Prince William has a lot on his plate right now, what with his father King Charles’ coronation being just six weeks away and the fallout from his brother Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare continuing to make headlines. And now the Prince of Wales has just been called out after he spoke out against racism in soccer but failed to do the same thing when it came to his own sister-in-law, Meghan Markle!
Twitter was full of comments calling out Prince William’s “hypocrisy,” with one person writing: “Every time Prince William publicly defends footballers who are racially abused, but publicly stays silent on the racism his brother’s wife and children face, he opens himself up to very valid accusations of performative PR; anti-racism isn’t a pick ‘n’ mix in a sweetie shop.”
READ MORE: Kate Middleton & Prince William Are Praising The Tabloid That Prince Harry Is Suing—Awkward!
Every time Prince William publicly defends footballers who are racially abused, but publicly stays silent on the racism his brother’s wife and children face, he opens himself up to very valid accusations of performative PR; anti-racism isn’t a pick ‘n’ mix in a sweetie shop. pic.twitter.com/Y2wdHQeuf3
— Lorna_TVeditor (@Lorna_TVeditor) March 19, 2023
Prince William’s Letter To Alpha United Juniors
According to Sky News, the Prince of Wales, 40, penned a letter to Alpha United Juniors, a youth soccer team based in Bradford, England, after the club wrote him a letter to say that its coaches and players as young as seven years old were targets of racist comments and violent threats.
In the letter, which only became public after it was given to the media by the club, Prince William said he was “deeply concerned” about the racist abuse its players had endured on the pitch, adding that he was “particularly saddened” to hear about “the effects this intolerable action can have on those who are simply wanting to play a game of football.” He added: “Racism and abuse has no place in our society. Abhorrent behavior of this nature must stop now and all those responsible be held to account.” He also said that he had contacted the Football Association (FA), of which he is president, about the team’s experiences.
Mohammed Waheed, who founded the soccer club 10 years ago, said Prince William’s letter was “nice to hear,” according to The Mirror. “Knowing that he’s raised it. We’ve had 10 years of this, from the first match we played we saw racism,” Waheed continued, adding, “It was my under-14s team. We have had kids that have dropped out because of the abuse.”
According to the BBC, Waheed wrote to the Prince of Wales in January and decided to share his response, which he received last month, as he was unhappy with West Riding FA's investigation process. He said, as per the BBC: "The same transgressions happen over and over again with no accountability taken from the county FA. We've had many clubs reach out saying the exact same thing, so clearly there's a failure somewhere along the line."
The West Riding County Football Association said it condemned "any form of discrimination, whether in football or out of it, and where it sits within our jurisdiction, we will do all we can to bring perpetrators to account." A spokesperson added: "We have received two referrals from Alpha this year, both of which are being investigated."
#PrinceWilliam is a hypocrite. He said & did nothing when his SIL #Meghan, his nephew #PrinceArchie & his niece #PrincessLilibetDiana have endured #racist abuse even on @KensingtonRoyal social media. He encouraged it by his silence. Miss me with this. https://t.co/igTzGHcVQ5 pic.twitter.com/OagmeS6nmq
— Ọya (formerly P. Phil Duke of Edinburgh Fan) (@fanofprincephil) March 21, 2023
However, despite his good intentions this time round, the internet pointed out that the Prince of Wales is somewhat hypocritical with his actions, as he appeared to stay silent when things were a little closer to home. I.e., when sister-in-law Meghan Markle was the subject of racist comments in the media, and of course not forgetting the racism allegations within the royal family which Prince Harry and Meghan touched on in their infamous Oprah Winfrey interview which aired in March 2021.
"#PrinceWilliam is a hypocrite," one person wrote on Twitter, alongside a GIF of Prince Harry looking disappointed. They added: "He said & did nothing when his SIL #Meghan, his nephew #PrinceArchie & his niece #PrincessLilibetDiana have endured #racist abuse even on @KensingtonRoyal social media. He encouraged it by his silence. Miss me with this."
So where is his letter to the British media on behalf of his sister-in-law, neice, and nephew??
— Cheryl (@dancingkender) March 21, 2023
Prince William Faces Backlash On Social Media For 'Hypocritical' Behavior
Those comments were only the beginning, as Twitter did not go easy on the Prince of Wales for his hypocrisy. "So where is his letter to the British media on behalf of his sister-in-law, niece, and nephew?" one Twitter user asked in a comment to People's coverage of Prince William's letter. "It feels performative if he won’t do the same for his brother and his family," criticized another. "'Abuse Has No Place in Our Society' But it does within the royal family? Oh, ok!" quipped another Twitter user.
"This is laughable coming from him!" exclaimed another, while someone else said: "If you can’t stand up for your own family; SIL, niece and nephew from racism, it just isn’t genuine." "Such a chronic hypocrite," another Twitter user commented, while someone else said, "Wow that's rich coming from someone who never backed his own sister-in-law who is biracial. Spare us this obvious PR stunt," followed by an eye rolling emoji. "Pity he didn’t write to U.K. press to leave his biracial nephew and sister-in-law alone," quipped another.
'Oprah' Interview And 'Dark Skin' Fallout
Prince Harry told Oprah about his previous disappointment that his family didn't go on the record to condemn the racism directed at the former Suits actress, saying: "One of the most telling parts—and the saddest parts, I guess – was over 70 Members of Parliament, female Members of Parliament, both Conservative and Labor – came out and called out the colonial undertones of articles and headlines written about Meghan. Yet no one from my family ever said anything over those three years. And that hurts."
Prince Harry and Meghan then, of course, claimed that an unnamed member of the royal family was showing concern about how "dark" their as yet unborn child Archie's skin color would be, which both the palace and Prince William briefly responded to. Two days after the interview aired, on March 9th, the palace did release an official statement, saying: "The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members."
Prince William was then asked about the allegations by a journalist while visiting a school in east London on March 11th, where he simply said, "we are not a racist family."
Prince Harry Says Royal Family Has 'Unconscious Bias' To Overcome
Although anyone watching the Oprah interview could say that Prince Harry and Meghan were alleging that there was some racism within the royal family given the aforementioned alleged concern about Archie's skin color, Prince Harry seemed to backtrack on it during the promo for his memoir Spare earlier this year. Prince Harry claimed that while he was very careful not to call the royal family racist, he did feel that the family had an "unconscious bias" to overcome.
Former professional football player turned TV anchor Michael Strahan asked the Duke of Sussex what the royals needed to do to "modernize" themselves, and Prince Harry said: "I think the same process that I went through regarding my own unconscious bias would be hugely beneficial to them. It's not racism, but unconscious bias if not confronted, if not acknowledged, if not learned and grown from, that can then move into racism. And the way that I understand it is that we all want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem."
Prince Harry denies calling royal family racist: It was 'unconscious bias' https://t.co/5T4UWva9tQ via @pagesix
— Ellen Murphy (@emmdm123) March 20, 2023
In a separate interview with ITV's Tom Bradby which took place in California, Prince Harry said, "there was concern about his skin color," in reference to Archie, to which Bradby asked, "Right, wouldn’t you describe that as essentially racist?" Prince Harry then replied, "I wouldn’t, not having lived within that family," before going on to explain what he felt was "the difference between racism and unconscious bias."
Mixed feelings about yesterday's visit to Buckingham Palace. 10 mins after arriving, a member of staff, Lady SH, approached me, moved my hair to see my name badge. The conversation below took place. The rest of the event is a blur. Thanks @ManduReid & @SuzanneEJacob for support pic.twitter.com/OUbQKlabyq
— Sistah Space (@Sistah_Space) November 30, 2022
Prince William's Godmother Slammed For 'Racially Loaded' Questions
At the end of last year, Prince William's godmother Susan Hussey, 83 – a longstanding lady-in-waiting to the late Queen Elizabeth II who King Charles made Lady of the Household – came under fire after Ngozi Fulani, who was born in Britain and works for domestic abuse support group Sistah Space, said Hussey had repeatedly asked her about her race and nationality at the Violence Against Women and Girls Reception hosted by Queen Consort Camilla. After Fulani's allegations, Hussey quit her role in the royal family's household, and Buckingham Palace released a statement calling her comments and questions "unacceptable and deeply regrettable."
"Lady Susan has pledged to deepen her awareness of the sensitivities involved and is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the issues in this area," the palace said in a statement following the allegations. "Ms Fulani, who has unfairly received the most appalling torrent of abuse on social media and elsewhere, has accepted this apology and appreciates that no malice was intended."
