Prince Harry has addressed the topic of racism in an exclusive British Vogue interview.
The royal interviewed activist and chimpanzee expert Dr Jane Goodall for the latest edition of British Vogue after being commissioned by his wife Meghan Markle, who is guest-editing the fashion bible.
When the duke asked Goodall how her study of primates had impacted upon how she felt about people, the discussion turned to the issue of violence and racism.
Goodall, a childhood hero of the duke and his wife, said it was âobviousâ mankind had âinherited aggressive tendenciesâ but human brains were able to control anger.
She added: â[Children] donât notice, âMy skinâs white, mineâs black,â until somebody tells them.â
The duke said the same applied to âunconscious biasâ, where someoneâs words or actions could be perceived as racist, but if confronted the person would deny it.
He added: âIâm not saying that youâre a racist, Iâm just saying that your unconscious bias is proving that, because of the way that youâve been brought up, the environment youâve been brought up in, suggests that you have this point of view.â
Meghan, who is mixed race, has been the target of repeated racist abuse from online trolls and some British tabloids since the pairâs relationship came to light.
This prompted the prince to issue a rare statement via Kensington Palace in November 2016 about the harassment being experienced by the duchess and her relatives.
Called for her privacy, the statement condemned the âwave of abuse and harassmentâ aimed at Markle, calling out âthe racial undertones of comment pieces and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article commentsâ.
US recording artist Pharrell Williams told the royal couple at the Lion King premiere that their interracial relationship is âsignificant for many of usâ in âtodayâs climateâ, Harpers Baazer reported.
The duke and duchess reportedly nodded at Williamsâ warm comments.
âThank you so much. Thatâs so nice of you to say. [...] They donât make it easy,â Markle replied.
On Monday, the duchessâ Vogue editorship was announced.
She has brought together 15 women for the cover, including actress Jane Fonda and climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg, for what is considered to be the publicationâs most important edition of the year.
Markle does not grace the cover as she felt it would be a âboastfulâ thing for her to do, according to the magazineâs editor-in-chief Edward Enninful.
The duchess, who has been working on the project for the past seven months, said she hopes readers feel as inspired by the magazine as she does, with its cover featuring a mix of campaigning actors, models, a dancer, an author and a prime minister.