It is time for us to acknowledge past wrongs of colonialism – Prince Harry
PRINCE HARRY and his wife Meghan Markle have warned that the Commonwealth’s past wrongs need to be acknowledged to be able to move forward as they joined a discussion on justice and equal rights.
The couple took part in the video call with young leaders in one of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust’s (QCT) weekly sessions set up in response to the growing Black Lives Matter movement.
Harry, whose grandmother the queen is head of the Commonwealth, last week outlined his personal commitment to tackling institutional racism.
The prince, who has stepped back from the royal family, said: “When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past.
“So many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past
‘It’s not going to be easy or comfortable but needs to be done’
and trying to right those wrongs, but I think we all acknowledge there is so much more still to do.
“It’s not going to be easy and in some cases it’s not going to be comfortable, but it needs to be done, because, guess what, everybody benefits.”
Meghan also touched on the Commonwealth’s past, saying: “In that self reflection, it’s acknowledging whatever mistakes we’ve all made, right?”
The roots of the Commonwealth – a voluntary association of 54 nations – stretch back to Britain’s colonial past and the British Empire.
Nicola Brentnall, chief executive of the QCT, has written that the organisation is looking at “how the Commonwealth’s . . . ongoing legacy of such historic injustice” should shape its identity.