Royal relative wears ‘racist’ brooch to meet Meghan Markle

Wife of Queen Elizabeth's first cousin causes controversy with 'blackamoor' jewelry

Dec 22, 2017

When Meghan Markle went to meet with her soon-to-be in-laws at a royal Christmas party, one of the other royals wore a racist brooch.

On Wednesday, Princess Michael of Kent, the wife of Prince Michael of Kent–the Queen’s first cousin–attended the Queen’s annual Christmas lunch. But when people saw the brooch she decided to wear to the event, tongues started wagging.

The brooch appears to be “blackamoor” jewelry, a kind of jewelry that originated in Venice in the 16th century. This style of jewelry often depicts exotic or romanticized versions of Africans, particularly slaves.

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This brooch in particular appeared to depict a Black person wearing a crown and jewels.

TSRStaff: Thembi ( @ThembiTV_ ) ?: @gettyimages | Mark Cuthbert _____________________________________ The Royal family just needs to go right ahead and withdraw Princess Michael of Kent’s invitation to #PrinceHarry and #MeghanMarkle’s wedding because people feel like sis tried it!! _____________________________________ Princess Michael, who is married to the Queen’s first cousin, wore what people are calling a “racist” brooch to a family gathering at the palace–which was the first major event for Meghan to meet the extended royal family. _____________________________________ The princess wore a big ole blackamoor jewelry brooch of a black figure wearing a head piece & robe. Now, some may say it’s nothing and may even own brooches like this, however, many feel offended by the Princess’ choice of jewelry. _____________________________________ As we all know, Meghan is biracial, and the brooch worn by Princess Michael is apparently an 18th century piece that dates back to slavery, and is therefore still considered racially insensitive till this day. _____________________________________ It may very well just be a “brooch”, but sis has apparently BEEN had controversies surrounding race over the years, including a time she allegedly told a group of African Americans to “go back to the colonies,” back in 2004. What do y’all think #Roommates? Is it racially insensitive, or a reach?

A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) on Dec 22, 2017 at 10:10am PST

It’s a poor fashion decision for any occasion, but people particularly took offense because Meghan Markle is biracial.

As for Princess Michael, she’s no stranger to this kind of controversy. Back in 2004, she drew criticism when she told a group of African-Americans at a diner in New York to “go back to the colonies.”

Markle, who is engaged to marry Prince Harry in May of next year, spent her first Christmas with the royals at Buckingham Palace this week. Hopefully, the rest of her experience wasn’t as eyebrow-raising as it must have been when she met with Princess Michael.

Racism and the royal couple

Markle is no stranger to racist responses to her presence in the royal family. She’s been getting heat ever since she and Prince Harry started dating.

“It’s disheartening,” Meghan told the BBC previously about the racism she has seen since she and Harry officially announced their relationship.

“You know it’s a shame that that is the climate in this world to focus that much on that or that that would be discriminatory in that sense, but I think…at the end of the day I’m really just proud of who I am and where I come from, and we have never put any focus on that. We’ve just focused on who we are as a couple.”

‘Very sorry and distressed’

After public outrage, Princess Michael of Kent issued an apology for the racist brooch.

A spokesperson for the Royal cousin told TMZ that she was “very sorry and distressed,” and explained that the brooch was a gift she’s worn “many times” without controversy.

A source told the news site that Princess Michael did not mean to insult Markle or Black people. The source added that she learned her lesson and decided to no longer wear the accessory.