Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family are all supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement, a senior representative has revealed.
Ken Olisa, the first black lord-lieutenant of London — a personal representative of the Queen — told Channel 4 that he has discussed racism with members of the royal household in the wake of mass protests sparked by George Floyd’s police-custody murder.
Asked directly if Buckingham Palace supported BLM, he insisted, “The answer is easily yes.”
The revelation was made as the royal family is still dogged by claims of racism made by the Queen’s exiled grandson, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan Markle.
It was not immediately clear if Olisa was asked directly about those claims during the interview, which is set to air in full late Friday.
However, the Queen’s representative said he has “discussed with the royal household this whole issue of race, particularly in the last 12 months since the George Floyd incident.”
“It’s a hot conversation topic,” Olisa said.
“The question is what more can we do to bind society to remove these barriers. They [the royals] care passionately about making this one nation bound by the same values,” he insisted.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in March had told Oprah Winfrey that a senior member of the royal family had raised concerns “about how dark” their baby son Archie’s “skin might be when he’s born.”
They have still not identified the royal in question, but did clarify that it was not the Queen.
Queen Elizabeth II later said the claims “will be addressed by the family privately” — while noting that “some recollections may vary” as to the accusations themselves.
Prince William later insisted that the royals are “very much not a racist family.”
With Post wires