Documents reveal that Buckingham Palace vetoed “immigrants or foreigners” from accepting the veto to high office, at least until the late 1960s.
The documents were found in the National Archives as part of an investigation by the British newspaper “The Guardian” into the use of a mysterious parliamentary procedure known as the Queen’s Consent to secretly influence the content of British law.
According to documents, the chief financial officer of Queen Elizabeth II said in 1968 that minorities could be domestic servants in the Royal House, but that it was forbidden to conduct clerical work.
Since its introduction in the UK in the 1970s, the Queen has been exempt from race and gender equality laws.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the ban, saying it only showed minorities who worked in the 1990s. That decade ago, the Royal House added, it did not keep records of employees’ racial backgrounds.
The discovery of these documents follows the suggestion by Prince Harry and Megan Markle that the royal family was racist.
Jane Austen is a writer and contributor covering culture, literature, lifestyle, and society. Her work focuses on thoughtful storytelling, social trends, and the issues shaping everyday life, delivering engaging and accessible content for readers across the United Kingdom.
