterranean, who could say otherwise? Other royals maybe have also been black in the past. Queen Charlotte, for example.
Sadly, this is a shocking illustration of the most depraved sort of racism. During slavery, the one-drop rule allowed the denial of one’s humanity if a person had even one drop of black blood. Thus even without the appearance, simply knowing about Meghan’s black heritage was enough to deny her son full privileges.
