One of the reasons diversity is low at Buckingham Palace is because the Queen was a "creature of the 1950s," a new royal book says.
Valentine Low, a Times of London royal correspondent, authored "Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown," which was released in the UK on Thursday. In the book, he traces the modern history of the royal family through the lens of courtiers, a term used for the people working within each royal household.
Toward the end of the book, Low touches on accusations of racism levied at the royals, most recently brought to the fore by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's 2020 sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey.
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As Insider previously reported, that interview where Harry revealed that racism among the UK press contributed to the couple's decision to exit royal life is just one example in a line of many when the royals have been accused of turning a blind eye to racism.But when it comes to race within Buckingham Palace itself, Low wrote that a lack of progress in diversifying royal staff may have come from the top. The Queen was 96 when she died on September 8 and her reign began in 1953, when the UK was a very different sociopolitical landscape.
"There is a reason why those closest to the Queen are drawn from such a narrow social circle: it is because the Queen is a woman of a certain generation and class, and they are the people she feels comfortable with," Low wrote. "The Queen herself is a creature of the 1950s."