Harry Windsor and the Horcrux of Colonialism

Article

Mar 9

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in London, Jan. 7, 2020 [AP/Daniel Leal-Olivas]

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Oprah tell-all on Sunday painted a picture of the British monarchy that we surely already knew: snobby, emotionally stunted and very interested in blood purity. Hardly news to anyone who has been watching one of Netflix’s most popular series. An “explosive bonus episode” of The Crown was how one New York Times writer described the interview. And how shocking is it really that the symbolic center of the white-supremacist enterprise that was the British Empire might be infused with racism?

Buckingham palace declined to discuss the issue publicly, but no one else seemed interested in following their lead. #AbolishTheMonarchy quickly trended on Twitter. It’s clear that for many the young couple represented a glamorous infusion of life into an archaic institution that many people are nonetheless eager to love.

But the current debacle brings to the surface ugly qualities that are fundamental to the institution. Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi has pointed out that the romance of the monarchy rests on British colonialism. In the Netflix show, troubles with the UK’s colonial territories are often used to provide a colorful backdrop to the family’s internal conflicts – ensuring high drama without dwelling on the crushing oppression that Britain meted out from India to the Caribbean.

In fact, today, the monarchy’s colonialist origins are rarely far from view, expressed in barely suppressed nostalgia for when the monarchy reigned over Black and brown people all over the globe. Princess Michael of Kent was once notorious for telling a group of Black diners in New York to “go back to the colonies.” Today she’s better known for showing up to meet Markle wearing a Blackamoor brooch – a plainly racist piece of jewelry. Prince Phillip has piled up notable quotes on his trips to former colonies. He asked aboriginal Australians in 2002 if they were “still throwing spears.”

The royal family’s Megxit debacle offers the perfect opportunity to abolish the monarchy because it strips away the fantasy that this living embodiment of the colonial past could be redeemed. Plus, it could save British taxpayers close to $100 million.

Someone might want to let Canada know too.