Our poll reveals 48% of people thought the Royal Fousehold should apologise for the practice.
Almost half of Britons think the Royal Family should apologise for banning ‘coloured immigrants or foreigners’ from working in the Royal Household, an exclusive poll for LFF can reveal.
This comes as the Royal Household admitted that only 8.5% of its staff are from an ethnic minority background this week.
Earlier this month, an investigation by the Guardian revealed that until the late 1960s, “coloured immigrants or foreigners” were banned from serving in clerical roles in the royal household.
It is not clear when the practice, which was implemented by the Queen’s courtiers, ended.
According to the poll conducted by Savanta Comres on behalf of LFF which consisted of 2108 people, 48% thought the Royal Household should apologise for this.
A further 38% thought they should not apologise and 18% said they did not know.
Support for an apology was highest from younger people, with 57% of 18 to 34 year olds in favour compared to 38% of over 55s.
People who voted Labour in 2019 were also more in favour of an apology for the practice – just 30% of Conservative voters agreed with the statement in comparison to 63% of Labour voters.
Documents discovered at the National Archives revealed how in 1968 civil servants were told that it was not practice to appoint “coloured immigrants or foreigners” to clerical roles in the royal household.
They were allowed to work as domestic servants.
Buckingham Palace has said that records from the 1990s showed that people from ethnic minority backgrounds were employed by the royal household, and that no information about race was collected before then.
This week The Royal Household published their annual financial records for 2020-21, which showed 8.5% of its staff are from an ethnic minority background.
According to the most recent Census in 2011, people from an ethnic minority background make up 13% of the population
This rises to 40% for London, where many of the royal household staff work.
The Royal Household says they intend for 10% of their staff to be from an ethnic minority background by 2022.
The question read: According to recently discovered documents, the Royal household banned ‘coloured immigrants or foreigners’ from serving in clerical roles in the royal household until at least the late 1960s, and also show that Buckingham Palace negotiated clauses – that remain in place to this day – exempting the Queen and her household from laws that prevent race and sex discrimination in the workplace. Which of the following statements is closest to your view?
The Royal Family should apologise for this or The Royal Family should not apologise for this.
Polling by Savanta: ComRes for Left Foot Forward. Fieldwork Conducted 11th – 13th June 2021. Poll of 2108 18+ year olds in Great Britain.
Alexandra Warren is a freelance journalist.
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