Allegations of racism inside the walls of Buckingham Palace have surfaced (but it certainly is not the first time.) National Archives documents that surfaced this week have revealed that as late as 1968 — Buckingham Palace was openly banning coloured people (including immigrants and foreigners) from working top office jobs inside the royal household. Though they could openly work only domestic jobs but were barred from others.
The documents were revealed in a wide-ranging Guardian piece against the backdrop of an investigation into how the Queen ‘s influence remains so plush today. Considering that Queen Elizabeth II is mostly a ceremonial head, the investigation appears to be centred around the private dealings generally unknown to the public.
One tidbit revealed in 1968 by her then finance manager revealed that it was not at all practice to hire coloured people in anything other then domestic household jobs. This is a dramatic turnaround considering the royal family has openly denied any form of racism within the palace based on skin complexion, but, sort of goes hand in hand with some of the allegations made by The Duchess of Sussex about herself and her mixed-race son Archie Mountbatten.
One very important piece in the documents shows that beginning in the 1970 ‘s the royal household negotiated what is known as The Queen ‘s Consent. With that came the fact that the Queen would then become for decades exempt from any form of equality laws that would later be passed as time went on (the UK would go on to pass several as modern day came to be.)
The Queen ‘s Consent is a mode of decorum that requires the government to seek permission from the monarch when the government attempts or wants to enact laws that would otherwise change how she must operate her life. This has been a reality since at least the 70 ‘s.
Information box – The Queen ‘s Consent – Definition
It goes even further to show that the monarchy is not quite what it has made itself out to be. The same documents went on to show that the same policies appear to be in play even to this very day. Perhaps in the most damaging area of the report, palace officials have previously negotiated a clause that blocks any form of protectons for people who feel they were or have been discriminated against based on their sex or race. It is understood that Buckingham Palace has made no effort to change these policies.
Beginning in the 1990 ‘s, the palace reportedly began keeping track of people’s race and ethnic background though claims before that time such records did not exist.
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