Racism v3.2

Racism v3.2, the British patch. Not advised for anti-racists, or anyone of non-Caucasian heritage. No warranties express or implied. Proceed with caution.
It is my hope that nobody is truly surprised by the revelations shared by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, concerning their experience as members of the monarchy. There was much tittering when Prince Harry announced betrothal to Meghan Markle, because she was of mixed race. She is the daughter of an African-American woman and a white father, from CA. She and her parents have been involved in the film/television industry, with Meghan having been featured in a recurring television show. Prince Harry’s love for her seems to be rather profound, and since that’s what everyone wants to believe is the only requisite for marriage, they proceeded to the altar.

Unfortunately, despite Harry’s experience with his mother Princess Diana, neither he nor his new bride were entirely prepared for the insidiousness of the white supremacy culture of the monarchy. When Diana was killed in a horrific automobile accident, stories arose concerning her estrangement from the royal family. She had been divorced from her baby daddy, Prince Charles, for years and had begun dating Dodi Fayed. Dodi Fayed was Egyptian born, and no stranger to elite circles, being part of the Harrod’s lineage and a successful film producer. He was not a part of the sacred tradition of European royalty, however, and so tongues wagged. Some wondered aloud if the car accident was truly accidental, if Diana had been silenced and eliminated as an outsider who potentially brought non-European/non-white players into the family. At the time, those wonderings seemed to be much ado about nothing and were dismissed as conspiracy rumors.
Now that conspiracy rumors are the steady diet of many people, in the U.S. as well as Great Britain, some wonder if there is more to that story, especially given the parallels that the royal Sussex couple have brought forth.
Diana had complained of being purposely isolated, treated with something akin to disdain, having no freedom or agency as a member of the royal family. She was depressed, and stories were brought out that she had attempted suicide more than once. Her pleas for professional help were summarily denied, but her pubic image was carefully curated to yield a happy and serene demeanor. She was miserable while in residence at Buckingham Palace, and her husband was publicly carrying on with another woman. With the exception of the other woman, Meghan Markle describes a similar experience, including suicidal thoughts. She refers to the monarch as “the institution”.

The “institution” is beginning to sound much like the “family” in “The Godfather”. The Corleones were a business enterprise, and you didn’t cross them. If you did, someone might deliver a pair of your pants with a fish inside to your comrades, letting them know that “you slept with the fishes” now. Like the “family”, the “institution” has a public image to uphold. That is everything, and it’s the price for living the charmed life of a multi-billionaire on the public dole. The monarchy describes public service as a large part of their role, in exchange for being kept up by public coffers, but there is a price. They do not truly engage in legislative or policy functions; that is the job of the Prime Minister and Parliament. Their roles are largely ceremonial, and cultural.
A monarchy is dependent upon an uninterrupted genetic lineage, so Meghan Markle posed a dilemma for the continuity of the “institution”. The Duchess of Sussex did validate the validity of that in a much-publicized interview last night with Oprah Winfrey, when she revealed there had been discussion about her pregnancy. Specifically, there was anxiety about “what the baby might look like” after birth; what would be the child’s “tone”. They meant skin color. Would this child look “colored”? O.M.G. Meghan said they talked face-to-face with Harry about this, but he wouldn’t disclosed who did the talking. He later told Oprah Winfrey, off camera, that it was not either of his grandparents. My vote is on his father, Prince Charles, who is next in line for the throne.
All of this sadly explains Prince Harry’s decision to dump the royal family. He was protecting his wife, his son, and his yet unborn child. He believed, and saw for himself, the abuse Meghan suffered. He remembered and saw the parallels in his mother’s journey. He said that he felt trapped as well, and had it not been for Meghan, he might not have pulled up stakes. In a way, they saved each other, I surmise. It’s the very sad story of what white supremacy can do, and the cost. Perhaps Harry and Meghan have ended the cycle, at least for themselves and their children. The “institution” can never take from Harry what his mother gave to him, or what his genetics have provided for him and his children.
Any monarchy is the apex of a caste system. Here in America, this is our seminal root. This is where we came from, and initially rebelled against. This is how our country was formed, as anti-monarchical democratic republic. The United Kingdom has retained its monarchy, and that’s their choice, and they seem to operate more or less consistent with that choice. America, however, seems to have unofficial monarchy in many respects, because we have many informal castes in our society. We do not have a king, although some have feared we seemed destined for authoritarianism fairly recently.

Authoritarian rule would not be ceremonial, and would not separate ruling class from governing class, but that’s another story. The point is, we are still a representative democracy, if we’ll participate. The point is that attempting to mitigate the voice of the voting populus gives rise to authoritarianism, or monarchical tendencies. Monarchs do what they want to do. They are generally answerable to no citizen, and no citizen is capable of rising to the level of monarch. If the monarchy is authoritarian, there is little difference between that and dictatorship. This has been our fear for decades, and it is a healthy fear to have (at least in my opinion).

I don’t think being a dictator, a monarch, a supreme ruler is all that it’s cracked up to be. Yes, you get to do what you want to do, what you think should be done. Yes, you probably answer to noone. But…you are not free. You are not separated from stress and worry and resistance. You risk losing yourself entirely, becoming an iconic figure of an ancient tradition.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not at the apex of the monarchy, but they were forced to choose their own happiness and survival over the money and the status. They have showed us there truly is no free lunch, whether it is served on Lennox china or paper plates. Pretense, obviously, does not lend itself to authenticity, and more and more it seems the Universe is calling us to authenticity rather than posturing. More and more, we are being called to collaboration and inclusion rather than hierarchy and exclusivity. More and more, we are called to demonstrate our humanness, and the truth of that, in all its imperfection. Money changes everything, including us, if we let it.