‘Living in Meghan’s shoes’ helped Prince Harry see racial bias

The Duke of Sussex has admitted his privileged upbringing as a member of the royal family meant he had no understanding of unconscious racial bias.

Harry said it took him many years – and the experience of “living” in wife Meghan’s shoes – to recognise the issue, during a conversation with Black Lives Matter supporter Patrick Hutchinson.

Mr Hutchinson rose to fame after he was photographed carrying an injured white man to safety during a violent far-right r a l l y. The personal trainer’s actions were repeatedly praised by the duke.

The two men spoke to launch British G Q ’s Heroes Festival, the men’s m a g a z i n e’s annual summit of ideas, culture and thought leadership.

Chatting from his home in Santa Barbara, California, via video call, Harry said: “No- one’s pointing the fingers. You can’t really point fingers, especially when it comes to unconscious bias.

“But once you realise or you feel a l i tt l e bit uncomfortable, then the onus is on you to go out and educate yourself because ignorance is no longer an excuse.

“And unconscious bias,

from my understanding, having the upbringing and the education that I had, I had no idea what it was. I had no idea it existed.

“And then, sad as it is to say, it took me many, many years to realise it, especially then living a day or a week in my wife’s shoes.”

The duke and duchess have spoken extensively about race in recent months. In an interview and accompanying article in the Evening Standard to mark Black History Month, they said there was a lost generation of “people of colour” whose contribution to UK society will remain “untapped” as long as structural racism exists.

Harry said: “This is a global movement. And, being a dad myself, the whole point in life, I guess, for me, is to try to leave the world in a better place than when you found it.”

Harry and Meghan.