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Elizabeth II: new accusations of racism overshadow the monarchy

While preparations are already underway for the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, despite missing a year before the event, another storm threatens to hit Buckingham Palace, bringing back to the surface the recent accusations of racism leveled at the family by Meghan e Harry.

According to an investigation by the The Guardian, who has made public some documents from the British government archives, not everyone would have been welcome employees at the palace. “Clerical jobs are not intended for black immigrants or foreigners”, we read in one of these documents, dating back to the late sixties.

In reality, immigrants could be hired, but only to fill secondary duties, such as service duties. It is not clear when this practice ended, but according to The Guardian in the following decades, the court would circumvent a series of laws against racial discrimination. Queen Elizabeth would have been exempted for more than 40 years from following them, thanks to a technicality: people residing in the United Kingdom for less than five years could not have held important roles in the management of the palace.

Buckingham Palace’s response was immediate: “Allegations based on a second-hand account of conversations from over 50 years ago should not be used to draw or infer conclusions about current facts or actions”, they replied angrily. “The royal family and the sovereign comply with the requirements of the Equality Act (which protects minorities from discrimination, ed) in principle and in practice “.

It is difficult to orient oneself in such an intricate and multifaceted question, it is certain that there are not many documents to support the thesis of the The Guardian in the years following those taken into consideration, therefore it is not possible to know whether discrimination was an established practice or only an episodic one.

And it is no coincidence that the issue was brought up at this time. Last March, Harry and Meghan’s words about the alleged racist attitude of the building caused a sensation. It seems that a family member, who they never wanted to name, has repeatedly expressed concern about the skin tone that little Archie would have had once he was born.

Heavy statements, which the couple then tried to tone down, stating that neither Queen Elizabeth nor her husband Philip were responsible. “The royal family is not racist”, William’s response to his brother and sister-in-law, while the queen said she was “grieved”. It’s still: “The issues raised, especially the racial ones, are worrying. While some memories may vary, they will be taken very seriously by the family and addressed privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be loved by family members. ‘

The latest rumors seem to lean towards this version: it seems that the Sussex will be invited to the platinum Jubilee of the sovereign. “It’s a family event, they will absolutely be invited,” confided an insider Page Six, and it would also seem that there is a certain expectation for the birth of the couple’s second child. All that remains is to wait for the course of events.

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