Buckingham Palace Admits Hiring Few Minorities for First Time

In this file photo taken on July 10, 2018 (L-R) Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 to watch a military fly-past to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force (RAF). (AFP/Tolga Akmen)

Buckingham Palace has said it 'must do more' after publicly revealing its numbers of staff from ethnic minorities for the first time.

Some 8.5 percent of the royal household's employees are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, according to its annual financial accounts for 2020 to 2021.

It has a target to reach 10 percent in 2022. The percentage in the UK as a whole is around 14 percent, according to an audit commissioned by the Government in 2018.

A senior palace source said the figures had been published so there could be 'no place to hide' and to hold the palace accountable. "We are not where we would like to be despite our efforts. It is not that we have not been progressing diversity and inclusion initiatives during this period, it is that simply the results have not been what we would like," they said.

"We have continuous engagement with external advisers, organizations that are at the grassroots level who sit on our steering committee, people who are able to give us a different voice, a different perspective. And we recognize that we must do more. One of the key points about the publishing of our statistics, which is actually on a voluntary basis, is that there's no place to hide," The Metro quoted the source as saying.

"We fully expect you to come back and hold us accountable for the progress that we made. And if we don't make the progress, we'll have to explain why," he noted.

The news comes after Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle accused the Royal Family of racism in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey back in March. They claimed questions were asked about how dark their son Archie's skin tone might be before he was born.

After the interview, the Queen issued a statement saying the issues raised were being taken seriously, but "some recollections may vary." When asked about the comments, the Duke of Cambridge said publicly: "We're very much not a racist family."

The royal household's report added how the diversity strategy at Buckingham Palace has changed to "emphasize the importance of inclusion."