NANA AKUA: Wondering aloud about a baby’s skin tone is NOT racist… After supposed ‘racist royals’ are ‘inadvertently’ outed by Omid Scobie in his new book

At office water coolers, on social media and in bars and cafes across the country, one question is dominating the conversations.

Everyone wanted to know the identities of the so-called ‘royal racists’ – who allegedly asked about the skin color of Harry and Meghan’s yet-to-be-born son Archie – after they were ‘accidentally’ exposed by the Sussexes’ apparent mouthpiece, Omid Scobie in his new book Endgame.

But everyone has asked the wrong question. What people should consider is whether it is at all racist to wonder out loud about the skin color of an unborn baby. As a black mother of two mixed-race children, I can tell you that one of the few things my ex-partner and I agreed on before our son was born was his name: Ivory.

I laughed with my friends and family, “What if he comes out really dark? The opposite of what his name suggests!’ We would have loved him no matter what he looked like – we were just curious.

Naturally, every group of expectant parents wonders what their child will look like, what features and colors they will inherit from one side or the other of the family.

Everyone wanted to know the identities of the so-called ‘royal racists’ after they were ‘accidentally’ exposed by the Sussexes’ apparent mouthpiece, Omid Scobie, in his new book, Endgame.

For mixed-race parents, the skin color of their children is a lottery ticket. It is not unknown that twins look completely different: one has a dark skin color with dark hair and dark eyes and the other has blonde hair and blue eyes.

You don’t know until the child is born – which is why it’s such a fascinating topic of conversation. So while it is possible that asking about the skin color of an unborn child in a derogatory manner could be construed as racist, merely asking about it in the sense of genuine expectation is absolutely not. Discussing race is not racist.

The problem here is clearly that we don’t have any context. The scant evidence we have of the alleged interaction within the royal family suggests that the royals told Harry privately, and that he mentioned the conversation to Meghan at a later date. The story must have been re-transmitted by someone to Scobie, who is himself of mixed race, and perhaps reported it through the prism of his own experience.

All in all, these are dubious rumors. Harry is a late but outspoken champion of the anti-racism cause and the jury is still out on whether he truly understands the issues involved. Remember, this is a man who, even though he was a naive 21 year old, thought it was funny to call a fellow cadet at Sandhurst ‘our little P*** friend’.

In fact, I believe this incident is partly to blame for his hyper-sensitivity to perceived racism right now. His marriage to Meghan and learning about her life experiences as a mixed-race woman obviously play a larger role. But in his born-again righteousness he reminds me of a reformed smoker who lectures everyone about the dangers of cigarettes.

As a black mother of two mixed-race children, I can tell you that one of the few things my ex-partner and I agreed on before our son was born was his name: Ivory

It’s so sad that it has come to this. When Harry and Meghan’s engagement was announced in November 2017, I was thrilled. At the time, Britain embraced Meghan, and the fact that she was mixed race was something to celebrate in our increasingly multicultural society. Yes, we wanted to talk about it, but in a positive way.

But in an episode of the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary, released last year, Meghan complained: “People are very aware of my race because they made such an issue of it when I went to Britain.”

It is this hyper-sensitivity – and fundamental misunderstanding – that is at the heart of Harry and Meghan’s estrangement from the royal family and the accusations being made. We wanted – and still want – to see the couple and their children flourish, but their endless spoiled victimhood and moaning gets in the way.