PRINCE William and Kate Middleton’s Royal Foundation have revealed they are making a “particular focus” on improving diversity.
The revelation comes after Meghan Markle claimed she had faced racism in the Firm before she quit the Royal Family.
The Duchess of Sussex, together with her husband Prince Harry, told Oprah a family member had expressed concern over “how dark” their son Archie’s skin may be.
But Wills hit back after the interview, telling reports his family was “very much not racist”.
And the 39-year-old seems to be going the extra mile to make it known through his charity.
The Royal Foundation’s annual report announced formal targets for diversity would now be monitored and reported, despite not previously being set.
“Diversity has always been considered in trustee recruitment and improving this has been a particular focus for the board and governance and nominations committee in 2020,” it continued.
The existing board of ten trustees, and the charity’s senior management team, is predominantly white – meaning it will need quite the shakeup to live up to its pledge.
Sudanese-British journalist Zeinab Badawi was appointed a trustee last September, while Ron Kalifa – named one of the top BAME leaders in business in 2018 – joined the board two months ago.
The report focused on the period between January and December 2020, around the time when rumours began to swirl regarding the reasons why the Sussexes stepped back from their roles as senior Royals.
Meghan and Harry later accused a member of the Firm of racism during their explosive interview with Oprah, while also suggesting Archie had been denied the title of prince because of his mixed race.
The Prince also said racism played a “large part” in why they left the UK.
In another apparent dig at their claims, the Cambridge’s charity report also stated that they are devoted to ensuring they provide a “mentally healthy workplace” and have “a number of wellbeing initiatives” up their sleeve.
In stark contrast, during her chat with talk show host Oprah, Meghan claimed the Palace ignored her cry for help as she battled suicidal thoughts.
DIVERSITY
The 39-year-old said she had been told she would not be able to seek help as it “wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
But both Kate and Wills are prominent mental health advocates and have helped launch several campaigns alongside the Royal Foundation – such as Heads Together, Contact, and Shout.
Buckingham Palace also admitted it was failing to increase diversity amongst its staff after publishing staffing figures in June.
Just 8.5 per cent of employees are from an ethnic minority background, The Sovereign Grant report found.
At Clarence House, only 8 per cent of its staff were revealed to be from ethnic minority backgrounds and they admitted the figure was “not where we need to be”.
