North East MPs’ support for Duchess
LETTER CONDEMNED ‘OUTDATED COLONIAL ATTITUDES’
NORTH East MPs Catherine McKinnell, Chi Onwurah and Julie Elliott wrote to the Duchess of Sussex in 2019 to express their “solidarity” and condemn “colonial undertones” in some of the media coverage about her.
They were among 70 MPs praised by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, in his interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Ms McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North, Ms Onwurah, MP for Newcastle Central and Ms Elliott, MP for Sunderland Central, signed a letter sent to Meghan “to express our solidarity with you in taking a stand against the often distasteful and misleading nature of the stories printed in a number of our national newspapers concerning you, your character and your family”.
The letter said: “We are calling out what can only be described as outdated, colonial undertones to some of these stories.”
Valerie Vaz, MP for Walsall South, also signed the letter.
In the televised interview this week, Meghan spoke about the impact the barrage of negative news coverage had on her mental health.
Harry highlighted the support from MPs, and contrasted it with what he implied was a lack of support from his own family.
He said: “The way that I saw it was, there is a way of doing things, but for us, for this union, and the specifics around her race, there was an opportunity, many opportunities, for my family to show some public support.
“And I guess one of the most telling parts, and the saddest parts I guess, was over 70 members of Parliament, female members of Parliament, both Conservative and Labour, came out and called out the colonial undertones of articles and headlines written about Meghan.
“Yet no-one from my family ever said anything over those three years. That hurts. But I also am acutely aware of where my family stand, and how scared they are of the tabloids turning on them.”
Pressure is mounting on Buckingham Palace to respond to accusations of racism in the royal family, following the interview.
Meghan and Harry said that a member of the family – not the Queen or Duke of Edinburgh – made a racist comment about their unborn son.
Winfrey was left open-mouthed when the duchess said a fellow royal was worried about how dark their son Archie’s skin tone might be before he was born.
Crisis talks are likely to have been held since the couple’s sitdown with Winfrey was aired.
Palace officials reportedly had a prepared statement highlighting the family’s love and concern for the couple, but it was not signed off by the monarch.
The Times newspaper reported that the Queen wanted more time to consider her response to the lengthy interview.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to comment about the interview or the allegations made.