Charles accused of race slur
Guardian writer claims he told her: You don’t look like you come from Manchester!
Prince charles was last night labelled a ‘Duke of edinburgh 2.0’ after being accused of making a racist gaffe.
A writer of Guyanese descent, who was born in Manchester, claimed he told her: ‘Well, you don’t look like it!’
Author Anita Sethi, who was introduced to the royal at a commonwealth People’s Forum on Tuesday, said she was ‘stunned’ by the remark and claimed it proved the prince was not worthy of being king or head of the commonwealth.
in an article for the Guardian, she recalled their meeting at the Queen elizabeth ii conference centre in London during an event where she had been a speaker on the subject of ‘Politics of hope: Taking on injustice in the commonwealth’.
She wrote: ‘ i shook the prince’s hand with my right hand. in my other, i was holding a copy of an anthology, We Mark Your Memory: Writings from the Descendants of indenture, in which i have an essay. i told him my mother was born in Guyana and the anthology had collected hidden histories of indenture.
‘“Where are you from?” asked the prince.
‘“Manchester, UK,” i said. ‘“Well, you don’t look like it!” he said, and laughed. he was then ushered on to the next person.’
Miss Sethi said she was ‘shocked and humiliated’ by the comment that she ‘a brown woman, did not look as if i was from a city in the UK’.
She wrote: ‘ Although i have experienced such off-the-cuff, supposedly humorous, comments before, i was stunned by the gaffe. Prince charles was endorsed by the Queen in her opening speech to the heads of government, to be the future head of the commonwealth: it’s her “sincere wish” that he become so. That the mooted next leader of an organisation that represents one-third of the people on the planet commented that i, a brown woman, did not look as if i was from a city in the UK is shocking.’
Miss Sethi said charles, like many others, urgently need a history lesson about ‘immigration, the British empire, the commonwealth and colonialism’ as greater knowledge would lead to less ‘racism and ignorance’. ‘Because i do look like i’m from Manchester, actually – a city in which many people of colour have been born and bred,’ she added.
Linking the incident with the Windrush scandal, she added: ‘Whatever the prince meant or didn’t mean in our fleeting encounter, since it happened i have been through all the feelings – from shock to humilia-
tion to rage. Most of all, I feel angry that there could be such casual ignorance in the corridors of power, an ignorance that also permeates society – not least because some British people of colour invited here have been threatened with deportation.’
Miss Sethi pointed out that allegations of racism ‘were not new for the royal family’, highlighting the fact Prince Philip was infamous for his contentious comments.
‘We need to skip a generation so Prince Charles does not become king of England or head of the Commonwealth, and these privileges pass to leaders more enlightened,’ she added.
There was no response from Clarence House yesterday, which has a policy of not commenting on what they class as ‘private conversations’. However Colleen Harris, a former press secretary to the prince and the first black member of the Royal Household, said Charles was ‘fully aware of modern Britain and its make-up’. Dickie Arbiter, a former palace spokesman, added: ‘There isn’t a racist bone in his body.’
On social media supporters of Miss Sethi were deeply critical of Charles. One remarked: ‘ Oh Jesus. Duke of Edinburgh 2.0’, and another wrote: ‘ He’s his father’s son and no mistake.’