Is Prince Charles' PR working overtime? Black choir at Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding defends heir to throne
After the racism allegations by Meghan Markle and Harry against the royal family during the CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey, the British monarchy is in crisis. However, help has come from an unexpected quarter. Members of 'The Kingdom Choir', who performed at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding have defended Prince Charles.
This was after rumors swirled on the Internet about the identity of the royal family member who had expressed concern to Harry about how dark the yet-to-be-born baby Archie's skin color might be. Many social media users speculated that it was either Prince Charles or Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Karen Gibson, founder and conductor of The Kingdom’s Choir, told TMZ on Thursday, March 11 that it was Prince Charles who requested the African-American group to bless the congregation during Harry and Markle's wedding, an invitation she believed to be a sincere one. She also claimed that the heir to the throne after the Queen had gone “out of his way” to compliment them on their success since the event.
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According to a 2018 article, reporter Emily Andrews revealed: "Apparently [The Kingdom Choir] was Charles's choice, apparently Charles recommended them to Harry and Meghan, which I was surprised at. I was told that by one of Charles's member of staff yesterday." "I thought that Harry and Meghan had chosen all the music personally, but you got the feeling that Charles really helped them with the service," she continued, "because music is something that he's very knowledgable in."
It's still not clear how Charles knew about the group, which is based in the South-East of England. In a statement before the wedding, choir director Karen Gibson shared that the group was "honored" and "very excited" to be part of the celebration. "The Kingdom Choir is truly honoured to be invited to sing at the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Markle, and very excited to be taking part in such a historic moment," she had said.
During the interview, Markle claimed that a member of the royal family was concerned over her and Harry’s son Archie’s skin color, as Markle's family roots encompass African-American ancestry through her mother, Doria Ragland. Oprah Winfrey has confirmed that neither the Queen nor Prince Phillip was the royal member in question, leading many to point fingers at Charles or his eldest son, Prince William. Charles has yet to address the allegations.
On Wednesday, March 10, Charles was slammed after his official Instagram account, Clarence House, shared four photos of Charles visiting an NHS vaccine pop-up clinic at Jesus House, a Black Majority Church in London, a few days after the Oprah Winfrey interview. Social media users dubbed it a mitigating and ultimately hollow PR exercise.
Royal insiders have also refuted the racism allegations and said Harry’s narrative has “let down” Charles. “The Prince of Wales went out of his way to make sure his son and daughter in law were financially supported,” a senior figure told The Evening Standard, who added the 72-year-old “supported the duke and duchess more than he would care to say.”
The source added: “The prince is proud of the diversity of this country and believes the diversity of Britain’s modern society is its greatest strength. He wholeheartedly believes that our country owes a huge debt of gratitude to the rich diversity of cultures that make up our society and going forward is at the heart of what we can be as a nation. He truly believes the diversity of our society gives us so much to celebrate.”