The Queen’s courtiers banned ‘coloured immigrants or foreigners’ from working in office roles in the royal household until at least the late 1960s, according to bombshell documents.
The papers, uncovered in the National Archives by the Guardian, also show how Buckingham Palace negotiated controversial clauses exempting the Queen and her household from laws that prevent race and sex discrimination.
The discovery is a fresh embarrassment to the Firm as it grapples with charges of racism levelled against the institution by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their incendiary interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Written memos summarise conversations between Home Office civil servant TG Weiler and Palace officials including Lord Tryon, the keeper of the privy purse, who was responsible for managing the Queen’s private finances.
The documents state that it was not the ‘practice’ for ethnic minorities to be appointed to clerical roles but that ‘coloured applicants’ were ‘freely considered’ for domestic posts.
But a Buckingham Palace spokesperson insisted the ‘second hand accounts of conversations from over 50 years ago’ were no reflection of modern day practices.
The Queen’s courtiers negotiated clauses that exempt Palace workers from race and sex discrimination laws in the 1960s, with documents unearthed from the National Archives showing ‘coloured immigrants or foreigners’ were banned from working in Palace office roles
The papers show a discussion between a TG Weiler, and Lord Tryon in the 1960s as government ministers sought to introduce laws that would make it illegal to refuse to employ a person on the grounds of their race or ethnicity.
According to summarised notes from the discussions in February 1968, the Queen’s aides said the staff fell into three different categories; senior posts, clerical and office posts and ‘ordinary domestic posts’.
The documents state that it was not the ‘practice’ for people from ethnic minorities to be appointed to the office roles.
The archive notes read: ‘(a) senior posts, which were not filled by advertising or by any overt system of appointment and which would presumably be accepted as outside the scope of the bill; (b) clerical and other office posts, to which it was not, in fact, the practice to appoint coloured immigrants or foreigners; and (c) ordinary domestic posts for which coloured applicants were freely considered, but which would in any event be covered by the proposed general exemption for domestic employment.’
The notes were recorded ahead of the introduction of a series of racial and sexual equality laws that were designed to eliminate discrimination.
The National Archive documents suggest the royal household may have used Queen’s Consent on the bill, a procedure which requires the government to seek permission from the monarch to debate laws that affect her.
Queen’s Consent has been used on Bills ranging from social security issues to the Article 50 law allowing Britain to leave EU.
The exemption from the equality laws was brought into force in the 1970s.
It is unclear when the ‘practice’ of banning ethnic minorities from these specific roles ended. Buckingham Palace said that it did not keep records on the racial backgrounds of employees before the 1990s.
Palace officials also highlighted that there were a number of employees from ethnic minorities employed during that decade.
The Palace exemption from the laws means women and ethnic minorities working in the royal household were not protected by law if they feel they have been discriminated against because of their race or gender
The papers also shed light on how courtiers negotiated controversial clauses that exempt Palace officials from laws that prevent race and sex discrimination
This means women and ethnic minorities working in the royal household were not protected by law if they felt they were racially or sexually discriminated against.
Any complaints would have been referred to the home secretary instead of the courts. It is understood that these controversial clauses remain in place to this day.
In a statement published in the Guardian, Buckingham Palace also did not dispute that the Queen had been exempted from the racial and sexual equality laws.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Claims based on a second hand account of conversations from over 50 years ago should not be used to draw or infer conclusions about modern day events or operations.
‘The principles of Crown Application and Crown Consent are long established and widely known. The Royal Household and the Sovereign comply with the provisions of the Equality Act, in principle and in practice.
‘This is reflected in the diversity, inclusion and dignity at work policies, procedures and practices within the Royal Household.
‘Any complaints that might be raised under the Act follow a formal process that provides a means of hearing and remedying any complaint.’
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