Some members of the Royal Family decided not to take part in voluntary diversity and inclusion training programmes, according to reports. The voluntary courses were offered to both household staff and members of the Royal Family with the option of attending online or in person. But according to sources, members of the Royal Family chose not to take part in the programmes.
An insider told the Mail on Sunday: “I don’t know of any members of the Royal Family who have taken part in the training.”
One course was called “unconscious bias training” and another “diversity in the workplace”.
“I know that some Royals kicked the unconscious bias one into touch and have yet to take part,” the source added.
According to the newspaper, Buckingham Palace refused to confirm which members had completed the courses.
But they claimed the courses had been well received by staff within the Royal Household.
A Buckingham Palace official said: “I wouldn’t comment on individual members of the Royal Family but what is important is that the inclusivity and diversity training is available to all members of the Royal Family and all senior leaders within the household.”
An inclusion and diversity strategy was put into place following Lady Susan Hussey’s comments where she asked a guest at Buckingham Palace: “Where do you really come from?”
Lady Susan stepped down from her role as a result of her “deeply regrettable” comments.
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The Palace’s programmes aim to teach staff how to behave appropriately with colleagues from different ethnic backgrounds and how they may be prejudiced on decisions based on race, gender and sexuality.
Next year, the Palace’s human resources team plans to “measure the progress on cultural change in relation to inclusion and diversity through a household-wide survey”.
It comes as the sovereign grant report indicated Charles and Camilla planned to ensure 14 percent of their workforce was diverse.
At the moment, it stands at 12 percent, while the Prince and Princess of Wales’s is proportionally higher.
