Princess Michael of Kent Wore a Racist Brooch to Lunch with Meghan Markle (Video)
A royal family member appeared to wear offensive jewelry to the Queen's Christmas luncheon.
When Meghan Markle attended the Queen's Christmas luncheon yesterday at Buckingham Palace, she joined about 50 members of the royal family at the gathering, from Prince William and Kate Middleton, to Prince Harry's cousins Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. And while the former actress mingled with extended members of her fiancé's family, not all first impressions were pleasant.
Princess Michael of Kent—wife of Prince Michael of Kent, Queen Elizabeth II's first cousin—was spotted wearing a racially offensive brooch on her coat while arriving to the palace with her husband. The accessory is a piece of blackamoor jewelry, which fetishize images of slavery.
Some might argue that European renditions of blackamoor art depicted black figures as noblemen, but they still exoticize people of color and are considered dated, racially insensitive, and even taboo today. Dolce & Gabbana caused an uproar in 2012 when it included blackamoor heads on a pair of earrings and on fabric prints in its Spring 2013 collection. It's unclear whether the princess wore the brooch to intentionally make an offensive statement, or whether it was a clueless decision wear the tone-deaf accessory. But to wear it at all—especially at an event where a celebrated biracial duchess-to-be would attend—is simply inappropriate.
