This year has been a tough year for Buckingham Palace after being rocked by racial bias and discrimination allegations.
On Thursday, the palace came under fire once again after newly discovered documents revealed that Buckingham Palace banned “colored immigrants or foreigners” from undertaking office roles until at least the late 1960s.
However, while minorities were not permitted to hold office roles in the palace, they were allowed to work as domestic servants.
The documents were discovered at the National Archives as part of the Guardian’s ongoing investigation into the royal family’s use of a clandestine parliamentary procedure, known as Queen’s consent.
Queen’s consent is a procedure used to influence the content of British laws covertly.
“Claims based on a second-hand account of conversations from over 50 years ago should not be used to draw or infer conclusions about modern-day events or operations,” they said in a statement.
The report also confirms that the queen remains exempt from U.K. laws fostered in the 1970s that make it illegal to refuse to hire someone based on race, ethnicity or sex.
Buckingham Palace did not deny the exemption.
“The royal household and the sovereign comply with the provisions of the [2010] Equality Act, in principle and in practice,” the statement to the publication reads. “This is reflected in the diversity, inclusion and dignity at work policies, procedures and practices within the royal household,” it added.
The legislation also bars palace employees from taking legal action if they believe they have been discriminated against on either of those grounds.
In March, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, claimed there had been concern within the royal family about her baby’s skin tone during an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“That was relayed to me from Harry. Those were conversations that family had with him,” Markle said, declining to reveal the name of the royal in question. “That would be very damaging to them,” she said.
Her claims were backed by her husband, Prince Harry. “That conversation, I am never going to share,” Harry said. “At the time, it was awkward, I was a bit shocked.”
Since the interview, the royal family has been desperately trying to recover from the backlash after being labeled a “racist” institution. The palace has dismissed Markle as an attention-seeking and an outright liar. The Guardian’s report, rooted in solid evidence, will be harder to brush off.
