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Prince Charles has set out his case as a positive ally of Britain's Black community in the strongest and most detailed terms since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey last year triggered a debate about the royal family and racism.
The Prince of Wales described decades of help for black British businesses through his charity The Prince's Trust, which helped actors, including Idris Elba and Selma star David Oyelowo, with grants to help pay for acting school.
Charles has guest-edited British African-Caribbean newspaper The Voice to mark its 40th anniversary and wrote in an essay: "I have always found Britain's Black communities to be a great source of inspiration, not to mention their support of my efforts through The Prince's Trust.
"You have welcomed me into your communities with wonderful enthusiasm and I am grateful that you have always been candid with me about the issues you continually face and how I might help."
Charles' remarks come after Meghan and Harry's Oprah Winfrey interview in 2021 left the royal family engulfed in a racism scandal—after the couple accused an unnamed family member of expressing concern about how dark their unborn child's skin might be before he was born.
They did not name the royal and there is nothing to suggest it was Prince Charles. However, questions and allegations have persisted since.
Days after CBS broadcast the tell-all, Charles was asked about it by a journalist during an appearance at Jesus House church, in London, where he gave a speech on the impact of COVID-19 on Black communities on March 9, 2021.
The future king did not reply, and it was ultimately later that week that Prince William put his head above the parapet to tell a journalist: "We're very much not a racist family."
Needless to say, allegations of racism against the royal family have persisted in the interim, including a particularly stinging rebuke by The New Yorker at the time of the Platinum Jubilee, in June 2022.
A wry article suggested the monarchy's decision to exclude Meghan and Harry from the Buckingham Palace balcony at Trooping the Colour was racist days after Britain celebrated 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign.
Sending up the writing style of royal fashion articles, author Nina Sharma wrote: "Racism brought some of its most iconic looks to the Platinum Jubilee, effectively stealing the show. Despite the palace's best efforts to pretend that it wasn't there, people couldn't stop marvelling at Racism's stunning choices over the course of the weekend, which gave us plenty of style to discuss.
"On Thursday, for the Trooping of the Colour, Racism wore one designer exclusively: Erasure," Sharma's item continued. "Racism made its arrival in a sleek look by Erasure—a barely-there, minimal and modern ensemble of not allowing Meghan and Harry to join the Royal Family on the balcony, a choice so understated that some might have had trouble recognizing Racism at all."
Charles made no mention of the racism allegations surrounding Meghan and Harry and their children Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, but outlined the role of The Prince's Trust dating back to the 1980s.
In The Voice, Charles wrote: "The early eighties might seem distant history now. But for many the challenges and tragedies of those days are a vivid and painful memory, and a constant reminder to ensure the problems felt so acutely then must never be allowed to surface again, and that the initiatives formed at that time to tackle those issues must be continually updated and improved."
After describing how The Prince's Trust, which he started in 1976, had helped marginalized young people to succeed, saying he "could not be more proud" of figures including Elba and Oyelowo, Charles continued: "However, we are always seeking to do more to help Black-owned businesses not only to start, but to thrive."
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more