At the very beginning of the century and the new millennium, the eccentric Baroness Catherine Gavron made a lot of noise, calling the heir to the throne of Prince Charles to marry the black. The public reaction to this call was extremely negative. Most Britons lacked the imagination to imagine a woman of African roots in the royal family, and even more so - the mulatto grandsons among the heirs of the throne. Many suspected, however, that it was an intellectual provocation, an attempt to bring a mirror not only to the royal family, but to the entire society so that one could see the reflection of racist physiognomies. But some 17 years later everything changed in the most radical way, - writes Andrei Ostalsky in the column on "Radio Liberty".
Prince Harry got engaged with actress Megan Markle, whose mother is a black American, a descendant of slaves brought from Africa, and her father - a white Irish-Dutch blood. Meanwhile, the prince - the fifth in the queue of pretenders to the throne, and therefore, his matrimonial plans required by the law of the highest consent. Which, apparently, was given without too much delay. So it did not work out with the grandchildren, but the "color" great-grandchildren of the queen may very soon appear. Nobody knows what the monarch really thinks and feels, whose equanimity and impenetrability are included in the legend. But Elizabeth II did not give a word, gesture or expression to her that the origin of her grandson's bride, to some extent, may embarrass her. Maybe she is quite sincere in this, or maybe she just understands what a monstrous scandal might turn into the slightest hint of racism. In any case, the queen can not help but realize that this marriage will be a milestone in the history of her family, and of the country, a sign of important changes.
Some influential media outlets that would have decided to openly question the issue of Negro blood were not found in Britain. Meanwhile, he seems to care about many. At least in social networks raging storm. And some vile hints, if not racist smell, in the formulations of the tabloid press, especially the nationalist Daily Mail, some still noted. The tweet of this newspaper spoke of the social ascent of the Megan clan "from slaves to members of the royal family". In a previous publication, the same newspaper announced that the American actress allegedly left "straight from Compton", that is, hinted that Mark looks almost like a typical inhabitant of the notorious gangster suburb of Los Angeles. Journalists of the Daily Mail do not need to say anything directly, they understand perfectly what feelings are provoked by such receivers in an environment that they have been successfully educating for years in the spirit of rigid xenophobia.
"Obviously, 70 years ago a prince would take such a woman as a mistress, not as a wife," writes the author of the right-wing magazine Spectator. The emphasis seems to be placed not on ethnic, but other factors, potentially capable of making it difficult for Megan to enter the royal family: on the fact that she had once been married and raised as a Catholic. However, in social networks, they immediately recalled that three of the queen's four children were themselves divorced, that one of the princes of the royal blood, cousin Elizabeth II Michael of Kent, is married to a Catholic whose first marriage was annulled by the Vatican. In addition, the ban on the marriage of Catholics for the heirs of the throne was legislatively lifted a few years ago.
80 years ago, the intention of King Edward VIII to marry an American "divorce" caused a scandal and led to his abdication. But all this happened in a completely different era, so that talk about religion and divorce is just a fleur that covers a true, racist motive of discontent, some bloggers and users of social networks. Paul Akpan, head of the Black Girl Festival, an organization fighting for equality for black women, expressed a popular opinion, saying: "Everyone understands what you are trying to say, so let's say it out loud!".
Last year, it came to the point that Harry went on an unprecedented step among the "korolevich": he made a public appeal to the media "to stop the wave of insults and attacks" that struck Megan. He mentioned the "dirty hint" on the front page of a nationwide newspaper, "racist tones" in some comments and "open sexism and racism of trolls in social networks". The latter are really not shy in the expressions.
Following the masters of "fotozhab" from social networks and some newspapers printed pictures of Megan, on which her skin seemed much darker than in life. Meanwhile, many fans of the series The Suits ("Force Majeure" in the Russian version) did not even notice its African origin, it could well go there for a girl of Mediterranean or Latin American roots. Why, then, "blackened" the future princess? You have to suspect the worst. Of course, in social networks, Megan Markle has many defenders who are outraged by racism. In the high-quality press, too, many publications appeared that repulse the evil moods. Many commentators write that the wedding of the prince and actress can have great symbolic and psychological significance, help overcome prejudices.
European monarchies have been strongly democratized in recent decades. Marriage of commoners and commoners has become almost the norm for Scandinavian princes and princesses. In Sweden, Daniel Westling was just a trainer and the owner of the gym, when he married with crown-princess Victoria, the model of Sofia Hellquist married Prince Karl Philip. The mother of the Swedish princes Queen Sylvia - more than a modest social origin. The same applies to the Queen of the Netherlands, Maxim and the Queen of Spain, Laetitia, all of whom ascended to the throne by marrying future monarchs.
In this sense, the British royal family lags behind. But the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton has already become a step in the same direction. Snobs were indignant: the mother of the princes Diana was at least of aristocratic origin, while Kate could not boast of noble ancestors. But its popularity is such that the adherents of the old order had to be silenced.
It is one thing - a retiring social snobbery, and quite another - racist prejudices, still a great force and a lot of determining in political processes. It is believed that they played a significant role in the outcome of the referendum on the withdrawal of Britain from the EU and in the presidential elections in the United States. Politicians who play on low feelings can count on supporting a significant percentage of voters.
However, the first appearances in public of Prince Harry and Megan Markle are encouraging: the population meets them with ubiquitous enthusiasm. It seems that the princess of "non-blooded blood" can become very popular, the sincerity of behavior and the obvious love of a young couple bribe ordinary Britons.
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Join also the TSN group. Blogs on facebook and follow the updates of the section!.