Scraping the bottom of the ‘sugar’ barrel

THE EDITOR, Madam:

In the run-up to King Charles’s expensive coronation, which is unpopular with certain sections of the British population who have not forgiven Charles and Camilla for what happened to Princess Diana and are angry about the racist treatment of Meghan Markle (Duchess of Sussex), the Daily Mail is trying to apply public pressure by painting Charles as a more open and compassionate monarch.

We read, “ Earlier this month, it emerged that in another significant move of contrition, King Charles is supporting an inquiry by Historic Royal Palaces and Manchester University into the monarchy’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.”

Imagine my surprise when I saw the latest attempt to turn the public against Meghan Markle, and to try and polish Kate Middleton’s tarnished star in the eyes of younger people who relished Prince Harry’s autobiography: Spare. We read, “... the Daily Mail can reveal that the ancestor of at least one senior Royal played a key role in the movement that led to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1837 and the United States in 1865. For the Princess of Wales’s great-great-great-great-great-aunt, Norfolk-born Harriet Martineau, became known as ‘the greatest American abolitionist’ after fighting a lifelong battle to abolish slavery and racism in the U.S.”

GROSS INSULT

Talk about scraping the bottom of the ‘sugar’ barrel. The article continues to credit Middleton vicariously through her far-removed ancestor, Martineau. Flinging imaginary turd at the ‘Ungrateful’ Markle (accused of betrayal), the Daily Mail continues, “ …and, in a fascinating twist of history, it was her (Martineau) lobbying of U.S. Presidents James Madison and Andrew Jackson that ultimately set in motion Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – the declaration that freed the Duchess of Sussex’s great-great-great-great-grandfather Stephen Ragland from servitude. Historian Michael Reed, who discovered the connection, said that although Harry and Meghan have been accused of inferring racism in the Royal Family, our future queen has an ancestor who nobly fought the battle to free slaves in America.”

The link between Kate Middleton and abolitionist Harriet Martineau is an affront to enslaved African women such as Harriet Tubman, who helped many enslaved Africans to escape ‘the house of bondage’.

For the Daily Mail to stoop so low to pit Kate Middleton against Meghan Markle, suggesting that Princess Kate’s ancestor (Martineau) freed the Duchess of Sussex’s enslaved forefather (Stephen Ragland) is absurd! This new attempt to raise Middleton to the pantheon of abolitionists (such as the great Harriet Tubman) is a gross insult to black women who are the descendants of enslaved African women (freedom fighters) in the British Empire.

DR VELMA MCCLYMONT

Director of WomanzVue,

London