Buckingham Palace opposed “immigrants of color or foreigners” from being accepted into high office until at least the late 1960s.
This data was revealed by the British newspaper “The Guardian”, which discovered documents in the National Archives about the use of an obscure parliamentary procedure, known as the Queen’s consent, to secretly influence decisions made in British law. That is, the Queen has obtained permission from Parliament to review laws affecting her interests.
Buckingham Palace told the Guardian that the approval is a mere formality, although there is evidence that the Queen has repeatedly used this power to pressure, without any doubt, ministers to amend some EU legislation she does not like.
According to the documents, Queen Isabel II’s chief financial officer said, in 1968, that people from ethnic minorities could be domestic servants in the royal house, but were prevented from having clerical jobs.
Queen Elizabeth II has been exempt from gender and race equality laws since they were introduced in the UK in the 1970s, meaning that women and members of ethnic minorities who work in the royal house cannot file a case in court, if they feel discriminated against.
In response to a question from the Guardian about the ban, Buckingham Palace refused to answer questions about the situation, claiming that its records show members of ethnic minorities working in the 1990s. The Royal House noted that prior to that decade, it did not keep records of the ethnicity of employees.
It is worth noting that the discovery of these documents comes after Prince Harry and Megan Markle accused the royal family of racism.
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