Prince Harry apologises for ‘endemic institutional racism’
Speaking on what would have been his mother Princess Diana’s 59th birthday, Prince Harry commits to being ‘part of solution’ against racism.
Prince Harry has apologised for institutional racism, claiming it was “still endemic” and insisting he and wife Meghan Markle “are committed to being part of the solution”.
In a video message to recipients of the Diana Awards on what would have been the 59th birthday of his mother, Princess Diana, Harry said: “My wife said recently that our generation and the ones before us haven’t done enough to wipe the wrongs of the past. I too am sorry.
“Sorry that we haven’t got the world to the place where you deserve it to be. Institutional racism has no place in our societies, yet it is still endemic.
“Unconscious bias must be acknowledged without blame to create a better world for all of you. I want you to know that we are committed to being part of the solution and to being part of the change that you are all leading. Now is the time and we know that you can do it.”
Harry’s words came several weeks after supporting the Rugby Football Union’s review to ban the crowd favourite song Swing Low, Sweet Chariot because of its association with slavery.
Last month, shortly after the death of George Floyd, Meghan told students at her alma mater in Los Angeles: “The first thing I want to say to you is that I’m sorry. I am so sorry that you have to grow up in a world where this is still present.”
The high profile English Premier League support for Black Lives Matter, one of Meghan’s causes, has hit a hurdle after activists posted an anti-Jewish sentiment on a Black Lives Matter Twitter feed in recent days. The Premier League, which has Black Lives Matter plastered on the back of all footballers’ playing shirts, says it will not support a political statement and various on-air commentators have now stopped wearing the Black Lives Matter badges.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also distanced himself from the movement because he said it promoted de-funding of the police.
Harry, now 35, and Meghan, 38, have been living in Los Angeles since March, having left the Royal Family in January this year because they wanted a quiet life. However they are preparing to launch their foundation, Archewell, and embark on public speaking engagements.
Meanwhile, Meghan has revealed the names of five friends who co-operated with People Magazine in the United States in legal documents served on Associated Newspapers Limited.
ANL publishes the Mail On Sunday, which is being sued by Meghan for breach of privacy when it ran a story about her father Thomas Markle, disclosing a letter she had written to him.
The Mail said Meghan identified the five friends who spoke anonymously to People with the legal papers, listing them as A, B, C, D and E and named in a confidential section. Mr Markle spoke to the Mail on Sunday claiming he had been hurt and misrepresented by the allegations in the People magazine.
People magazine referred to the five friends as “Meghan’s inner circle — a longtime friend, a former co-star, a friend from LA, a one-time colleague and a close confidante”.
The legal papers showed Meghan believed her wedding to Prince Harry generated $A2bn and that she had spent her own money on flights and accommodation for her father to attend the nuptials at Windsor Castle in 2018.
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