Racism, they say, at St James's Court

Yet another debate in the UK and across the Commonwealth about how much longer the British monarchy will last. This time the trigger has been the statements of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to the star American television interviewer, Oprah Winfrey, extracted and sold to media all over the world, especially those who have belonged to the orbit of the British Empire. 

Meghan Markle was the star of the show, fully backed by her husband, Prince Harry, both now separated from the royal family and settled in the United States, in a mansion valued at 14.5 million dollars. Their fortune seems to be around 40 million, 35 million from him and 5 million from the American actress. 

The grievances revealed in her statements by the Duchess of Sussex would only be fodder for the so-called tabloids if it had not been for the fact that she revealed that there are some racists in the royal family. Neither she nor he named the alleged culprit; Henry went so far as to say that he would never reveal it. All of this was based on the morbid curiosity that ran through the halls of Buckingham Palace, wondering whether Archie, the Duke and Duchess's first child, would be born with black or white skin.  

This is no small debate when the United Kingdom is home to a multiplicity of races and ethnicities, a process that began when it opened its doors in the 1960s to those who had been subjects of its empire. The process of integration has not been easy and even today, with the exacerbation of nationalism brought about by Brexit, there are clashes with a markedly racist accent. With a certain historical perspective, television series are beginning to appear that gloss over the early years in which black communities in the Caribbean, for example, were subject to police and judicial harassment and persecution. 

As in the United States, racism does not disappear overnight in the United Kingdom either, and all it takes is one mistake or an unjust action by an official, conveniently amplified by the media and social networks, to bring to the surface that substratum normally hidden behind cynicism and hypocrisy, vices that they have managed to turn into art. But if the British are truly admirable in anything, it is in separating the alleged personal errors of their public servants from the institutions, and this is elevated to the maximum power when it comes to the Crown, their symbol par excellence.

The consequence is that the tribute to be paid for belonging to the British royal family is enormous, so that from cradle to grave all the actions of its members must be in keeping with this exemplary symbolism. Doing as one pleases, or simply behaving as any commoner would, has its price, ranging from abdicating the throne, as happened to Edward VIII for infatuation with the divorced Wallis Simpson, to being excluded from the royal agenda, as more recently happened to Prince Andrew, for lying about his friendship and active participation in the orgies of the tycoon Epstein. 

The progressive rapprochement of the royals with the people has stripped them of both the great power the monarchs once wielded and the unquestioned influence of the other members. But those who have become so close to the people have exposed the seams of their business dealings, and when these have turned into shenanigans, they have had to put distance between themselves and the rest of the royal family. 

So have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who after three years at St James's Court, allegedly decided to renounce all their privileges. It must have been so hard that the Duchess recalls her temptations to commit suicide. However, after their "exile", they have not respected the first of their duties, discretion. Meghan Markle may not have been paid for the interview, but her statements reveal her eagerness to become the Hollywood star she never was, which in her calculations would translate into many more millions than she would have been paid for sitting in front of Oprah Winfrey.

This phenomenon is not likely to last long. To feed the morbidity would require, as in the case of any celebrity who lives off the story, to surprise the audience with more and more supposedly scandalous revelations. And if he chooses to go down such a path, it will only bring him into progressive disrepute. 

The Crown is not only the symbol that embodies a United Kingdom comprising England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is also the institution that allows the British to maintain their supposed superiority over the nations that made up the empire, and with which they maintain preferential ties that translate into power, preferential contracts and money, lots of money. Governments in London, whatever their colour, support and empower their monarchy, whose Queen Elizabeth is also the head of state of countries such as Australia, Canada, Jamaica and Barbados. For all of them, even if the Queen has no executive powers, she is a mark of prestige. In all likelihood Meghan Markle lacks this sense of history. This has been highlighted by the popular ITV morning show host, whose acerbic comments about the Duchess of Sussex and her hypothetical mental imbalance have led to his resignation or outright dismissal.

And, although Buckingham Palace's rule is to "never comment, never reply" so as not to fuel controversy, on this occasion not only has it issued a statement expressing its "concern" about many of Meghan Markle's statements, but also Prince William, Henry's older brother and supposedly Queen Elizabeth's favourite to succeed him instead of his father, Prince Charles, has categorically denied the accusation of "racist" made by his sister-in-law. A change of course in the communication policy of the Court of St James, a lesson learned after the death of Princess Diana, that "people's princess", to use the expression enshrined by Tony Blair. The sudden canonisation of Diana was even proposed. She, beautiful, elegant and the most famous personage of the Court, passed away. Today hardly anyone visits her grave. Elizabeth II remains on the throne. The Monarchy continues.