Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's baby finally brings diversity to our monarchy - and about time, too

Finally!

11 April 2019

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When I was growing up, I remember telling my mum I wanted to marry Prince Harry. She told me it would never happen. Not because of the very real fact that we have completely different social circles and I’d probably never meet him, but because I was brown. “The Royal Family is white,” my mum told me. “They always have been and always will be.”

Almost two decades later, I can now prove my mum wrong. I didn’t manage to marry the Duke of Sussex, but Meghan Markle - a woman of colour - did. Not only does that mean that the Royal Family is no longer strictly white, it means that Harry and Meghan’s baby will be the first mixed race baby in our monarchy.

When their child is born, it will be the seventh in line to the throne, and it will be a quarter black. This shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is, because it means that for the first time in centuries, our Royal Family can call itself diverse, and is one step closer towards representing the population that it governs. New generations will be able see an aspect on themselves in the Royal Family that they haven’t been able to do until now - and no mother will ever be able to tell her daughter that it’s impossible to be a person of colour in the monarchy.

At the same time, the birth of the royal baby will provide an opportunity for the media to talk more about race. All too often, news coverage is predominantly white. There are worrying claims about how broadsheets and tabloids are more likely to cover crime when the victims are white rather than of colour - something that journalists have said is a particular issue regarding stabbing headlines.

Even though this royal baby will be incredibly privileged, the fact that its face will be printed across every major publication in the country - and possibly even the world - is significant. It means that there will be more people of colour in the news, and it may even lead to more conversations around race. It’s something we saw with Meghan when she became the Duchess of Sussex. The shocking abuse she received online inspired Prince Harry to release a statement defending her, and condemning racism. It was the first time that Kensington Palace had done such a thing, and it forced media across the world to start discussing the abuse that interracial couples still face today.

At the same time, it also shines a spotlight on the way that people - and the media - currently talk about race. When the Duchess’s pregnancy was announced, there was talk about the excitement of having a “beautiful royal mixed ginger baby on the way”, and questions about what kind of colouring and complexion the child will have. That kind of fetishisation of race is uncomfortable, and it’s what Sharon Chang, author of the Raising Mixed Race, labels “pretty racism.”

It is said to particularly affect mixed race people, as there is a societal trend to see people of more than one race as more attractive, but it’s something all people of colour can experience. I can’t even begin to recount all the times my Indian heritage has been called ‘exotic’ or I’ve been praised for my ‘tan’ complexion, and while it’s clearly not the same as hate-induced racism, it’s still not okay.

Newspapers and magazines will have to take care to make sure they don’t fall into the trap of perpetuating stereotypes or ‘pretty racism’ when they talk about the royal baby. But if they do make those mistakes, there will doubtless be a whole of royal fans ready to call them out for doing so, and hopefully, in the way that Meghan and Harry’s marriage has already been such a positive force for good, so too will the birth of the next royal baby.

Scroll down to see Meghan and Harry's cutest moments...

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If we were going to be trapped in the rain with someone, we'd want it to be Prince Harry, too. No wonder Meghan looks so damn delighted.
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Ever since their wedding, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been giving us major couple goals. And now, we've found out Meghan's pet name for her husband - and it's a cute one. The couple were at Hamilton and posed for a photo with the cast, where Meghan was heard saying to Harry, "Can you see, my love?". How cute!
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Talk about the honeymoon period! Meghan and Harry had no qualms about indulging in a full-blown smooch when Harry took his trophy at the polo in 2018. While we rarely see William and Kate locking lips, we're glad to see that this pair aren't afraid of a PDA.
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The couple made an appearance on the balcony at the Trooping of The Colour in 2018 and, naturally, Meghan looked incredible. A lipreader revealed to MirrorOnline (via The Sun) that Harry reassured Meghan as they waited for the fly-past by the RAF's Red Arrows - and what he apparently said is so.damn.cute. Prince Harry apparently asked her: "Okay?", to which she apparently replied, "Yeah, are you?", before admitting she was "nervous!". The lipreader believes that Prince Harry then explained to his wife: "Then there's the fly-past and then we all look up to the sky." What a man!

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Harry and Meghan looked cute as ever as they arrived in Brixton to visit Reprezent radio.
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The couple were snapped kissing after watching a polo match at Coworth Park in May 2018. Cue an internet meltdown.
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They made their first official appearance together in September 2017 at the Invictus Games in Toronto. Meghan looked gorgeous dressed down in a shirt and ripped jeans, and the pair couldn't keep their eyes off each other. That month the actress also spoke publicly about their relationship for the first time, telling Vanity Fair: "We're two people who are really happy and in love".
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They're not shy of PDA and at the same event they broke royal protocol by holding hands in public 😍

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Could they be any more adorable? The pair were spotted looking close backstage at the Invictus Games in 2017.
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They announced their engagement with beaming smiles on November 27 2017 at Kensington Palace Gardens.
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As they showed off the ring, Harry said he knew Meghan was the one from the first day they met.
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Later that day, the couple had their first TV interview in a BBC special. They revealed they were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend and said Harry proposed in their London cottage. It got quite emotional when the prince spoke of his late mother, Princess Diana, saying he believed she and Meghan would have been "best friends".

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Their official engagement photos have us swooning! They were taken by fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski at Frogmore House, Windsor
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Alex Lubomirski said: "It was an incredible honour to be asked to document this wonderful event, but also a great privilege to be invited to share and be a witness to this young couple's love for one another."