Prince Harry Spare: The difference between racism and unconscious bias

The autobiography contains claims that William physically attacked him, while his admission he killed 25 Taliban members during the Afghanistan war generated protests in Helmand province over the weekend.

Prince Harry denies calling the Royal family racist

In an interview with ITV on Sunday, January 8, Prince Harry sat down with Tom Brady and said he did not accuse the Royal Family of racism.

Harry was referring to his March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, where the Duchess of Sussex revealed an unnamed family member raised concerns about how dark their unborn son’s skin would be.

Harry and Meghan Opera interview (Image: PA)

“No I didn’t… The British press said that… Did Meghan ever mention that they’re racist?… There was concern about his skin colour,” the duke said.

Brady then asked: “Wouldn’t you describe that as essentially racist?”

Harry replied: “I wouldn’t, not having lived within that family,” adding: “Going back to the difference between what my understanding is because of my own experience, the difference between racism and unconscious bias, the two things are different.”

So what is unconscious bias?

The Press Association (PA) spoke to Ashleigh Ainsley, co-founder of ColorinTech, a not-for-profit tackling discrimination within the technology industry, to break down what this means.

As suggested in the wording, unconscious bias is actions you make that you are unaware of.

Ainsley says unconscious bias is “where you are not necessarily consciously making a decision based on somebody’s predetermined characteristics.”

This differs from conscious bias. He continued: “Conscious bias is when you are doing or saying something and using your predisposed opinions, thoughts, ideas or judgements about somebody, based on some sort of characteristic they have – to largely discriminate against them, or to make a judgement in favour of one thing without being balanced or fair or proportionate.”

Harry says Royal Family guilty of unconscious bias

According to Ainsley: “The ramifications from unconscious bias can be worse” than conscious.

Negatively speculating on the skin tone of an unborn child is not “unconscious bias”, unconscious to who? That is someone actively and consciously freaking out about skin colour. Harry knows this but protecting the monarchy is ultimately still his priority. #HarryTheInterview

— Jason Okundaye (@jasebyjason) January 8, 2023

“Where it’s very obvious, you can see it, you can challenge it, and you can call it out. [If] somebody is being sexist, homophobic or racist, you can say, you’re saying that, or that is happening… When it’s unconscious, it can often be harder to spot, harder to identify, harder to produce accountability for – and actually, that means it’s a bit more pervasive, and people can get away with doing it.”

However, Harry’s claim that his family is not racist and it is unconscious bias drew some criticism online.

Writer Jason Okundaye tweeted: “Negatively speculating on the skin tone of an unborn child is not “unconscious bias”, unconscious to who? That is someone actively and consciously freaking out about skin colour.”

Writer and podcaster Kelechi Okafor also tweeted: “Unconscious bias is unaccountability by another name”.

Harry’s memoir, Spare

Harry’s memoir, Spare, was released today (Tuesday, January 10), and is available at retailers such as Waterstones, Amazon and WHSmith.

The highly-anticipated book, which was ghostwritten by Pulitzer Prize winner JR Moehringer, has the RRP of £28.

It is being described as the "most eagerly awaited memoir of 2023" and it is currently available half-price at the retailers listed above.