It’s been two weeks since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s explosive tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, and it has now been revealed that in the wake of it, Queen Elizabeth is planning to hire a “diversity czar.”
Palace insiders told the Mail On Sunday that in addition to this hire, the monarchy will take part in an upcoming “listen and learn” exercise in which the royals will “seek independent views” on how it can improve diversity efforts encompassing minorities and the LGBT community.
“This is an issue which has been taken very seriously across the Households,” a palace source said. “We have the policies, procedures and programs in place but we haven’t seen the progress we would like and accept more needs to be done. We can always improve.
“We are not afraid to look at new ways of approaching it,” the source added. “The work to do this has been under way for some time now and comes with the full support of the family.”
During the interview, Meghan claimed that she was hit with racism from within the royal family, claiming that an unnamed senior royal questioned how dark her then-unborn son Archie’s skin would be. Harry refused to name this family member, only saying that it was neither Queen Elizabeth nor Prince Philip. Meghan also claimed that she felt so isolated as a royal that she considered committing suicide at one point during her pregnancy.
The Queen responded in a brief statement released through Buckingham Palace.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” the royal statement read, according to Fox News. “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
Afterwards, royal expert Nick Bullen told Fox News that he believes that the British monarch will “carry on.”
“The monarchy can survive this interview without a doubt,” Bullen explained. “There is not an inkling within me that would suggest that anything but survival is possible for them. Look, this is bad. This is shocking. This is awful. And it’s really sad. But the queen has been incredible in navigating these great personal and public disasters faced by the family.”
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