CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) – In countries with historical ties to Britain, Prince Harry and Meghan’s allegations that an unnamed member of the royal family had “concerns” about the darkness the skin could have of her baby has posed a thorny question: Do these nations really want to be so closely connected to Britain and its royal family?
The interview was expected to expose more cracks in the royal family. There now seems to be a risk of divisions within the Commonwealth’s “family”: an association of 54 countries, mostly former British colonies, united by historical ties. For decades, Queen Elizabeth II has been the engine of the Commonwealth.
After the televised interview, which was shown in the United States on the eve of Commonwealth Day, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull cited it as another reason for the country to break its constitutional ties with the Commonwealth. British monarchy.
“After the end of the Queen’s reign, it’s time for us to say,‘ Okay, we’ve overcome this watershed, ’” Turnbull told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Do we really want anyone to be the head of state, the king or queen of the United Kingdom, automatically our head of state?”
The value of the Commonwealth has been debated before, and critics wondered whether colonized – and even oppressed – countries and people should remain in this association with a former colonizer. Its stated aim is to improve international relations, but Britain’s relationship with its members has been clouded by diplomatic advances and the empire’s legacy. On Monday, in a speech on the occasion of Commonwealth Day, the Queen spoke of “the spirit of unity”.
Charismatic royalty like Harry and Meghan have been deployed in the past to Commonwealth-related events with young people, businesses and volunteer groups.
But his interview this week “opens our eyes more” to the merits of the Commonwealth, wrote Nicholas Sengoba, a columnist for a newspaper in the former Ugandan colony.
He cited “unresolved issues” in his country related to the abuses of colonialism and questioned whether heads of Commonwealth countries should be “proud to have dinner” with members of the British royal family, given the allegations.
Meghan, who is biracial, had said so in the interview that an unidentified member of the royal family had aroused “concerns” about her baby’s color with Harry when she was pregnant with her son, Archie, and that the palace did not help her when she had suicidal thoughts. Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday that Harry and Meghan’s accusations of racism were “worrying” and would be run privately by the royal family.
Reaction to the interview it was especially fierce in Africa. He was encapsulated by a Twitter user in South Africa who wrote: “It’s Britain and the royal family. What did you expect? They oppressed us for years. ”
Meghan and Harry traveled to South Africa in 2019, where their impending separation from the royal family became clearer and they even talked about possibly living in Cape Town.
Mohammed Groenewald, who showed them at a Cape Town mosque, was still digesting the interview, which was only shown in South Africa on Monday. But he said it, more than anything, provoked memories of “British colonial racism”.
“It comes out very clear,” he said.
In Kenya, a former colony where a young Princess Elizabeth was visiting in 1952 when she learned of her father’s death and therefore that she would become queen, news of the interview has also begun to appear in the country’s newspapers.
“We are very angry to see our African sister harassed because she is black,” Nairobi resident Sylvia Wangari said, referring to Meghan. He added that the Kenyans in 1952 showed Elizabeth “no racism, and she stayed here without us showing her any discrimination.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to comment on the interview. He said many institutions in Canada are built around colonialism and systematic racism, including Parliament, and said the answer is to listen to Canadians who suffer discrimination so that institutions can be resolved.
“The answer is not to throw out all the institutions at once and start all over again,” Trudeau said.
“I wish all members of the royal family the best, but my focus is on overcoming this pandemic. If people want to talk later about constitutional changes and changing our system of government, that’s fine, and they can hold these conversations, but right now I don’t have any.
Jagmeet Singh, leader of the new opposition Democratic Party, said the monarchy “is by no means beneficial to Canadians in terms of their daily lives.”
“And with the systematic racism we’ve seen, it seems like it’s in this institution as well,” he said.
The interview was not shown on television in India, the most populous member country of the Commonwealth, with 1.3 billion people, but was still covered by the media and provoked negative reactions from the public towards the family. real.
“Behind this elegant façade are thoughts that are not so elegant.” said fashion writer Meenakshi Singh.
Lawyer Sunaina Phul said the Commonwealth “is relevant to the royal family, of course, because it shows that they ruled so many places. I don’t know why we are still part of it.”
Meghan and Harry’s racism complaints show it’s time for their country to end its relationship with the royal family, said a retired teacher in Kingston, Jamaica.
“What it should mean for us is that we should jump in and get rid of the queen as head of state,” Carolyn Cooper said. “It simply came to our notice then. He is responsible for the enslavement of millions of people who came here to work on the plantations. It is part of the whole legacy of colonialism and we must get rid of it ”.
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Associated Press writers from around the world contributed to this report.
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