Who’s Bullying Who? The Black Duchess, Diana’s Son and the House of Windsor

par Dominique DiPrima

The Duchess of Sussex says the British Royals are knowingly targeting her and her husband, Prince Harry by “perpetuating falsehoods about us.” Last year the Sussexes stepped back from their role as “senior royals,” and left the UK seeking financial independence, and a new life,  eventually landing in California.

Rabidly unfair and racist press coverage in England, along with the Palace’s antiquated media policies that left the Duchess feeling “unprotected” were a big part of what drove them away. Prince Harry recently told Oprah that he feared “history would repeat itself.” Prince Harry’s mom, Princess Diana, was relentlessly hounded by the British press and died in a car crash while fleeing paparazzi. There were rumors she was murdered.

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle will be on television this weekend doing a sit down interview with Oprah. “The firm” as the British royals are called, is demanding through proxies, that the interview be delayed because 99-year-old Prince Philip is sick. Of course that would be up to CBS – not the Duke and Duchess. The palace has suddenly launched an unprecedented investigation into whether the Duchess “bullied” royal staffers, and they’ve kicked off a full on smear campaign using surrogates and anonymous “insiders.” That doesn’t even sound right…you’re telling me a brand new member of the royal family, who happened to be the only Black one in the place since Queen Charlotte died in 1818, is able to bully longtime,  well-connected royal staffers? You’re telling me they quaked in fear when this tiny vegan yoga practitioner menaced them? Give me a break.

It’s all so very convenient. Why are you just now leaking and looking into these complaints against the Duchess,  three years later? Could it be an attempt to delegitimize her before the Oprah interview reveals a less flattering portrait of the House of Windsor?

 Remember these are the same Royals who have a history of killing their own kin to hold onto power.

And speaking of investigations, when will we see a probe into the credible pedophelia accusations against Queen Elizabeth’s own son, Jeffery Epstein pal,  Prince Andrew? 

Why does any of this matter to us? Well Duchess Meghan is from South Los Angeles. She is a Black woman who was a wildly successful self-made millionaire before she ever laid eyes on Prince Harry. And the blatant racist treatment of her by the British press – echoed by right wing U.S. media is obvious to those of us who pay attention to the treatment of women of African descent. The tired trope of the angry black woman or the sexist stereotype of the gold-digging beauty won’t fly around here. And we are the people best equipped to call it out. Mainstream media outlets may play ball with the firm to keep their access to Queen Elizabeth and her tightly-controlled family. So-called royal watchers may delude themselves into believing it’s all about protocol and propriety, or minimize the hurt they are causing to a woman and her family even while she is with child, because they are wealthy and beautiful. But we know racism and sexism when we see and hear them. And we owe no allegiance to your crown (if I’m not mistaken we already fought that war.) Mais encore une fois, real lovers of history know, racism is nothing new for the English monarchs.