The English royal family is an outdated, racist institution.
The English Empire, the largest in the history of the world by total land mass, gained its wealth by enslaving and plundering the riches of people of color.
Its white supremacist activities in Africa, India, and North America will rightfully be remembered as some of the greatest evils to ever afflict humankind. These atrocities were not done simply for England, but directly in the name of the English royal family, whose progeny sits on the throne today.
Amidst this horror, entered a stunningly beautiful, well-educated, and independently successful woman: Meghan Markle.
This was the best thing to ever happen to the royal family.
The Commonwealth of England is 60-70% people of color; finally, they had a princess whose skin color matched their citizenry.
Markle was what the royal family so desperately needed: someone who could update the monarchy for the 21st century and hold the Commonwealth together after the Queen passed.
Yet what did the royal family do? True to their racist roots, they cast her out.
Markle was the subject of vicious racism by the U.K. tabloids, and the family refused to protect her, instead letting narratives favoring her white sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, run amok. Markle should have never been forced to play second fiddle to Middleton, a privileged white woman who lacks the perspective to rule a diverse Commonwealth.
Additionally, the royal family inquired about the color of her future baby with Prince Harry, and when he was born, they refused to give Archie, a child of color, a royal title. Some will say that Markle and Harry left on their own, but when someone holds a gun to your head and screams for you to leave their house, it’s not really “voluntary.”
Now, Markle and Harry are living in America, cruelly forced to work for money and stripped of their “Royal Highness” titles. Many people of color in the Commonwealth and their white allies are showing disgust at such racist treatment—indeed, Barbados recently announced it was leaving the Commonwealth. I would not be surprised if this is the beginning of the end of the royal family.
There is only one way they can make this right.
The royal family needs to immediately accept Markle and Prince Harry back and restore their titles. Their ideas of “duty” are outdated, and steeped in racist notions—Markle and Prince Harry should be allowed to continue their careers while representing the Queen. And ultimately, the royal line of succession (another outdated concept based on patriarchal notions) should be altered so that Prince Harry and Markle, and their Black baby, Archie, will succeed to the throne upon Queen Elizabeth’s passing—ultimately becoming the first Black King of England.
Now, I know that may sound unrealistic—but the ultimate authority to change the rules lies on the Queen’s shoulders. Although she represents racism and colonialism, there is no doubt that she has an interest in continuing the royal family, and the most sustainable way to do so would be to ensure that a person of color sits upon the throne.
Markle was the greatest asset that the royal family ever had. She was Princess Diana 2.0. Even though she had no knowledge of the royal family beforehand, she serendipitously displayed many of the same traits as Diana, from her charitable tendencies right down to her natural poise.
But history is repeating itself—and not for the better. Markle is what Diana should have been, and the royal family needs to immediately welcome her back, with a central role in the country’s future.
If this is not done, then abolition needs to take place—and by that, I mean abolishing the royal family. There is no future for the House of Windsor without Meghan Markle. And if they truly want to make reparations for their historical atrocities, they need to install Markle as Queen, with Harry by her side. I can’t think of a more powerful statement in the history of Great Britain.
God save the Queen? No. God save Meghan Markle.
