If anyone deserves an anti-racism award it’s the King, not the Sussexes
ON DECEMBER 6, at a prestigious gala ceremony in New York, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will receive a coveted Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. They have been nominated for what the organisation’s president, Kerry Kennedy – the ex-wife of disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo – describes as their ‘willingness to speak up and change the narrative on social justice. They went to the oldest institution in UK history and told them what they were doing wrong’.
Fellow recipients include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the late basketball legend and civil rights icon, Bill Russell. Quite how the Sussexes’ feats compare to defending your nation against a genocidal maniac or overcoming racial segregation to become one of the most decorated black sportsmen of all time is unclear.
Indeed, if one were Zelensky, one might even feel a little insulted by association. There you are, bombs raining down on your country, and there Harry and Meghan are, sitting in their Montecito mansion, whinging about Daddy cutting them off and how their children couldn’t call themselves Prince and Princess. The equivalence isn’t immediately apparent.
IF THE Sussexes had even a sliver of self-knowledge, they would express their gratitude, say how flattered they are – but politely decline on the grounds there are countless others far more deserving of such an honour. If they did so, I would be the first to applaud them.
But of course they won’t. Not least because the Duchess can’t resist an opportunity to put on a fancy frock and swan around in her diamonds – but also because they are under the spectacular delusion that they are victims of prejudice who have faced genuine oppression.
Ms Kennedy’s citation refers to the couple’s accusation of racism against senior members of the Royal Family during that infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Vehemently denied by the Prince of Wales and repudiated in characteristically diplomatic manner by the late Queen – ‘recollections may vary’ – it’s never been entirely obvious what form this so-called racism was supposed to have taken. Nor have the Sussexes ever provided any concrete evidence. Indeed, scratch the surface and all the data points to the exact opposite of what they say being true – especially if you subscribe to the notion that actions speak louder than words.
Look at the late Queen’s commitment to the Commonwealth and its people.
Or take The Prince’s Trust, founded by the King, which has helped countless disadvantaged children – many from minority backgrounds. One of those who was helped even handed out a Pride of Britain Prince’s Trust Award last month to a young RAF pilot with Asperger’s syndrome called Alex Anderson – paying tribute to the opportunities the Trust had given him. His name? Idris Elba. And who can forget the pride and dignity with which Charles walked Meghan down the aisle? Or the warm welcome given to her mother at the wedding? After all the work the King – and other Royals – have done to champion tolerance and diversity, the idea that the family are somehow ‘institutionally racist’ is nothing less than absurd.
Yet this idea is what the Sussexes have slyly engineered. All so they can create a narrative which suits their purpose: to bolster their image – and bank account – at the Royal Family’s expense.
As well as insulting the work of Harry’s grandmother, it leads to the Royal Family suffering the vilest of accusations and abuse.
Last week, for example, the Queen Consort was berated online when she visited a Barnardo’s nursery in East London to ‘re-home’ hundreds of Paddington Bears left at Buckingham Palace in tribute to the late Queen. A more innocuous event you could not have imagined.
Camilla handed out stuffed toys and hugged assorted toddlers, including one adorably shy twoyear-old who approached her to see what all the fuss was about.
Within hours, though, the hashtag ‘racistroyalfamily’ was trending on Twitter after a short clip of her touching a child’s sleeve was circulated as evidence she so hates black people she won’t even touch one. In fact she was just lifting the little girl’s sleeve to admire a bracelet.
The irony, of course, is that it was precisely this sort of twisted online bullying of Meghan that drove Harry mad. That he should have, by his own actions, visited a similar fate not only on his stepmother but also on his father, brother and other relatives makes him either selfish or stupid – or perhaps both.
As for the idea he and the Duchess should be rewarded for this, well I suppose that tells you everything you need to know about the world we now live in. A world where no good deed goes unpunished, and where hard work and dedication are increasingly meaningless in the face of rampant selfpity and empty virtue signalling.
SO SAD to hear of the death of Irene Cara, who sang Flashdance, aged just 63. The face and voice that launched a million legwarmers. RIP.