Queen Elizabeth II has broken her silence with a statement expressing the British royal family's sadness at the allegations levelled by her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle.
Buckingham Palace said the claims about race that were raised by the couple in an interview with Oprah Winfrey would be addressed by the monarchy.
"The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan," it said.
"The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.
"Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members."
That assertion "some recollections may vary" was closely scrutinised in the UK after the intervention. While many welcomed Buckingham Palace open response to the claim an unidentified royal had asked about the colour of son Archie's skin, others saw the wording as pointing to a difficult reckoning between conflicting accounts.
In their interview, Prince Harry and Meghan told Winfrey that the royal relative had made remarks on “how dark” the skin tone of their then unborn son’s skin tone.
The allegations have deepened the controversy over the interview. A post-broadcast poll has show support for stripping the couple of their royal titles. Among those aged 45 and older, 62 per cent were in favour of the couple losing their royal status, with 21 per cent saying they should retain the Sussex dukedom. The divide was smaller among younger people. For those aged 18 to 44, 38 per cent called for them to forgo their titles, while 36 per cent said they should keep their status.
The comments were not made by the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Harry said.
He made it clear that tensions had ruptured relations with Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, and his brother, Prince William.
Prince Harry detailed the depth of the family divisions that led the couple to step away from royal duties and move to California last year.
The couple dropped their bombshell while Prince Harry’s 99-year-old grandfather, Prince Philip, remains in hospital in London after a heart procedure.
With so many factors in play, Queen Elizabeth has appeared to struggle to balance her sometimes-conflicting roles as monarch and grandmother.
Angela Levin, author of Harry, a Biography of a Prince, said the delay between the interview airing and the release of the statement show how hard the situation was for the head of the family.
But Levin said there was little doubt that ultimately Elizabeth, 94, would make her decision based on what was best for the 1,000-year-old institution she has led since 1952.
The monarch's reticence echoed her widely criticised response to the death of Princess Diana in 1997.
Britain's press blasted the royal family for being cold and uncaring when the queen initially refused to drop the Royal Standard to half staff and took nearly a week to release a public statement expressing her grief.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton said the fallout from the interview would “shudder down through the generations in the same way that Diana’s did”.
Morton drew parallels with Diana's infamous Panorama interview in 1995, in which she accused royal aides of being 'the enemy" and questioned Prince Charles' suitability as king.
Prince Harry described feeling "really let down" by his father, who stopped taking his phone calls for a while.
He said Charles – the queen's heir – and his elder brother William were trapped by the conventions of the monarchy.
"They don't get to leave. And I have huge compassion for that," he told Winfrey.
Meghan, who is of mixed race, said she was naively unprepared for life in the pressure cooker of the royal family.
But she said she was denied help for a mental health crisis and was the target of lies in an incident involving her sister-in-law, William's wife Kate.
She said her depression was exacerbated by concern about the skin colour of her unborn son.
"I ... just didn't want to be alive any more. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought," she said.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Disturbing%20facts%20and%20figures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E51%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20in%20the%20UAE%20feel%20like%20they%20are%20failing%20within%20the%20first%20year%20of%20parenthood%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E57%25%20vs%2043%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20is%20the%20number%20of%20mothers%20versus%20the%20number%20of%20fathers%20who%20feel%20they%E2%80%99re%20failing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E28%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20believe%20social%20media%20adds%20to%20the%20pressure%20they%20feel%20to%20be%20perfect%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E55%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20cannot%20relate%20to%20parenting%20images%20on%20social%20media%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E67%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20wish%20there%20were%20more%20honest%20representations%20of%20parenting%20on%20social%20media%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E53%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20admit%20they%20put%20on%20a%20brave%20face%20rather%20than%20being%20honest%20due%20to%20fear%20of%20judgment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cspan%20style%3D%22font-size%3A%2014px%3B%22%3ESource%3A%20YouGov%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
Company profile
Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
