Prince Harry and Meghan Markle join video call on equal rights

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Prince Harry risked upsetting the royal family by insisting the Commonwealth ‘must acknowledge the past’, even if it’s ‘uncomfortable’. 

The Duke of Sussex, 35, made the comment as he joined wife Meghan Markle, 38, for a video call with young leaders from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust last week.

As part of the discussion on ‘justice and equal rights’, Harry said the Commonwealth needed to follow others who have ‘acknowledged the past’ and are ‘trying to right their wrongs’. He also admitted to having his own ‘unconscious bias’ as a result of his upbringing.

Speaking from his Los Angeles home, Harry said: ‘When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past.

‘So many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past and trying to right those wrongs, but I think we all acknowledge there is so much more still to do.’

The statement appears to be a swipe at the past actions of his own ancestors, who ruled over the British Empire. Almost all of the Commonwealth’s 54 territories were once part of the Empire.

It is the latest in a series of public steps taken by Harry and Meghan as they shift the focus of their royal work towards racial equality and social justice. 

Harry, 35, last week publicly apologised for ‘endemic’ institutionalised racism, saying he is ‘sorry’ the world isn’t in the place where young people ‘deserve it to be’. The statement sparked calls for Harry to apologise for his own mistakes relating to racism.

In the most recent call Harry turned his attention to the Commonwealth, which emerged out of the decolonisation of the British Empire in the first half of the 20th century.

The Queen remains head of the Commonwealth and in 2018 Harry’s father Prince Charles was announced as her successor.

However Harry insisted it will only be possible for the organisation to continue if more is done to ‘acknowledge’ the past. 

Harry said to the group, which included young leaders from Australia, the Bahamas and the UK: ‘When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past.

‘So many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past and trying to right those wrongs, but I think we all acknowledge there is so much more still to do.

‘It’s not going to be easy and in some cases it’s not going to be comfortable, but it needs to be done, because, guess what, everybody benefits.’

Some Twitter users questioned Harry’s understanding of the history of the Commonwealth, arguing it was established to atone for the mistakes of the Empire. Others said the Commonwealth nations should be empowered to resolve their issues independently, rather than as part of a collective movement. 

Harry also admitted he has his own unconscious bias as a result of his upbringing. 

He said: ‘We can’t deny or ignore the fact that all of us have been educated to see the world differently. 

‘However, once you start to realise that there is that bias there, then you need to acknowledge it, you need to do the work to become more aware … so that you can help stand up for something that is so wrong and should not be acceptable in our society today.’

Former Suits star Meghan added to her husband’s words and spoke of how equality is a fundamental human right. She said the steps that need to be taken are ‘uncomfortable’ but that they are necessary.

She said: ‘We’re going to have to be a little uncomfortable right now, because it’s only in pushing through that discomfort that we get to the other side of this and find the place where a high tide raises all ships.

‘Equality does not put anyone on the back foot, it puts us all on the same footing – which is a fundamental human right.’ 

After the Sussexes stepped down as a senior working royals, Harry had to leave his role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. But he and Meghan retained their posts as president and vice-president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust.

Harry told those taking part: ‘This change is needed and it’s coming.’

He added: ‘The optimism and the hope that we get is from listening and speaking to people like you, because there is no turning back now, everything is coming to a head.’ 

The Duke of Sussex has been called on to publicly apologise for his own past shortcomings relating to racism. 

Loose Women panellist Jane Moore referred to Harry’s speech via video link for yesterday’s Princess Diana Awards, where he apologised for ‘endemic’ institutionalised racism, and called on the Prince to admit to his own mistakes. 

She referred specifically to a 2006 video, which surfaced three years later, showing the Prince using a derogatory term to describe a Pakistani soldier, which saw St James’s Palace apologise and the royal, then 25, sent to diversity course. 

‘Any mistake that somebody’s made in the past can be forgiven, but for me, I would like him to have said, ‘”I myself have made mistakes”,’ she said. 

The 2006 video was recorded when Harry was 21 and training at Sandhurst military academy. It resurfaced 2009, after the Prince had already been embroiled in controvery for wearing a Nazi officer costume to a Halloween party in 2005. 

In the video, Harry could be heard while filming and using the offensive term ‘our little P*** friend’ while introducing an officer to the camera. In another instance, he called another officer a ‘rag-head.’ 

It was circulated by the now defunct News of the World.

At the time, St James’s Palace had insisted that Harry had not used the word with any malicious intent. They also had added the prince understood how offensive the term was. 

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said at the time: ‘Neither the Army nor the Armed Forces tolerates inapropriate behaviour in any shape or form, and all substantive allegations are investigated. We are not aware of any complaint being made by the individual.’