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03rd Jun 2021

Buckingham Palace banned ethnic minorities from office positions in 1960s

Ellen Fitzpatrick

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Some of these controversial laws are still in place today.

Buckingham Palace is facing backlash after documents unveiled that ethnic minorities were banned from working in certain position in the 1960s.

According to The Guardian, the Queen’s courtiers placed the ban right up until the late 60s which forbid “coloured immigrants or foreigners” to hold positions of office.

Along with this, the newspaper also alleged that the palace negotiated “controversial clauses” with the government which exempt the royal family from racial and gender equality discrimination laws – laws that are still in place today.

While people of colour at this time were forbidden to work in clerical roles, it was noted that in 1968, the Queen’s chief financial manager said they were permitted to work in domestic roles.

Buckingham Palace has since responded to these allegations, saying that these actions don’t represent the modern day monarch.

 

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A spokesperson told E! News: “Claims based on a second-hand account of conversations from over 50 years ago should not be used to draw or infer conclusions about modern day events or operations.”

“The principles of Crown Application and Crown Consent are long established and widely known.”

The papers uncovered at the National Archives showed that any laws regarding racial or gender based discrimination in the workplace did not apply to Buckingham Palace.

In a statement from the palace, this claim was not disputed, rather explaining that they had a separate process to deal with any complaints of this nature.

They added in the statement: “This is reflected in the diversity, inclusion and dignity at work policies, procedures and practises within the Royal Household. Any complaints that might be raised under the Act follow a formal process that provides a means of hearing and remedying any complaint.”

Earlier this year in her tell-all Oprah interview, Meghan Markle alleged that an unnamed member of the royal family had made comments and expressed concern over the colour of her then unborn baby’s skin.

She said: “In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, we have in tandem the conversation of he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not say who the person was, they did clear up that it was neither the Queen or her late husband Prince Phillip who made the comments.