Prince William insists the Royals are "very much not a racist family," but photos of him and his wife being carried on elevated thrones don't exactly reflect that.
The pictures resurfaced Thursday after the Duke of Cambridge emphatically denied the allegations of racism made by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during their Oprah interview.
They show him and Kate Middleton being carried on thrones back in 2012 by people of color in the Solomon Islands. William and Kate were on their Diamond Jubilee tour of the British Commonwealth nations in the South Pacific at the time.
During the tour, they were carried on the backs of locals several times ... including in the nearby country of Tuvalu.
Understandably, these images juxtaposed with both William's and Buckingham Palace's statements about alleged racism have people wondering ... if the British monarchy has an issue with white supremacy.
While one could say the throne carrying ceremony is tradition, one would also have to look at why and how that tradition began -- and that's where race and colonization become an issue.
Regardless, the optics aren't good.