Living and learning. Prince Harry opened up about coming to terms with racial bias after seeing it through his own wife, Meghan Markle.
“You can’t really point fingers, especially when it comes to unconscious bias. But once you realize or you feel a little bit uncomfortable, then the onus is on you to go out and educate yourself, because ignorance is no longer an excuse,” the British Army vet, 36, told Black Lives Matter activist Patrick Hutchinson for a British GQ interview published on Monday, October 26. “And unconscious bias, from my understanding, having the upbringing and the education that I had, I had no idea what it was. I had no idea it existed.”
Harry added, “And then, sad as it is to say, it took me many, many years to realize it, especially then living a day or a week in my wife’s shoes.”
The Duke of Sussex said that adopting a “more diverse perspective” is necessary because “otherwise you’re just perpetuating that bias.” He additionally explained that “everyone benefits” if Black people are treated equally.
“Every day is a learning process, and it’s not actually up for debate. These are the facts. This is what’s happening,” he continued, “And it’s been very interesting for me to sit through or live through this in America. But again, it’s going to take every single one of us to really change things and anyone that’s pushing against it really needs to take a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror. Because as I said, this isn’t black versus white.”
Harry’s comments come after the royal couple called for the end of structural racism in the U.K. earlier this month. “For as long as structural racism exists, there will be generations of young people of color who do not start their lives with the same equality of opportunity as their white peers,” they said via the Evening Standard on October 1. “And for as long as that continues, untapped potential will never get to be realized.”
Harry and Meghan, who is a biracial Black woman, have been married since 2018. They welcomed their now-17-month-old son, Archie, the following year.
Upon marrying into the British royal family, the 38-year-old Suits alum has experienced an abundance of bullying — which has oftentimes been racist — particularly from the British media. The couple chose to take legal action against the U.K. press last year due to an “accumulation” of negative stories that have “deeply affected” Meghan, a source told Us Weekly exclusively at the time. (The pair experienced a loss in their court battle in September.)
On the “Teenager Therapy” podcast earlier this month, the former Tig blogger admitted that being “the most trolled person in the entire world” in 2019 was “almost unsurvivable” for her. Nearly one year prior, Meghan said in the Harry & Meghan: An African Journey documentary for ITV that “not many people have asked” if she’s doing “OK” amid the public scrutiny.
