Complaints about the 'terribly white' Palace reveal rocky road ahead

JAN MOIR: Absurd complaints about the ‘terribly white’ Palace balcony and Camilla’s ‘staggeringly racist’ official photo reveal the rocky road that lies ahead for the Royals

Over 19 million viewers in the UK watched the Coronation on television, with audiences peaking at the moment King Charles was crowned. 

The national gaze eagerly roved over the pomp and pageantry, perhaps searching for clues among the spurs and the jewels, the ritual and the ermine. 

Looking for signs and pointers about what it all means, where we stand on the world stage, who we are and who we are not at this moment in history. And it is the latter that is causing problems.

On ITV’s live coverage of the event, guest Adjoa Andoh watched the Royals assemble on the Buckingham Palace balcony, and did not like what she saw. Not one bit.

‘Looking at all those young people, there is a bit of me that has gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to the terribly white balcony. I’m very struck by that,’ said the actress, who stars as Lady Agatha Danbury in Bridgerton, a historical drama series on Netflix.

On ITV’s live coverage of the event, guest Adjoa Andoh (pictured) watched the Royals assemble on the Buckingham Palace balcony, and did not like what she saw

‘Looking at all those young people, there is a bit of me that has gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to the terribly white balcony. I’m very struck by that,’ said the actress

If she was struck by the scenes, viewers were equally struck by her remarks. Ofcom has said it was the most complained about televised moment of 2023, with more than 4,000 complaints on the day, and more since.

Acknowledging the backlash in a BBC Radio 4 interview with Paddy O’Connell, Andoh said: ‘I think I upset a few people.’ 

That was some way short of an apology, but do you know what? According to O’Connell, she had ‘nothing to apologise for’ and ‘no one was upset’.

This clearly wasn’t true. Recollections may vary, but how enraging this must have been for those who were indeed offended or disappointed – or who raised an eyebrow at the very least. 

And especially for those who had to absorb the extra blow upon the bruise, who had their honestly held views summarily dismissed because they did not fit the narrow, fashionable identity politics or the socially approved metropolitan groupthink of the BBC.

No family should have to feel bad about their racial composition. And the Windsors are a real family. 

They are not a construct nor a piece of fiction like Bridgerton, where characters of colour can be introduced in an instant by the stroke of a pen or a casting director with a diversity quota to fulfil.

And, to be honest, I would argue that ‘terribly white’ is indeed a racist affront. It could certainly cause offence because of all that it implies; most of it unsavoury, none of it constructive.

No family should have to feel bad about their racial composition. And the Windsors are a real family

God forbid anyone should ever go on ITV or Paddy O’Connell’s BBC show and describe the Obamas as ‘terribly black’ or Rishi Sunak and his family as ‘terribly brown’. 

Paddy would be having conniptions, not being all suave and assuaging and forgiving and patronising at all. Everyone would be appalled and rightly so.

Yet racism is increasingly a one-way street, where everyone must tread on eggshells except when it comes to white people, because you can say what the hell you like about them. 

We seem to be reaching a stage in modern race relations where the very fact of being white is pejorative in itself, especially if you also happen to be a member of the sitting-duck Royal Family.

So it is interesting that Adjoa Andoh hasn’t felt the need to apologise – and neither has lawyer, author and media personality Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu.

Shola went into an absolute Twitter rage when the first official photographic portraits of Queen Camilla were published on Wednesday. 

Why? She believed the new queen was posing in Buckingham Palace in front of a sideboard groaning with blackamoor statuettes, which today are seen to have racist connotations because of their associations with colonialism and slavery.

‘This is staggeringly racist offensive and disgusting. After Princess Michael of Kent’s Blackamoor disaster with Meghan Markle, this is a choice and intentional,’ fumed Dr Mos-Shogbamimu.

After it was pointed out the objects in question were weeping women candelabra and not blackamoors at all, she deleted her tweet but carried on raging. 

If there were blackamoors in the palace, they should be placed in a museum so that ‘history did not repeat itself’, she harrumphed.

‘My outrage if it were true still stands,’ she added.

We were by now in some parallel universe, a preposterous nirvana of fake, indulged outrage where Dr Mos-Shogbamimu was totally wrong but continued to coddle her own fury as if she were totally right. 

And somehow still felt perfectly justified in calling Queen Camilla ‘disgusting’ and ‘staggeringly’ racist.

Earlier this week, Dr Mos-Shogbamimu refused to continue with a C5 television interview until host Dawn Neeson (standing in for Jeremy Vine) pronounced her surname correctly.

So it is interesting that Adjoa Andoh hasn’t felt the need to apologise – and neither has lawyer, author and media personality Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu (pictured)

Shola went into an absolute Twitter rage when the first official photographic portraits of Queen Camilla (pictured) were published on Wednesday

I admired her dignity and resolution in the face of such unprofessionalism. ‘How do you pronounce your name?’ asked Neesom. ‘Read it, my darling, read it. Go back and start again,’ said Mos-Shogbamimu as Neesom continued to stumble.

Last year she chastised Good Morning Britain’s Kate Garraway for the same clumsy mistake. I feel her pain! 

My surname is unique to north-east Scotland and few people south of Stonehaven ever pronounce it correctly. 

I stand with the Farquhars, the Urquharts, the Siobhans and the Niamhs, the Keoghs and the Cholmondeleys and indeed the Mos-Shogbamimus themselves as victims of chronic misidentification, part of the tongue-twisting cross we have to bear.

My only point here is that Shola is quick to point out the errors of others and insist upon instant rectification, but grants herself the luxury of billowing leniency when she gets it wrong.

These are only two instances of discord in a marvellous week for the country, but they speak volumes about the tricky road ahead for the newly crowned Royals.

Charles and Camilla cannot help being the white king and queen of a largely white country, but this is the rocky terrain upon which their thrones are now planted. And this is only week one.

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