BUCKINGHAM PALACE reportedly refused to hire anyone from an ethnic minority background until the late 1960s.
According to newly discovered documents, the Queen's courtiers banned "coloured immigrants or foreigners" from serving in clerical roles in the royal household.
The 1968 Race Relations Act made it illegal to refuse a job to someone because of their ethnic background, and while "coloured applicants were freely considered" for domestic roles, there still appears to be evidence of race discrimination.
The Palace aimed to distance itself from the report, saying: "Claims based on a second-hand account of conversations from over 50 years ago should not be used to draw or infer conclusions about modern day events or operations."
They also told the Guardian that people from minority ethnic backgrounds were employed during the 1990s, but that such records before that decade do not exist, making it unclear when the hiring policy changed.
It isn't the first time this year that the royal family has had to deal with accusations of racism.
Image: CBSDuring their interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle claimed that an unnamed member of the family had made a racist comment about the potential skin colour of their unborn baby Archie.
Following the interview, Prince William was forced to tell reporters that the royals are "very much not a racist family," while Harry and Meghan were criticised for refusing to name the person behind the remark.
"That conversion, I am never going to share. At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked," Harry told Oprah.
Buckingham Palace said the couple's comments about race "are concerning," and although it admitted that the matter will be taken seriously, it added that "some recollections may vary" regarding the incident.
