King Charles III's coronation showed that he was a monarch who is "embracing diversity and inclusion" in a way which shows people of color that "they can play a part in society." This is according to a Black British charity campaigner and peer who was asked to carry the monarch's scepter during the May ceremony.
Baroness Floella Benjamin is a Trinidadian-British actress and campaigner who rose to fame in Britain as a children's TV presenter in the 1980s. She described her experiences at the London coronation to morning-show host Lorraine Kelly on Monday.
Benjamin's words come as the royals' interactions with people of color have become increasingly scrutinized. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said that an unnamed member of the British royal family made racially insensitive comments about the skin color of their future children, during their 2021 television interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Benjamin is a member of the "Windrush Generation," the term applied to the thousands of people who moved to Britain between 1948 and 1973—mainly from the Caribbean—to help rebuild Britain after World War II.
In 2017, the British government faced widespread criticism when it emerged that many members of the Windrush Generation had subsequently been wrongly classed as illegal migrants, detained and, in some cases, deported. Benjamin became an active supporter and campaigner for justice and equality.
On May 6, 2023, Benjamin carried the Sceptre of the Dove during the coronation procession through Westminster Abbey, London. The scepter is part of the Crown Jewels presented to Charles after his crowning and represents the sovereign's spiritual role in Britain.
On her reaction to being asked to take part in the historic ceremony, Benjamin told ITV's Kelly: "When I was asked, a phone call came and said that the king and the queen request that I carry the scepter at the coronation. '[I was like] "What?" I couldn't believe it. But I thought when I had to do it, I had to be confident. I'm representing the Windrush generation, as you know we've just celebrated Windrush 75. I wanted people to realize, when you see yourself, you know you belong. You've got to see yourself to know you belong.
"That was, for me, the king embracing diversity and inclusion," she said of Charles. "A glimpse of the future, so that people of color know they can play a part in society.
"I carried it with all of that on my shoulders, knowing that I was doing something to make a difference."
Benjamin added that she was invited to the special coronation concert held at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, the day after the ceremony and that, when she saw Charles, he expressed his thanks to her for accepting her role.
"I saw the king and the queen," Benjamin said, "and the king gave me a hug and a smile and said, 'Thank you for doing this for us.'"
A number of members of the royal family have seen their interactions with people of color come under scrutiny following Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview, including Charles, Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate.
In January, Harry was asked about the issue of race raised in his interview with Meghan, during a special program promoting his memoir, Spare. In it, the prince said that neither he nor Meghan made any allegation of racism, but that it was a narrative spun by the media.
Instead, the prince stated that what the unnamed royal family member said about the skin color of his future children with Meghan was an example of "unconscious bias."
"Racism and unconscious bias, the two things are different," he told ITV's Tom Bradby. "But, once it's been acknowledged, or pointed out to you as an individual, or as an institution, that you have unconscious bias, you therefore have an opportunity to learn and grow from that in order so that you are part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Otherwise unconscious bias then moves into the category of racism."
Harry attended his father's coronation on May 6, though Meghan remained with the couple's two children, Prince Archie (born in 2019) and Princess Lilibet (born 2021) in California.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
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