# Would a bride "of color" been considered appropriate for William? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409 "2011-05-01T20:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/41 "2011-05-02T10:35:24Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > I’m not really seeing how the Queen’s views on the matter come into it, beyond any grandmotherly influence that she may exert over William. It would be naive to pretend that, had he wanted to marry someone rather less white-home-counties than Kate Middleton, it would have passed without reaction from some quarters. But I would like to think that even those people would have got used to it by the time a wedding was on the cards. This is pretty much what I, as a Brit, was going to post. “Mixed race” relationships are relatively common in the UK. According to the census ten years ago the figure was [1.2%](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_(United_Kingdom_ethnicity_category)); I’d imagine it’s considerably higher now: “3.5 per cent of all births in England and Wales in 2005 were mixed race babies”. Of course there would be a few raised eyebrows in the more conservative of the population and the higher echelons of the establishment, but ideas that it wouldn’t be tolerated are well off the mark, the rantings of Al Fayed notwithstanding. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/42 "2011-05-02T12:58:55Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Color shmolor - I don’t think they would even have let him marry an Irish Catholic. ICBW. And Black Irish is right out. ---
**Author:** ![Khristy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@Khristy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khristy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/43 "2011-05-02T13:07:05Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Brownish? So, Latinas such as oh… Christina Aguilera, Cameron Diaz, Fergie, Shakira, etc, are “brownish”? Funny, they look as white to me as I am. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/44 "2011-05-02T13:26:38Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Is Britain now in short supply of those? Yes. There’s some anti-Muslim feeling, which the press enjoys trying to stir up, but very very few people care if someone’s immediate ancestors came from a different country. Prince Phillip strikes me as one of those old-fashioned racists who doesn’t actually intend half of what he says to be genuinely disparaging. The kind of bloke who would casually call a man Sambo but not mean it to suggest anything other than ‘you have dark skin, don’t you?’ Idiotic and prone to stereotyping and shallow judgments rather than full of hate. Besides, lots of families have a racist grandparent and it doesn’t mean all the kids are terrified of bringing a partner of a different colour round for a family barbeque. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > How many avowed racists do you know? Not many. But the ‘royal family are really Germans’ comment usually comes from people who I know are among the least racist people in the country, going on their comments on other subjects. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/45 "2011-05-02T13:51:45Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > It appears that if you were ever a Catholic or married a Catholic, you are permanently excluded from the succession. At first glance, marrying a former Catholic wouldn’t exclude you, but I’m not sure about that. Weren’t the people who enacted that statute all “former Catholics”? ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/46 "2011-05-02T14:50:22Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > His family aside, I assume that a substantial wedge of the British people would have found it unacceptable to have a future queen, and thus future heir, who “wasn’t British.” To follow on from **Sunspace** , define “British”. And be very very prepared to defend yourself if you define it as “white, Anglo-Saxon”. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/47 "2011-05-02T15:18:05Z")
Fergie’s a latina? ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/48 "2011-05-02T15:19:07Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > The problem with marrying an Irish Catholic - or any other sort of Catholic - is that he’d automatically lose his ability to inherit the throne. But there are millions of Anglican Nigerians who wouldn’t have presented that problem. :rolleyes: Great, just what this world needs, a _genuine_ Nigerian princess! (The Royals would forbid it merely because they’d be afraid of being scammed out of their jewels!) (Yes, I know Nigerian != scammer, and I’m engaging in stereotypes. In my defence, it’s a funny stereotype!) > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Question – can a Catholic inherit the throne IF he or she converts? After all, the Spanish royals are still in line for the throne, despite being Catholic. Or if one marries a Catholic _ **WHO CONVERTS FIRST TO THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND** _? (I’m not talking about a Catholic who stays one, but someone who converts?) The Spanish royals are indeed in line to the British throne. They are also, every last one of them, excluded for being “Papists” (what a quaint word). See [this Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Succession_to_the_British_Throne) and you’ll notice “XP” listed next to all of their names (and their names are not preceded by a number) because they’re not eligible for the throne. (They’re also down into at least the 400s in line, so they don’t have to worry.) > [@dangermom](#): > > Now granted, he’s not the crown prince, so it would probably be more of an issue with William. I’d like to think it would be fine, but I’m not British. Ummm, correct me if I’m wrong, but William isn’t the crown prince either, right? Isn’t it his dad? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/49 "2011-05-02T15:21:43Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Fergie’s a latina? To be clear, I think we’re talking about the singer Stacy Ferguson, not the former wife of the Duke of York. Apparently one of her great-grandparents was Mexican. Otherwise, her heritage seems to be Celtic. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/50 "2011-05-02T15:25:24Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > Ummm, correct me if I’m wrong, but William isn’t the crown prince either, right? Isn’t it his dad? Yes. But William is going to be the crown prince, unless he dies before his grandmother does. And I was sort of confusedly referring to Joachim’s older brother Frederik, the Danish crown prince, as well. (He married an Australian, as any Aussie can tell you.) ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/51 "2011-05-03T07:57:22Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > I’m not really seeing how the Queen’s views on the matter come into it, beyond any grandmotherly influence that she may exert over William. The Queen’s views come into it by virtue of the [Royal Marriages Act](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Marriages_Act_1772), which gives her the power to veto the marriage of any descendant of George II (subject to the bypass mentioned upthread). Although, I wonder if that power is the Queen’s alone, or if she exercises it on the advice of her Ministers. Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/52 "2011-05-03T08:37:57Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I wonder how the Queen and British public would feel about a non-white member of a foreign royal family. This came to mind because I know the Imperial House of Japan has a _lot_ of princesses, including five or six currently in their 20s. Very interesting. That would be a huge refresher for the royal gene pool. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2011, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/53 "2011-05-03T09:51:29Z")
I think the bigger problem for the royal family would be if the general public got a sniff of the queen even trying to dissuade William from marrying the woman he loves who happens to be of darker skinned ancestry. I suspect the majority of the UK population would be horrified by that and the queen is smart enough to know it. Sure there are the knuckleheads with racist tendencies who’ll yap their gobs no matter what but I don’t think the man in the street would have a problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/54 "2011-05-03T10:13:35Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I wonder how the Queen and British public would feel about a non-white member of a foreign royal family. This came to mind because I know the Imperial House of Japan has a _lot_ of princesses, including five or six currently in their 20s. Princess Akiko is only a few months older than Prince William and got her Ph.D. in the UK, so I can imagine a fairly plausible alternate world in which she and William (or Harry) met, fell in love, and wanted to get married. Fuck the British royals… send them over here! ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/55 "2011-05-03T10:15:39Z")
> [@ctnguy](#): > > The Queen’s views come into it by virtue of the [Royal Marriages Act](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Marriages_Act_1772), which gives her the power to veto the marriage of any descendant of George II (subject to the bypass mentioned upthread). > > Although, I wonder if that power is the Queen’s alone, or if she exercises it on the advice of her Ministers. Anyone know? That’s a good point. However, I suspect it is one of several hypothetical powers that the Queen has that would be taken off her the moment she tried to exercise any of them. Following on from **Novelty Bobble** ’s comment, vetoing the marriage on racial grounds would cause such outrage that at the very least I am sure the Royal Marriages Act would be swiftly repealed. I also think there would be pressure on the Queen to abdicate, and it might even threaten support for the continuation of the monarchy itself. She’d be crazy to try it. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/56 "2011-05-03T10:28:43Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I think the bigger problem for the royal family would be if the general public got a sniff of the queen even trying to dissuade William from marrying the woman he loves who happens to be of darker skinned ancestry. This is why I mentioned that the first knowledge would come through paparazzi followed by a public debate. If there was the slightest sniff ol’ Phil had tried to put the kybosh on William marrying some otherwise princesslike and lovable but dark skinned girl, the powerful middle class press in the UK (and quite possibly the Sun, you never quite know how the Sun will play things) would string him up by the balls. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/57 "2011-05-03T12:31:46Z")
> [@Khristy](#): > > So, Latinas such as oh… Christina Aguilera, Cameron Diaz, Fergie, Shakira, etc, are “brownish”? Funny, they look as white to me as I am. I’m hispanic, so “beige”. From experience, I can tell you that a non-racist will see me as someone who has thick dark hair and a nice tan. They will rarely think of me as a “visible minority” or “ethnic”. A racist will see me as a “wetback” and ask me to prove my citizenship. It’s all in prejudiced perception. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/58 "2011-05-03T17:35:05Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Very interesting. That would be a huge refresher for the royal gene pool. And a Japanese princess would probally be able to adapt to the living in the royal fishbowl really, really, well. If there’s any royal family more restrictive and traditional than the Windsors it’s the Japanese imperial family. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/59 "2011-05-03T20:33:09Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > And a Japanese princess would probally be able to adapt to the living in the royal fishbowl really, really, well. If there’s any royal family more restrictive and traditional than the Windsors it’s the Japanese imperial family. Do you think the British public would react better to a marriage with a descendant of that war criminal Emperor Hirohito? Given that there are still a fair number of WWII veterans (including the Queen herself) and their families still around? Here in the USA, we were far less directly affected by WWII, but there are still a lot of people who hold grudges about it. For example, a local non-profit organization was asked to send a donation after the recent tsunami in Japan. An older member moved that they send $12 and 7 cents, for December 7th – that was amended to send them $24.02, one cent for every American “murdered by the Japanese treachery at Pearl Harbor”. So hard feelings are still present here; I’d expect even more in Britain. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409/60 "2011-05-03T21:59:54Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > And a Japanese princess would probally be able to adapt to the living in the royal fishbowl really, really, well. If there’s any royal family more restrictive and traditional than the Windsors it’s the Japanese imperial family. Yeah, I was also thinking that to a woman who grew up in the Japanese Imperial Family the British Royal Family might seem downright laid-back and affectionate. > [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Do you think the British public would react better to a marriage with a descendant of that war criminal Emperor Hirohito? Princess Akiko isn’t a descendant of Hirohito, and neither are most of the other single Japanese princesses of marriageable age. > [@](#): > > Here in the USA, we were far less directly affected by WWII, but there are still a lot of people who hold grudges about it. For example, a local non-profit organization was asked to send a donation after the recent tsunami in Japan. An older member moved that they send $12 and 7 cents, for December 7th – that was amended to send them $24.02, one cent for every American “murdered by the Japanese treachery at Pearl Harbor”. So hard feelings are still present here; I’d expect even more in Britain. The US was far more directly affected by the _Japanese_ during WWII. It was the Germans who were bombing the UK during the war, and the British clearly don’t have a problem with people of German descent holding the throne. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-bride-of-color-been-considered-appropriate-for-william/580409.md?page=4)