‘Time to right past wrongs’
The ‘‘uncomfortable’’ history of the Commonwealth must be addressed, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have said, as they told young campaigners the world had to ‘‘right those wrongs’’ of the past.
The couple, president and vicepresident of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust youth organisation, spoke to young people via video link from their home in Los Angeles, following their recent vocal campaign work on the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Queen is famously proud of the modern Commonwealth, which she has described as a ‘‘worldwide family’’ and ‘‘very special community’’ and is now made up of 54 countries. The Commonwealth Day service was the final event attended by the Sussexes as working members of the Royal family.
In a video discussion broadcast yesterday, the duke and duchess joined the trust’s conversation on its ‘‘historic injustice’’, including the transatlantic slave trade.
The duke 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 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.’’
The duchess said: ‘‘We’re going to have to be a little uncomfortable right now, because it’s only in pushing through that discomfort that we get to the other side of this and find the place where a high tide raises all ships.
‘‘Equality does not put anyone on the back foot, it puts us all on the same footing – a fundamental human right.’’
She added this would be a ‘‘moment of reckoning’’, where people ‘‘own’’ their past mistakes.
Harry said: ‘‘When it comes to institutional and systemic racism, it’s there because someone is benefiting from it. We can’t deny or ignore the fact that all of us have been brought up and educated to see the world differently. However, once you start to realise that there is that bias there, you need to acknowledge it. And then you need to do the work to become more aware . . . so that you can help stand up for something that is so wrong and should not be acceptable in our society today.’’
The Commonwealth now emphasises the voluntary membership of 54 ‘‘independent and equal countries’’ working together.
During a visit to Ghana in 2018, the Prince of Wales acknowledged the role of Britain in the ‘‘appalling atrocity’’ of the slave trade, following his visit to Christiansborg Castle, where 1.5 million slaves were trafficked to America.
The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust’s work carries the disclaimer that views on its website ‘‘do not represent views of the Royal family or the household’’.
It is understood that Buckingham Palace was made aware of the Sussexes’s involvement before the broadcast but it would not comment.
A royal source pointed out that if historic injustice was an important topic for young people, then it was ‘‘right’’ for the trust to discuss it. ‘‘It’s what it’s set up for,’’ they said.