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13 March 2021

Queen’s representative ‘always treated with respect and dignity’

13 March 2021

A representative of the Queen has said she is “always treated with the utmost respect and dignity” by the Royal Family.

Lord-Lieutenant Peaches Golding described the family as “people who are trying to get the best out of each other on every occasion”, as the fallout continues from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Asked about her dealings with the family, the Queen’s representative in Bristol told ITV: “One of the things that the Lord-Lieutenant does is we join communities to palaces and palaces to communities.

“I can say that I have always been treated with the utmost respect and dignity and with people who are trying to get the best out of each other on every occasion.”

Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit Bristol (PA Archive)

She was also asked about the Duke of Cambridge defending the family against claims of racism, after he told reporters: “We’re very much not a racist family.”

Ms Golding said: “I would not wish ever to be in a circumstance where people were throwing microphones at me and asking questions. It’s a very difficult thing and I think we all have to acknowledge the fact that he did say ‘yes we are not a racist family’.”

Winfrey was left open-mouthed when Meghan and Harry recounted that a family member – not the Queen or Duke of Edinburgh – had raised concerns about how dark their unborn son Archie’s skin tone might be.

When addressing the points raised in last Sunday’s interview, Ms Golding added: “All I can do is talk about my family because that’s what I know and I know that in my family we go from shades of very nearly white to very nearly the darkest chocolate browns that you can come from.

Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit Bristol (PA Archive)

“What I know is that in my family we love each other regardless of the colour of our skin or the texture of our hair.

“When you go back to someone like Martin Luther King, he said some really, really important words on people being judged on the content of their character and not the colour of their skin.

“That’s what I experience in my family and we always want to have a little conversation about the joy that babies bring – and it’s a conversation born of love I hope.”

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