Prince Harry and Meghan Markle surprised a queer Black feminist woman who was part of the video call that they had with the Queen's Commonwealth Trust on July 1. Alicia Wallace personally wrote her experience of having the talk with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and said that the couple were "unmoved by the cult of celebrity."
Wallace wrote in a piece on Medium that she initially had some inhibitions about joining the talk because the Sussex royals are part of a family with titles symbolizing centuries of colonialism. However, Wallace, who is from the Bahamas, one of the Commonwealth countries with Queen Elizabeth as head of state, said that she was surprised that Prince Harry and Meghan addressed the issues of the agenda head on. They talked about racism and social injustice.
The activist wrote the Prince Harry and Meghan brought "a calm, relaxed" energy during the video call that it didn't make her nervous about asking the couple on their thoughts about such sensitive issues. Wallace also said that nobody dictated to them what to talk about to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Prince Harry and Meghan were genuinely interested in what they had to say as well. For Wallace, the couple responded with substance and called the conversation a groundbreaking process.
In it, Prince Harry said that the British colonial empire, which has been ruled by his family for centuries, must apologize for the mistakes they've made in history. Wallace said that this is an important start because apologizing is part of the "process of repair" amid calls for equality and acknowledging the battlecry, Black Lives Matter.
However, some royal critics were not happy with Prince Harry and Meghan's conversation about a very political issue. According to a long-time royal photographer, Arthur Edwards, Prince Harry "lost the plot" after he seemingly disregarded the achievement of his grandmother, the Queen.
For Edwards, Queen Elizabeth was able to grow and keep together 54 countries under the Commonwealth, and this will be one of her lasting legacies. The monarch apparently regards these countries, regardless of their size and social situation, as equals.
The photographer also said that Prince Harry and Meghan must know how important the Commonwealth is to Queen Elizabeth. Edwards sees their criticism of the history of the Commonwealth as an insult to their grandmother.
Another critic, Robert Jobson, said that Prince Harry and Meghan were disrespectful to criticize the Queen's life work. The royal expert said that things have changed since she ascended the throne and took on the role as the Commonwealth's head. Jobson said that the Sussexes do not have any idea what the Commonwealth is about considering they are the president and vice president of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust.
