I’m no royalist, but I am a realist. I know that the royal family won’t be abolished any time soon judging by the reaction to Meghan Markle and Harry’s engagement, the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death and less recently, to every single thing Prince George does. Unless you support inherent privilege, entrenched class divisions and a disturbingly strong link to colonialism, little attention should be paid to them. Well that’s what I thought until Meghan Markle stepped onto the scene.
As a mixed-race, British-born feminist, I am, without a shadow of a doubt, 100% here for Markle’s potential shake-up of Buckingham Palace, in whatever form it may arrive; it’s really about time our royals received a diversity makeover to propel them into the 21st century, and if Markle’s cultural influence trickles down even a little bit, it could help shape the face of UK race relations for the better and, add weight to the definition of what it means to be of mixed heritage or in an interracial relationship.
When Meghan marries Harry, she will force us to interrogate Britain’s relationship with race. The long-standing link between the monarchy and anyone with a drop of black blood has traditionally been one based on years of violent slavery and colonial exploits and so Markle, with her African-American heritage, is subverting royal norms in a very symbolic sense. Her proximity to the Palace is exciting because for years, black connections to the blue bloodline have been ignored and resisted. Emma Mcquiston, for example, who is half-Nigerian, married the Earl of Longleat in 2013 and has spoken out the racism she’s endured from her husband’s family, and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who married King George III in 1792 was said to have African and Portuguese heritage although official portraits are said to have deliberately misconstrued that.
Britain is becoming more diverse and so the monarchy - a cultural cornerstone to many- must reflect that. Currently, the ethnic minority population totals around 14%, according to think tank The Policy Exchange, and the mixed-race demographic is the fastest growing ethnic group in the UK, but deep-rooted racial disparities continue to polarise the population. A recent government race disparity audit revealed in October 2017 that white British people are significantly more likely to own their own homes and have jobs, than those from ethnic minorities and, that employment rates are 76% for white people but just 64% for ethnic minority groups. Black Britons are also disproportionately more likely to be imprisoned than African-Americans (whose incarceration rates are themselves disproportionately high) according to a parliamentary report published in September 2017 by a team led by politician and MP for Tottenham, David Lammy. And across British society, the average black graduate earns nearly a quarter less than the average white worker according to 2016 research compiled by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, an independent government watchdog. Black people are also significantly less likely to attend a top university or obtain a managerial position. It’s therefore important that Meghan and Harry’s union is more than just symbolic and that it invokes real social change - something that’s possible, but unlikely.
However, Meghan’s previous charitable endeavours have been focused on aiding impoverished people of colour all across the world, so it’s possible she will use her platform to further highlight socio-economic issues that disproportionately affect black and brown people, something I’ll be watching out for.
Growing up here, like many other brown-skinned Brits, I never saw myself reflected in the monarchy, and when dating white men I’ve always been subjected to a minefield of probing questions and micro-aggressions. But when Harry made the unprecedented move in condemning the racial undertones of the press coverage Meghan and her family received in 2016, it legitimised many of my own experiences whilst simultaneously highlighting the entrenched issues Britain still has with inter-racial relationships.
As Harry aligned himself with Meghan, he also underscored the soul-shaking ways in which racial abuse can rob many people of their own self-worth - (it’s made all the worse if a partner or loved one is unable to take a stand with you). Granted, the Palace doesn’t have a strong record of defending people of colour at the best of times, but his bold move leaves me hopeful the royal couple will continue to exert their influence to highlight the intersectional issues of race and gender that people less privileged than them, face every day. And because government statistics demonstrate that inter-racial relationships increased by 7% between 2001-2011 Meghan and Harry’s lived reality of mixed relationships will shape the way we talk about race in the UK.
But it’s how Meghan categorises herself that will have an impact on how many mixed Brits identify. Markle is in her own words, a ‘a proud mixed-race woman’ but she’s also quick to claim the African-American heritage from her Mother’s side in interviews, which is directly derived from plantation slavery in America’s deep South. It’s interesting as Markle enters an ancient British institution, obsessed with whiteness, that she herself could pass for white. Markle reflects Eurocentric beauty ideals, but it’s refreshing, in a time when our individual and national identities are being challenged more than ever, to see her elevate her black heritage and self-identify on her own terms nonetheless.
Discussions about how Markle chooses to identify (mixed-race) continue to stay complex; ex-Vogue editor Alexandra Schulman recently claimed there was a ‘perfect mixture’ of mixed-race, whilst recent sell-out plays in London like Half-Breed and #HashtagLightie shows that we are still talking about black and white identities in modern day Britain. Cultural tropes around mixed-race people have, like black identities, been fairly one-dimensional; mixed-race children are fetishised and held up as evidence of existing in a post-racial world, whilst both mixed-race men and women are deemed difficult and narcissistic whilst being highly-sexualised at the same time. It’s no wonder that much as been written then about the mental-health difficulties those of dual heritage have in reconciling their own identities. Often called privileged by their darker-skinned counterparts, but unable to sit comfortably in either space of their dual heritage, their stories are layered with tales of isolation, confusion, jealousy and envy.
Markle’s visual proximity to whiteness leaves many confused as to why she’d want to be categorised as mixed or lay claim to her blackness when she could ‘pass’ but this simultaneously highlights the ‘damned if they do’ scenario mixed-people face when answering the dreaded ‘where are you from?’ questions. Often encouraged to align themselves with whatever side they look closer to, if Markle fully identified as black she would be derided for being an imposter, due to her light skin and straight hair, but if she labelled herself as white, she’d be disparaged by those in the black community or held accountable to the ‘one-drop’ rule by racists, which was used to categorise anyone who had so much as one black ancestor in their heritage in 19th century America, as black. As a dual-heritage woman who was brought up in a white family, I too, am most comfortable with the term mixed-race, having dodged hundreds of incorrect assumptions about my upbringing over the years.
One royal wedding certainly can’t eradicate the racial discrimination that’s woven through our national tapestry; but for now, Meghan Markle’s proximity to the place is certainly sparking important dialogues; not only around mixed identity and interracial relationships, but around the structures which make the lives of the 14% of the ethnic minority population in this country, even harder. I am not normally here for the royal family, but for the first time I’ll be interested in some of the work they do, and excited for potential discussions Markle’s presence may provoke. If we can't disband them, then let's diversify them.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.