Staff diversity ‘is not what we’d like it to be’: Palace admits it needs to do more to promote diversity among royal household workers in wake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘racism’ claims
- Officials unveiled figures showing how many staff are from BAME backgrounds
- Just 8.5 per cent of those working for the Queen come from such backgrounds
- This compares with 13 per cent of the UK, according to the 2011 census
Buckingham Palace has admitted it needs to do more to promote staff diversity in the wake of Harry and Meghan’s claims of racism within the Royal Family.
For the first time, officials yesterday unveiled figures showing how many staff are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Just 8.5 per cent of those working for the Queen come from ethnic minority backgrounds, while the figure is 8 per cent at Clarence House, where the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall live.
This compares with 13 per cent of the UK, according to the 2011 census.
Buckingham Palace (pictured) has admitted it needs to do more to promote staff diversity in the wake of Harry and Meghan’s claims of racism within the Royal Family
A senior Buckingham Palace source openly admitted it ‘must do more’ and is ‘not where it would like to be’ in terms of diversity.
It has set a target of 10 per cent for 2022.
The palace’s decision to voluntarily reveal its figures comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sensationally accused Royal Family members and the monarchy of racism in their Oprah Winfrey interview in March.
The palace’s decision to voluntarily reveal its figures comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sensationally accused Royal Family members and the monarchy of racism in their Oprah Winfrey interview in March (pictured)
Meghan accused a senior royal of expressing ‘concern’ about the colour of her baby’s skin. Harry also claimed racism was a ‘large part’ of why the couple left Britain.
The Queen issued a statement at the time saying: ‘The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning.
‘While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.’
The Queen’s household brought in a change to its diversity strategy in early 2020, before the Oprah interview, to emphasise inclusion.
A senior aide at Clarence House said they also accepted they needed to do more on the issue of diversity. Kensington Palace did not publish its figures.