LONDON – Debate over the future of the Commonwealth and Britain’s relationship with its former colonies has been fueled by claims of racism within the royal family in the aftermath of a TV interview this month of Prince Harry and his American wife, Meghan, by media mogul Oprah Winfrey.
The couple said that a member of the royal family, who was not identified, had asked about the skin color of their son, Archie, before his birth. Meghan’s mother is Black, and her father is white.
The prince and his wife broke away from official royal duties last year, citing a need to escape press intrusion amid claims that negative media coverage of Meghan had been racially motivated.
The Commonwealth is made up of 54 countries, mostly former British colonies, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head.
Barbados, one of several Caribbean Commonwealth members, had already planned to remove the queen as head of state later this year. Former Barbadian Ambassador to Britain Guy Hewitt, who is now a pastor in Florida, told VOA that the interview raised questions about Britain’s relations with people of the Commonwealth.
“Regrettably, the interview — and I would say the previous separation that took place — reflected that the royal…
