Many British people of color say Meghan Markle's description of racism resonates with them personally

• The biggest moment in Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah was talking about racism in the royal family.
• An MP, a charity director, and an activist told Insider how this might affect Britons of color more widely.
• Despite her royal status, Markle's experiences resonate, they said.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey gave an unsparing view which challenged many British people's idea of their royal family.

The couple alleged that the approaching birth of their first child was tainted by racism, saying that an unnamed royal voiced "concerns" that Meghan's son might have dark skin. Buckingham Palace on Tuesday responded and said the allegation "will be addressed by the family privately."

Binta Barr, an 18-year-old Londoner, told Reuters that the reported discussion about Archie's skin color "was really hurtful to a lot of people to be honest, especially because I'm Black as well." She said that impact of that idea will upset her for a long time in the future.

Harry also called out racism from the British tabloid press in their coverage of Meghan compared to Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, who is white.

Meghan, a mixed race woman of color, changed the face of the British monarchy when she married Harry. Many people of color have watched the undoing of that relationship - and the hope for a more modern, inclusive monarchy - closely.

-Ms. Audigier-Jones (@Audigier_Jones) March 8, 2021

Bonnie Greer, an American-British playwright and commentator, told CNN Monday that the Black British community was "very proud" when Harry and Meghan had married‚ and called their split from the institution "a real blow."

Insider spoke to a charity leader, an MP and a representative of the UK wing of Black Lives Matter to get a sense of how the news has struck people of color in the UK.

"Meghan Markle's experience resonates a lot with black people and people of color in this country," Kojo Kyerewaa, a spokesperson for Black Lives Matter UK (BLM UK) told Insider.

"On the face of it, it would be unlikely because she's American ... But it also kind of shows that the institutions of white supremacy, like the British empire, is global."

Meghan's story is relatable, despite her title

The people Insider spoke to don't have much in common with Markle, an American who joined likely the most privileged institution in the world. Nor did her joining the monarchy change people's lives directly, Kyerewaa told Insider.

"It was immaterial to the conditions of black people both in the UK and across the world that a person of color was joining the monarchy," he said.

Kyerewaa said he was largely speaking for himself, as BLMUK has no formal position on the monarchy - it focuses on the struggles of working-class Black people, he said.

"It's unfortunately similar to when Obama became president - it didn't elevate us. I mean it's a nice symbol ... but it creates an illusion of progress," he said.

Nonetheless, a pregnant Markle saying that she had experienced suicidal thoughts and had been denied access to mental healthcare has "a lot of resonance with the experiences of black pregnant women in racist institutions," he said.

He pointed out recent research which found Black women in Britain were more than four times as likely to die in childbirth or during pregnancy, which the Guardian reported. According to the Mental Health Foundation, people of color are at increased risk of a wide range of mental health issues.

"It basically speaks a lot to our suffering and our pain, and British society being indifferent to it," said Kyerewaa.

Halima Begum, director of anti-racism charity the Runnymede Trust, agreed.

"What is striking is that their struggles as parents of the Queen's great-grandson, both in terms of their lived experiences around racism and mental health, reflect to a certain degree the struggles of many people in society," she told Insider in a statement.

In the media, Black people step up - again

In several instances, it's fallen to broadcasters of color to counteract white presenters in British TV coverage of the interview.

On the afternoon discussion show "Loose Women," panelist Jane Moore tried to draw a line between "an out-and-out racist comment" and "casual" or "inappropriate" comments coming from an older person.

"Was it in the way that people say: 'Oh, I wonder if the baby's going to have ginger hair?'" asked Moore.

Charlene White, a Black news anchor also on the panel, stepped in quickly to point out that Harry and Markle had noted the family member had not been idly speculating about looks, but had expressed "concern" about Archie's skin color - a specifically racist notion.

The pattern has repeated. Black British TV presenter Trisha Goddard also pushed back when "Good Morning Britain" host Piers Morgan attacked Markle on his show on Monday.

Goddard said: "I'm sorry Piers, you can call out the other stuff ... but leave the racism stuff to us, eh?"

-Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) March 8, 2021

It didn't change Morgan's mindset much. The next day on the show, broadcaster Alex Beresford challenged him again - prompting Morgan to storm off the set.

Beresford, who is biracial, said: "I'm sorry, but Piers spouts off on a regular basis, and we all have to sit there and listen," he said, adding that Morgan's invective against Markle on Monday's show was "incredibly hard to watch."

-Alex Beresford (@alexberesfordTV) March 9, 2021

It's a pattern that broadcasters and commentators of color say is exhausting.

As writer Kimberly Mcintosh told the online magazine gal-dem in 2019: "At its worst, they will ask you to debate your life with a clown for clicks and call it 'a debate'. Then you have to go and have three wines to recover, whilst they cash in on your free labor … There is often a lot of men shouting."

Painful double standards

Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, tweeted about what many saw as an elephant in the room: Prince Andrew. Whittome's mother is Anglo-Indian and her father is from India.

Andrew stepped back from public life in late 2019 following scrutiny of his friendship with accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein - and accusations that a then-17-year-old, Virginia Giuffre, had been made to sleep with him. Andrew denies this.

Buckingham Palace called his retirement a "private decision," and left it at that.

The palace had a very different reaction when Markle was accused last week of bullying dating back to 2018, in an explosive article from The Times of London. The palace, normally known for its extreme discretion, announced that its HR staff would open an investigation. (Markle denies the allegations.)

Whittome tweeted: "It says a lot about the priorities of the Royal Family and tabloid press when Prince Andrew has an easier ride than a young Black woman."

-Nadia Whittome MP (@NadiaWhittomeMP) March 8, 2021

It's a sentiment that has appeared over and over:

-Ms. Audigier-Jones (@Audigier_Jones) March 8, 2021

In a statement to Insider, Whittome suggested that the apparent double standard here stems directly from racism.

"The way Meghan Markle has been treated has shown that the rules do not apply equally to all members of the Royal Family," she wrote.

"As a young Black woman, Meghan was treated as an outsider and subjected to racism in the press and the Palace, with constant criticism of her every action. The contrast to the way other members of the Royal Family are treated, including Prince Andrew, is stark."

Will this really change the monarchy?

Halima Begum, the charity director, is hopeful.

"In every way it was tragic to see a family breakdown played out so publicly," she told Insider.

"But where this interview leads to some degree of introspection and investigation of race and racism in the UK, we believe Harry and Meghan will have used their voices in a way that offers an unprecedented opportunity for healing [on issues of race], not just in the Royal Household but across society."

She called on British people to use this moment as an opportunity to commit to a more inclusive society.

The interview and allegations haven't changed much about how BLM UK looks at the monarchy, Kyerewaa said. He was glad Harry described his growing awareness of how racism was aimed at Meghan.

But, said Kyerewaa, it wasn't enough just to talk, especially when you command the huge resources and public attention as Harry and Meghan do. "It isn't sufficient," he said.

"I think what is much more needed is action."