Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

UK royals release diversity figures following Harry & Meghan racism allegations, draw more ire for not doing more

UK royals release diversity figures following Harry & Meghan racism allegations, draw more ire for not doing more

Hit by allegations of racism, Buckingham Palace has now been accused of conducting a face-saving exercise after disclosing diversity figures relating to the royal household’s workforce and admitting that it needed to “do more.”

In its annual financial accounts report for 2020-2021 on Wednesday, the palace published for the first time the percentage of ethnic minority workers it employs. Around 8.5% of the Queen’s staff are drawn from black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds.

That number is expected to climb to 10% by the end of next year. Multiple UK publications quoted an unnamed senior palace official as saying that the figures were “voluntarily” revealed so as to ensure there could be “no place to hide” if progress was not made.

“We recognise our own workforce needs to reflect the communities that we serve,” said the official, who noted that the royal family “actively embraced the diversity of our nation and that of the Commonwealth, and we take our lead from that.”

The official added that the issue was not that no efforts were being made, but that the level of progress has not been “what we would like” so far. They added that the figures were a “significant step” nonetheless and that there was ongoing engagement with “external advisers” and “grassroots level” organisations.

The figures, which were reportedly monitored internally previously, come months after accusations of racism were levelled against royal family members by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their bombshell TV interview with Oprah Winfrey in March.

According to the royal finance report, however, the palace’s diversity strategy had been changed as early as 2020 to more actively prioritise inclusion. Palace sources also reportedly said it had privately contracted an independent law firm to investigate allegations that Markle had bullied staff members.

Officials also denied earlier reports that the palace was considering the appointment of a “diversity tsar” to improve representation, but the idea has reportedly not been totally ruled out.

The diversity figure was lower still at Clarence House, where Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles reside. Its annual report showed that women comprise 60% of the senior management team and 8% of its staff was composed of ethnic minorities.

However, Kensington Palace, which houses Prince William and his family, did not publish its figures – a point of inquiry raised by a number of individuals on social media.



In a series of tweets, Nadine White, race correspondent at The Independent, said a number of questions remained about the figures, including why diversity was “lacking,” a breakdown of their specific ethnic groups employed and the roles they were hired for and what the pay difference was between ethnic minority staff compared to white co-workers.

Diversity campaigner Marcus Ryder agreed, noting that the palace should publish the “percentage of salary spend that goes to non-White staff” in addition to the headcount percentage so as to “provide a more revealing picture.”

A number of users echoed this sentiment, with one person questioning the number of ethnic minority job applications the royal household receives for each vacancy and the proportion of these that lead to employment.


Several Brits wondered why the palace was looking to publicise its diversity figures at all, since it was going to be criticised either way. Others said the issue of the staff more accurately reflecting the UK’s ethnic makeup was moot since there was “not a lot of diversity in the country.”



Ethnic minorities make up roughly 13% of the UK’s population.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×