What Is The One Job in the UK a Black Person Can Never Do?

And why Prince Harry needs to put up or shut up when pontificating about race.

This week I read with rising incredulity the reports of Prince Harry’s interview with Jane Goodall. I had to have racism Princesplained to me through the medium of Vogue. I was not best pleased. Before this article kicks off, let me throw my cards on the table.

I’m a republican. Not in the American sense. In that I don’t want a monarch to be the head of state in the UK. This is because it feels outdated. It feels problematic. It feels like something we should’ve grown out of as a nation. A constitutional monarchy has many things going for it, but progressiveness is not one of them.

And that is why Harry’s reminder to be more aware of racism is so galling for republicans like me. I’m aware that his wife is of mixed race. I’m aware that his son is also mixed race. I’m aware that this looks like progress… but that’s all it is, a look of progress. Real progressiveness is about examining your views and seeing where they don’t stack up.

Why the monarchy is racist

Providing that everyone in the current monarchy lives a long life, it will be well over 100 years before any person of colour becomes head of state. Note that I said person of colour. Because the top job is open, but only for those of mixed racial ancestry.

The door remains completely closed for black people. For a person of colour to take the ‘top’ job in the UK, Prince George (recently turned six) would need to have children with someone who isn’t white. This may happen. It may not. We can’t force him.

We can shorten the time frame if Prince William, Prince Harry and all three of William’s children die. This seems somewhat cruel. I’m not sure that Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor would want to be King anyway. He’s far more likely to run for US President.

The US has a bigger problem with overt racism and this makes the news fairly frequently. The current President isn’t doing much for race relations, but there has already been someone of African-American descent in the White House.

And yes, the UK does currently have people of colour in some of our top offices of state. Sajid Javid (Chancellor), Pritti Patel (Home Secretary) and Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London) have all climbed the ladder to the top. This is what a meritocracy looks like — sort of. It has been somewhat spoiled by a privately educated, floppy haired old-Etonian in the top job, but that’s an argument for a different day.

There will come a time when the UK has a person of colour as Prime Minister. That person may very well be black. This would’ve been unheard of twenty or thirty years ago. It’s what progress looks like. It may have taken us a long time but we’re getting there.

We won’t get there with the hereditary monarchary. We can’t. It’s impossible. Prince Harry is urging us all to consider how ingrained our racism is as a nation. Much of what he said makes sense. He failed to articulate the role of his family as part of the problem though. Britains are proud of their monarchy and by extension, proud of their systemic racism.

Approval ratings for the monarchy are always high in the UK, this is in part due to the popularity of the queen. As an individual she has done a fantastic job as Head of State. She remained apolitical, she has guided the country very well. She seems lovely and there will be a huge national outpouring of grief when she dies.

But, the institution of monarchy is so ensconced in racism that it has become immune to criticism of it. It is more than possible to like the individuals within a company but condemn the ethos. I’d invite you to do that. Prince Harry invited us all to do that. We need to think more deeply. We need to acknowledge the unconscious racism that pervades our society, Prince Harry needs to consider the unconscious racism of his role and existence.

Consider the Monarchy as a Business

A company refusing to ever have a black person as CEO under ANY circumstances should be called out. That company would receive a mountain of criticism. A company that promotes the privilege of white people at the expense of all others is dabbling in white supremacy.

Now before the comments explode… this doesn’t mean that the royals themselves are racist. The Queen and Prince Philip do not ride around Balmoral in well ironed KKK robes. The British monarchy has white supremacy at it’s core because of the genetic rules that govern it. Those rules remain in place because of the charisma of individual royals. That and the continued belief and support of the British public.

If you’re waving the flag for race progression and you’re waving the flag for monarchy…. you’ve got a problem. Prince Harry has a problem. And Prince Harry wants us to think more about that as part of our daily lives.

He’s not wrong to remind us to do this, but he will get called out on his hypocrisy by republicans like me. In the same way we’ll call him out if he gives a talk about being mindful of climate change at an event where guests arrive in private jets. Or when his home country is hit by crippling austerity, tax payers still managed to fund 2.4 million pounds to do up his house.

This is the sort of thing that royalists and republicans get het up about. This article doesn’t need to get into debates about the modern cost or historical actions of the monarchy. It doesn’t need to get into disputes about colonialism, though these are valid points that need addressing.

What’s your beef with Prince Harry?

I am not going to hold Prince Harry accountable for what the monarchy has done. I’m going to hold him accountable for what it will do. His son represents an inclusive step in the right direction, even if the backlash of the British people was strong (and in some cases overtly racist).

We may one day have a mixed-race person on the British throne. We may one day have someone from Indian, African or Asian descent opening our parliament and signing our laws. I welcome that day.

But before that, we have to address the question of equality. We have to hold ourselves accountable for progressive flag waving, not when it’s easy, but when it’s difficult.

We have to answer the one simple question that Prince Harry failed to address AND we have to deal with the implications of the answer.

Will there ever be a time in our society when the fight for equality allows a black person to become the UK head of state?

Answer: No.