Editor’s Note: Bonnie Greer is a playwright, author, columnist and critic based in London. The opinion in this article belongs to the author. View more opinion on CNN.
The first child of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has been born into a UK facing its greatest challenge since World War II.
As Britain’s royal family celebrates their new arrival, it is worth noting that the child is not technically born a prince, as his father Prince Harry was.
Before the House of Windsor was created in the early 20th century, the royal family was largely German and seen to be alien, remote and too big.
So King George V, the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth ll, set to work remaking the royal family into a more streamlined, more “English” brand.
George decided that the best way to combat the perception of the family was to limit the number of royals, and so decreed that only the first born of the heir to the throne would be a “royal highness” – unless the reigning monarch decreed otherwise.
This meant that Prince George, the eldest child of William and Catherine, was born royal under law.
Before George was even born, Parliament passed a law saying that whatever gender William and Catherine’s first child was, it would be in direct succession after William.
The Queen then issued a decree making all of the children of William and Kate royal. This makes Charlotte a princess and an HRH (and the highest-ranking female born into the royal family in more than 60 years) and makes Louis “HRH, the Prince Louis.”
It would be a surprise if the Queen does not issue a decree making baby Sussex an HRH. After all, she made Meghan an HRH, when the prediction was that she would not, because Meghan is American.
So this baby is nothing less than a revolution.
As a former patron of the Prince’s Trust, one of Prince Charles’ many charities, I’ve met the first-in-line to the throne a few times and received my OBE, or Officer of the British Empire, from him.
In his way, he has championed diversity and change all of his life. So it’s no surprise to me that he winds up co-grandparenting with an African-American woman, Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
The new baby will have a wonderful and eclectic family. But baby Sussex is also a public child – the property, in a sense, of the British psyche. And he comes into the world at a time when the UK is examining its very being because of Brexit, and when the country is not a great place to be a foreigner or to be perceived as an “other.”
I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, not far from the same African-American area where Michelle Obama grew up.
I smile when I hear that “homegirl” in the former First Lady’s voice and in her manner. I feel the same way about the Duchess of Sussex. And for many women of color here in the UK, our connection with Meghan and her new baby is something that the powers that be do not understand. Our support for her and this new child is visceral. No matter what.
King George wanted the people of his country to care about his family to the point of becoming emotionally attached to them. If the British people did that, he reasoned, then the royal family would survive. So, the royal family became a mirror of what the British look at when they want to see a conventional picture of themselves. The Duchess of Sussex and baby Sussex shatter that mirror into pieces.
And for many, that is unforgivable and unacceptable. This new baby is both a symbol and a warning: The UK cannot turn back the clock.
I was one of the CNN commentators for the royal wedding. It was a perfect English spring day – sunny, warm, calm.
Later that evening, I was on the grounds of Windsor Castle, near Frogmore Cottage, now the home of the Sussex family. The night was permeated by the gentle scent of the flowers that Meghan herself had chosen. But the couple may not be at Windsor for long.
There is talk that Meghan and Harry will be asked to serve crown and country in Africa, the continent that is home to the majority of Commonwealth nations. This is not unusual because as William prepares for his future role as king, Harry must find his niche, the place to make his mark. And he loves sub-Saharan Africa.
If this is true, baby Sussex will have a 21st-century upbringing: international and eclectic.
Recently, while making a documentary, I visited the vaults of the Museum of London. I was shown the skeletal remains of a woman who had died from one of the greatest pandemics ever: the “Black Death” of 1347-1351.
I was told by the scientist who showed me the remains that the skeleton belonged to a woman of African ancestry – a woman of the 14th century. Soon I will see another rare treasure: a painted vellum scroll depicting the then-King of England in a jousting contest. This scroll is called the Westminster Tournament Roll, created in 1511. It features the image of the King’s royal trumpeter: John Blanke, an African man.
The fact is that medieval London was multicultural. The King who was celebrated in the Tournament Roll, and who employed an African trumpeter, was the young and international Henry VIII – known in his time as “Harry.”
Now, Harry and Meghan’s son can teach the British their own history and show them their future. And the future cannot be stopped.
