According to papers published by The Guardian newspaper, United Kingdom’s royal family prohibited “coloured immigrants or foreigners” from serving in official capacities for the Buckingham Palace until at least the late 1960s.
The Guardian reported on Wednesday that Queen Elizabeth II’s top finance manager advised civil workers in 1968 that it was “not… the practice to appoint coloured immigrants or foreigners” .
According to the publication, such people were allowed to work as domestic staff.
It was unknown how long the practice ran until. The British government has declined to answer queries from The Guardian on the restriction and when it will be lifted.
Officials from the palace informed the newspaper that data showed employees from ethnic minorities were hired in the 1990s. It said that in previous decades, it did not keep track of the race of its employees.
The records also show that since the 1970s, when racial and gender equality laws were introduced in the UK, Queen Elizabeth II has been exempt from them.
Following a high-profile quarrel earlier this year between Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, and her husband Prince Harry, the results are sure to spark further discussion about the royal family’s treatment of alleged racism among its ranks.
In the infamous interview, released in March 2021, Markle said that she was concerned about the colour of her baby Archie’s skin before his birth.
When Markle married Prince Harry in 2018, she became the royal family’s first mixed-race member. Her mother is Black and her father is white.
The pair has since left their royal responsibilities and is currently residing in California.
In the aftermath of Markle’s statements, Harry’s elder brother, Prince William, defended the royal family as “very much not” racist.
