UK oddsmakers offer bets on ‘royal racist’
The hunt is on to identity the royal family member who, Harry and Meghan told Oprah Winfrey, made racist comments before Archie was born, expressing concerns about the potential “darkness” of their mixed-race son’s skin.
According to The Sun, Queen Elizabeth reportedly plans to quiz every senior member of the royal family over the allegations that have rocked Buckingham Palace. But her official response to the allegations made it clear that she plans to keep those interviews private.
Meanwhile, U.K. oddsmakers have jumped into the controversy in their usual fashion, by posting odds on which family member they believe is most likely to be outed as the so-called “royal racist.”
More on that later. The Daily Beast said that the queen’s response appeared to challenge the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to clarify their racism allegations and to identify the person who made the offensive comments. With the words “some recollections may vary,” the queen’s statement also appeared to cast doubt on some of the couple’s more damaging comments.
When pressed by Winfrey to name the speaker, Harry and Meghan declined to name names. Meghan said, “I think that would be very damaging for them,” while Harry explained, “That conversation I’m never going to share. At the time, it was awkward. I was a bit shocked.”
That guessing game has been taking place among royal experts and on social media and has now fallen into the hands of U.K. oddsmakers, who cater to Britons’ love of gambling on virtually any topic, including politics, pop culture and major scandals. Mediaite has shared the latest odds put forth by MyBookie, a leading sportsbook.
The online book’s prediction may or may not surprise some people, but the leading contender is not Charles or William. Instead, it’s Prince Andrew.
But if it’s not Andrew, Mediate said Kate Middleton is the second-mostlikely to be outed for reasons not explained, according to MyBookie odds. After Kate comes Charles, William, Camilla, the queen, Prince Philip, Princess Alexandra, Princess Anne and Prince Edward. Princess Alexandra is the queen’s first cousin.