Royals' comments raise race issue in Commonwealth nations
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — In countries with historic ties to Britain, allegations by Prince Harry and Meghan that an unnamed member of the royal family had “concerns” over the color of their unborn baby’s skin have raised a thorny question: Do those nations really want to be so closely connected to Britain and its royal family anymore?
It was expected the interview would expose more rifts in the royal family. Now it seems to be risking divisions within the “family” of the Commonwealth — an association of 54 countries, most of them former British colonies, held together by historic ties. For decades, Queen Elizabeth II has been the driving force behind the Commonwealth.
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“After the end of the queen’s reign, that is the time for us to say: OK, we’ve passed that watershed,” Turnbull told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Do we really want to have whoever happens to be the head of state, the king or queen of the U.K., automatically our head of state?”
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Reaction to the interview was especially fierce in Africa. It was encapsulated by one Twitter user in South Africa who wrote: “It’s Britain and the royal family. What did you expect? They oppressed us for years.”
https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-africa-cape-town-prince-harry-south-africa-17bb61007686b4e22d819df2fc4a955b
