Buckingham Palace Under Fire As New Report Alleges Minorities ‘Were Allowed To Be Domestic Servants’ But Were ‘Banned From Clerical Jobs’ + Palace Responds

Buckingham Palace Under Fire As New Report Alleges Minorities ‘Were Allowed To Be Domestic Servants’ But Were ‘Banned From Clerical Jobs’ + Palace Responds

Buckingham Palace is being scrutinized again in the media for claims of discrimination against BIPOC and foreigners.

An investigation was launched into Queen Elizabeth’s role in the British government, and during that investigation, royal family documents were discovered at the National Archives, according to The Guardian. 

In documents found dating back to 1968, the Queen’s chief financial manager said:

“People from ethnic minority backgrounds were allowed to be employed as domestic servants in the royal family household, but were banned from holding clerical jobs.”

The United Kingdom introduced race and gender equality laws in the 1970s, but since their inception, the Queen has reportedly been exempt from having to uphold them.

In a nutshell, minorities employed by the royal family have allegedly been prohibited from ‘complaining’ about discrimination to the courts.

According to The Guardian, Buckingham Palace alleges they have a separate process for reporting grievances, but didn’t elaborate on how the process works.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made similar claims against the palace in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this year. In part, they alleged there was concern over how dark their son Archie’s complexion would be.

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace made this statement to Insider,

“Claims based on second hand account of conversations from over 50 years ago should not be used to draw or infer conclusions about modern day events or operations.”

The spokesperson added:

“The principles of Crown Application and Crown Consent are long established and widely known.”

A source close to the royal family told The Sunday Times, 

“We have the policies, procedures, and programs in place but we haven’t seen the progress we would like and more needs to be done. We can always improve.”

What are your thoughts on Buckingham Palace allegedly banning BIPOC from employment? Comment below and let us know!

Authored by: MiMi James