Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Won’t Support Black Lives Matter If They Were Still Working Royals

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry would not have spoken up about Black Lives Matter if they were still in the U.K., according to royal experts.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have supported the Black Lives Matter movement in a series of video calls. In one call, Markle even stressed, “Because George Floyd's life mattered, and Breonna Taylor's life mattered, and Philando Castile's life mattered, and Tamir Rice's life mattered.”

But several royal experts believe that the royal couple would not speak up in a similar manner if they were still senior royals living in the U.K.

“I think it's unlikely that they would have commented on this topic if still based in the UK, but now that they are on the West Coast of the US, the dynamics have changed,” said Joe Little, managing editor at Majesty magazine, as quoted by Insider.

Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator and former editor of “The International Who’s Who,” shared the same sentiment. He said that the Sussexes’ statement would be taken in a different way if they were still full-time working royals.

“The Black Lives Matter movement has become politically controversial,” Fitzwilliams said.

“However, Harry and Meghan have gained their independence and can therefore assume a more activist role, especially in this area, in that of gender equality, and in others which their nonprofit organization, Archewell, will champion once it has been launched.”

The founders of the Black Lives Matter considered the movement a “call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism.” However, according to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during a CBS interview in late June, it has a political agenda.

“What I see in the leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement is a political agenda of the radical left that would defund the police, that would tear down monuments, that would press a radical left agenda,” he said.

In related news, Prince Harry also mentioned during a video call with the young leaders from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust that the history of the Commonwealth should be acknowledged no matter how “uncomfortable it is.” The duke’s statement received mixed reactions from experts.

Royal photographer Arthur Edwards considered it an insult to the Queen. However, Lord Howell of Guildford, the president of the Royal Commonwealth Society, claimed that the monarch would fully understand the context of the duke’s statement.