# Why no Black or Asian UK royals ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 19, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935 "2013-07-19T14:25:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/21 "2013-07-19T19:24:32Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I have long had the impression, from reading sites such as the Dope, that mixed race relationship on TV shows and the like are still a big deal in the USA. There is considerably less shock about such a relationship in the UK. > > Now, clearly the Royals are something different, and William marrying a black or Asian girl would certainly keep the media in jobs, but I doubt it would cause outright scandal. And I’m quite sure no one much would care if Harry chose a non white spouse. Oh yes, if people of different race even look at each other in the United States we round up a mob and lynch them and/or burn them alive. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/22 "2013-07-19T20:46:34Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Oh yes, if people of different race even look at each other in the United States we round up a mob and lynch them and/or burn them alive. Well, I was surprised to learn, (only a short time ago), that the USA had laws against mixed marriages right up until the 1960’s. :eek: Scratch that, I wasn’t surprised, I was _stunned_. Are you saying that a mixed race couple is not a issue at all in the media or in public life? If so then it seems you’ve come a long way in a short time. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/23 "2013-07-19T20:50:53Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Are you saying that a mixed race couple is not a issue at all in the media or in public life? If so then it seems you’ve come a long way in a short time. No, it’s not an issue. The president comes from a mixed-race background and so do a lot of star actors and athletes. You can find lunatics who go crazy about the idea of interracial relationships, but for most of the public it’s way past its expiration date. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/24 "2013-07-19T21:25:30Z")
Actually, a recent report indicates that Prince William does have some Indian (i.e. South Asian) ancestry, via his mother, Princess Diana: > **[DNA tests reveal Prince William's Indian ancestry | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/14/world/europe/britain-prince-william-india)** > > Britain’s royal family has long been taunted for its German roots, but evidence emerged indicating that Prince William is the direct descendant of an Indian. woman. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/25 "2013-07-19T21:36:06Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Oh yes, if people of different race even look at each other in the United States we round up a mob and lynch them and/or burn them alive. Have you seen the reaction the the Cheerios ad that had a mixed-race family? It was pretty bad. I mean, yes, things have improved. But mixed-race couples are FAR from universally accepted in America. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/26 "2013-07-19T21:36:17Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Are you saying that a mixed race couple is not a issue at all in the media or in public life? By the general public no. It might be noted as unusual but not in a negative way. Admittedly there are still some people still around who would have a problem with it but they would for the most part keep their mouth shut unless they are sure they are only in the presence of like minded bigots. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/27 "2013-07-19T21:38:35Z")
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#): > > Have you seen the reaction the the Cheerios ad that had a mixed-race family? It was pretty bad. It got bad comments on YouTube. All it takes for a video to get flooded with comments is for it to be shared on StormFront or a similar site. A few dozen committed people can completely jam things and make it appear as they’re the only reaction to the ad. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/28 "2013-07-19T21:41:02Z")
It’s certainly a bigger issue here than in the UK, though not one that pops up in everyday life. I can probably count the number of times my Swedish/Welsh-descent wife and I (South Asian) have had any issues. The one that springs to mind is the country club whose management clearly weren’t comfortable hosting our wedding, though they didn’t tell us outright that we weren’t welcome or whatever. It worked for both sides since their banquet hall was pretty dingy. [Gratuitous wedding picture.](http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll268/dutchboy208/NeilandKimDinner.jpg) > [@Marley23](#): > > No, it’s not an issue. The president comes from a mixed-race background and so do a lot of star actors and athletes. You can find lunatics who go crazy about the idea of interracial relationships, but for most of the public it’s way past its expiration date. [You may have missed this](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/business/media/cheerios-ad-with-interracial-family-brings-out-internet-hate.html?_r=0). ETA: ninja’d on the Cheerios. The short answer to the OP is that there are very few black and Asian hereditary peers. Now that royals aren’t as constrained about marrying commoners that will change. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/29 "2013-07-19T21:46:30Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > [You may have missed this](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/business/media/cheerios-ad-with-interracial-family-brings-out-internet-hate.html?_r=0). > > ETA: ninja’d on the Cheerios. No, I was aware. That’s why I added a comment about lunatics. You can find assholes who will freak out over interracial relationships or other equally innocuous things, and you can find people who say terrible shit for no particular reason other than knowing it will upset others. But interracial marriage isn’t a subject of national controversy. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/30 "2013-07-19T21:50:05Z")
It was controversial enough to keep black male/white female relationships off the screen until the 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/31 "2013-07-19T21:54:17Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It was controversial enough to keep black male/white female relationships off the screen until the 1990s. I understand that, but **SanVito** asked if it’s _still_ a big deal in the media (not if it it was touchy 15-25 years ago) and **Novelty Bobble** was also asking about the present day. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/32 "2013-07-19T21:55:41Z")
Fair enough. It’s a bit of a regional thing, too. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/33 "2013-07-19T21:56:00Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Well, I was surprised to learn, (only a short time ago), that the USA had laws against mixed marriages right up until the 1960’s. :eek: > > Scratch that, I wasn’t surprised, I was _stunned_. > > Are you saying that a mixed race couple is not a issue at all in the media or in public life? If so then it seems you’ve come a long way in a short time. The UK was slaughtering whales and selling whale oil well into the 1950s. From the perspective of someone in the US (where it was banned since the 1920s) that might make you seem primitive and backwards. As far as the attitude about mixed-race couples: it greatly depends on where you are. The US isn’t as homogeneous as the British Isles, so if you ask in (say) South Carolina you’ll get a much different answer than if you ask in (say) Seattle. But for God’s sake, don’t judge ANY country based on YouTube comments. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/34 "2013-07-19T22:44:51Z")
Lots of very famous and popular people have been mixed race since before the television era. While it’s an ugly history most of even the racist Americans from the past for some reason were perfectly fine with a white man impregnating a black woman, but not a black man impregnating a white woman. In fact many of the slaveowners had children with black women. But it’s shocking to me you guys think this is both the 1960s **and the entire country is the old south**. Barack Obama had a white mother and a black father. Let me know when the British PM can claim that. A great number of actors and athletes and politicians are in interracial marriages. I can’t remember who now, but one of the Asian American women in the Bush Cabinet was married to a white guy who was an elected member of Congress. In parts of the country there have literally never been laws against miscegenation. You guys are acting to the equivalent of how I’d be acting if I said most of the British hold to racial views of the BNP. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/35 "2013-07-20T00:05:25Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > …In addition to wondering about public reaction, would the Royal family have happily allowed him to marry whoever he happened to fall in love with? Or would there be any family attempt to strongarm him into breaking off the relationship? Well they tried that with Prince Charles; look how well _that_ turned out. William is not his father; I could see him forcing his family’s hand as a last ditch option to marry who he wanted. If he went public by notifying the Privy Council of his intent or petitioning Parliament to remove him from the line of succession the scandal would destroy the monarchy. > [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > …But it’s shocking to me you guys think this is both the 1960s **and the entire country is the old south**. Barack Obama had a white mother and a black father. Let me know when the British PM can claim that. A great number of actors and athletes and politicians are in interracial marriages. I can’t remember who now, but one of the Asian American women in the Bush Cabinet was married to a white guy who was an elected member of Congress. In parts of the country there have literally never been laws against miscegenation… Places like Hawaii; there were 16 states Ann Dunham and Barrack Obama were banned from marrying in (or even setting foot in together) in 1961. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/36 "2013-07-20T00:28:02Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Well, I was surprised to learn, (only a short time ago), that the USA had laws against mixed marriages right up until the 1960’s. :eek: > > Scratch that, I wasn’t surprised, I was _stunned_. > > Are you saying that a mixed race couple is not a issue at all in the media or in public life? If so then it seems you’ve come a long way in a short time. Not the USA as a whole, of course, just the last hold-out states. There were 16 states left in 1967 which still prohibited mixed marriages when the Supreme Court ruled such laws unconstitutional. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/37 "2013-07-20T01:01:00Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Sorry, I assumed context there - I meant in the royal lineage. Genghis Khan never made it that far north and most of the raping in that part of the world was done by vikings. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/38 "2013-07-20T01:09:58Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Kind of a nit pick, but there were plenty of African, Asian and subcontinent (I assume youi mean India and Pakistan) ancestors in Britain 100 years ago. It’s likely that Africans have been in Britain since Roman times. Indians and Pakistanis more recently, but certainly more than 100 years ago. I am not quite sure what you mean by “ancestors” here (when you come down to it, we all have African ancestors), but teh implication that there were “plenty” of African and Asian people in Britain 100 years ago is incredibly misleading, unless “plenty” means a few dozen, or at the outside a few hundred, in the population of tens of millions. There did not begin to be significant numbers of people of fairly recent African (or, more often, Afro-Caribbean) or Asian extraction in Britain until the 1950s and '60s. These days the numbers are quite significant, enough to make **Marley23** ’s assertion that “the UK is overwhelmingly white,” also quite misleading. 100 or even 60 years ago, most British people probably never seen a black or brown face in their lives. These days, very few British people will not see numerous black or brown people every day. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/39 "2013-07-20T01:13:00Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > I can’t remember who now, but one of the Asian American women in the Bush Cabinet was married to a white guy who was an elected member of Congress. Former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao is married to Senate Minority Tortoise Mitch McConnell (of Kentucky). > [@](#): > > In parts of the country there have literally never been laws against miscegenation. At various times interracial marriage (to whites, at least) was illegal in almost every state. It’s just that most of those laws were already gone by the time _Loving v. Virginia_ made those laws unconstitutional. The Supreme Court took care of the last 16 states, and yes, it was basically the Old South. > [@njtt](#): > > These days the numbers are quite significant, enough to make **Marley23** ’s assertion that “the UK is overwhelmingly white,” also quite misleading. 100 or even 60 years ago, most British people probably never seen a black or brown face in their lives. These days, very few British people will not see numerous black or brown people every day. According to the statistics I’m seeing, the country is a little more than 90% white. I’m not suggesting you never see minorities in Britain, but you’d think that would make it a little less likely there would be an interracial marriage in the royal family. It’ll probably happen at some point anyway. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935/40 "2013-07-20T03:12:27Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I am not quite sure what you mean by “ancestors” here (when you come down to it, we all have African ancestors), but teh implication that there were “plenty” of African and Asian people in Britain 100 years ago is incredibly misleading, unless “plenty” means a few dozen, or at the outside a few hundred, in the population of tens of millions. There did not begin to be significant numbers of people of fairly recent African (or, more often, Afro-Caribbean) or Asian extraction in Britain until the 1950s and '60s. These days the numbers are quite significant, enough to make **Marley23** ’s assertion that “the UK is overwhelmingly white,” also quite misleading. 100 or even 60 years ago, most British people probably never seen a black or brown face in their lives. These days, very few British people will not see numerous black or brown people every day. This doesn’t seem to jibe with what I’ve been reading, which claims there have been both black and Asian communities in Britain from around 1600 on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-black-or-asian-uk-royals/663935.md?page=3)