An administrator at King’s College in London was forced to issue an apology after sending out a photo of the late Prince Philip following his death in April.
Joleen Clarke, the associate director at King’s College libraries, sent an email to staff with a photo of Prince Philip and the Queen celebrating the opening of the school’s Maughan Library.
“As the nation marks the death of HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, we thought you might like to see this photo of the Duke at the official opening of the Maughan Library in 2002, which some colleagues will remember,” the email read.
King’s College faculty were upset by the email, citing the Prince’s past insensitive comments. According to Daily Mail, the university’s head of partnership and liaison, Vanessa Farrier, who was also appointed in June of 2020 to “decolonize” the library’s collection, complained about the message. The school’s anti-racism group also complained that the photo caused “harm” to staff.
In 1961, Prince Philip said that “British women can’t cook.” In 1984, he asked a Kenyan woman, “You are a woman, aren’t you?” In 1986, he called Beijing “ghastly” and told students that “if you stay here much longer you’ll all be slitty-eyed.” The same year, Prince Philip said that the Cantonese will eat anything.
“If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an airplane, or swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it,” he said.
Clarke was forced to issue an apology and condemned Prince Philip’s “history of racist and sexist comments.”
“The picture was included as a historical reference point following his death. The inclusion of the picture was not intended to commemorate him,” Clarke said. “Through feedback and subsequent conversations, we have come to realize the harm that this caused members of our community, because of his history of racist and sexist comments. We are sorry to have caused this harm.”
A source told the Daily Mail that Clarke was “made to account for herself in a kangaroo court” by colleagues, “despite having played an active role in the university’s anti-racism program.”
Following the international resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, King’s College joined the running list of universities making changes to become more racially inclusive. According to The College Fix, King’s College plans to put up a “wall of diversity” where portraits of the university’s deans used to be displayed.
The change was made after the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience claimed that “the current classroom environment is too ‘intimidating’ for ethnic minorities.” School administrators believe that the diverse picture wall will make students feel more included.
According to the school’s Dean of Education, Patrick Leman, the school needs more diverse pictures to make the school feel less “alienating.” Leman said that the pictures of the former deans will be removed and rehung in “less prominent” areas of the school.