Royal Family Member Wears Racist Brooch To Lunch With Meghan Markle

Royals | Celebrity

Royal Family Member Wears Racist Brooch To Lunch With Meghan Markle

Since the announcement Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement, the public has been enthralled with every emerging detail of their whirlwind love and upcoming nuptials.

People were surprised to learn of Meghan's biracial ethnicity, but were thrilled at the thought of racial diversity in the British monarchy.

It's been reported Meghan has been getting along with her future family members, and had even scored an exclusive invitation to spend Christmas with them at Queen Elizabeth II's country estate, Sandringham.

Meghan was also invited to the Queen's annual Christmas lunch on Dec. 20, where she was introduced to more members of the royal extended family.

In what should have been a festive and joyous occasion, one guest has sparked outrage when the public found out what she was wearing at the gathering.

Princess Michael of Kent, who is married to the Queen's cousin, was seen wearing a "Blackamoor" brooch on the lapel of her jacket, which created a public uproar. She was seen sporting the offensive piece of jewelry as she drove through the palace gates.

Blackamoor are a genre of figurines, small sculptures or jewelry which depicts individuals black skin, usually from the 18th century, in positions of servitude.

According to Daily Mail, this isn't the first time she has brought controversy upon the royal family.

In 2004, Michael allegedly told a group of black patrons at a restaurant to "go back to the colonies" after being too loud.

She then went to make matters worse when she did an interview to defend herself, by speaking of a trip she took to Africa.

"I even pretended years ago to be an African, a half-caste African, but because of my light eyes I did not get away with it, but I dyed my hair black," the royal said.

"I traveled on African buses. I wanted to be a writer. I wanted experiences from Cape Town to right up in northern Mozambique. I had this adventure with these absolutely adorable, special people and to call me racist: it's a knife through the heart because I really love these people," she added.

People were quick to take to Twitter to voice their disdain.

While Meghan has spoken about the racism she's faced in the past, she said she refuses to let it define her.

"You make a choice: continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it," she wrote in an essay for ELLE UK. "You draw your own box."

What do you think of Michael's brooch?

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