Harry, Duke of Sussex, seen here in conversation with Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, had already spoken out last week against institutional racism (AFP Photo/PETER NICHOLLS) |
London (AFP) - Prince Harry has urged the Commonwealth, which his grandmother heads, to acknowledge its uncomfortable colonial past, in video extracts published on Monday.
The
35-year-old royal and his wife, Meghan, joined a video conference call with
leaders organised by the Queen's Commonwealth Trust (QCT) from their base in
the United States.
The
sessions were set up in response to the growing Black Lives Matter movement,
sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, during a US police
arrest.
Harry last
week outlined his personal commitment to tackling institutional racism, saying
it had "no place" in society but was still too widespread.
On the July
1 call, posted on the QCT website, he said: "When you look across the
Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge
the past.
"So
many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past and
trying to right those wrongs but I think we all acknowledge there is so much
more still to do.
"It's
not going to be easy and in some cases it's not going to be comfortable, but it
needs to be done, because, guess what, everybody benefits."
Queen
Elizabeth II is the head of the Commonwealth, a non-political organisation of
54 countries, most of which have links to the British Empire.
It
comprises 2.4 billion people -- a quarter of the world's population -- of which
60 percent are aged under 30.
The QCT was
set up to give younger people from member nations a platform to share ideas and
insights.
The chief
executive of the QCT, Nicola Brentnall, has said the body is studying how the
Commonwealth's colonial past and its legacy should shape its future.
Harry and
Meghan stepped down from frontline royal duties this year and have set up a
non-profit organisation focusing on the promoting of mental health, education
and well-being.
Meghan, a
mixed-race US former actress, has previously talked about her own personal
experience of racism and unconscious bias.
Former army
officer Harry has also complained about the "racial undertones" of
media coverage of his wife.
The couple
are president and vice-president respectively of the QCT.
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