Translator’s Note: The British Royal family is a Constitutional Monarchy and not an Absolute Monarchy (King Charles the I was the last “absolute monarch in England – executed in 1649). Therefore, the British royal family possesses NO political power, although they retain considerable wealth and influence “behind-the-scenes”. As the British royal family is not a real monarchy – the various (post-1660) British governments have changed the royal lineage a number of times, inviting equally powerless (Protestant) monarchs from Holland and Germany, (ironically, the UK has fought two World Wars with Germany – despite hosting a Germanic royal lineage). Today’s incarnation of the British royal family is “German” in origin and not “British” (certainly not “English”). Of course, there are rumours of “Blackness” in the British royal family (take the example of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – the wife of King George III). However, Eurocentric historians are quick to find fault with these narratives – preserving the homogenous nature of the British royal family.
Below, I have translated a typical Chinese-language article regarding the case of the actor Adjoa Andoh – and her comments regarding the British royal family being “too White”. It is interesting, as the Chinese author of this article is presenting the idea that the British royal family should be “White” – and that it is logical for it to be so. Furthermore, it is considered illogical that the British royal family should be comprised of any individuals who are NOT White. Of course, nuance is everything and we should not take things at surface level. Within China, for instance, there is an academic tradition of accurately recording historical events so that the facts are correct. In the past, Han-dominant ethnic groups tended to control popitics – with a number of exceptions. Today, even in Socialist China (with its 56 ethnicities) – it would not be considered appropriate for non-Han actors to portray Han historical characters.
Bridgerton, of course, is a fictional reinterpretation of English history under King George III (during the 1800s) – produced in the US. This is the show that suggests King George III (who possessed NO political power) ushered-in an era of racial harmony in the UK – a show which propelled Adjoa Andoh into stardom (Americans tend not to understand that the post-1660 British monarchy possesses NO political power). In fact, King George III would not have been able to have ushered-in any era during his powerless-reign – just as he could not have fought a war in the Americas or granted the US “Independence” – simply on his own Will alone (it was the elected British Parliament which pursued these actions – not the King). Although the Chinese State, (and Chinese individuals) generally take the side of Black people in the West when they are confronted by racism (as Chinese people are also subject to White racism in the West) – the idea of theatrical representation seems to be treated as a different (and “unconnected”) from of material reality. ACW (1.12.2024)
Author: Yiyan (译言)
当她看到王室一家人出现在白金汉宫阳台时，说了一句：
“我们已经从教堂中丰富的多样性变成了可怕的白色阳台。”
Published on the Official Account of Fujian Yiyan.com – 10:58 on 11.5.2023
After his Coronation, King Charles III, who officially became the King of England during the ceremony, led his entire family in appearing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Of course, not all family members were present. The second brother – Prince Andrew – and the second son – Harry – were absent. This is also in contrast to the Buckingham Palace “Family Portrait” – made when Queen Elizabeth II was alive. At that time, family members without noble titles could also accept the cheers and greetings of the people. Obviously, those people present will be the core members of the royal family during Charles’ “reign” – with the others being excluded. In the eyes of most British people, such a “streamlined team” is reasonable, but some people are still not satisfied…
Adjoa Andoh (阿乔亚·安多 – A Qiao Ya – An Duo), a 60-year-old British actor, watched the Coronation King Charles III in the studio as a guest of the UK’s ITV Channel – and commented on the event. When she saw the royal family appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, she said: “We have gone from the rich diversity of the Church – to the terribly white balcony.” As a Black person of African-descent, Adjoa obviously assumed that the royal family’s skin-colour is a “problem” – stating that the individuals are “too white.” The so-called “diversity” the actress seems to be referencing – stems from the fact that King Charles III invited singers of African-descent to perform during the Coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
As soon as Adjoa’s words were spoken, they immediately aroused the anger of the audience. According to the Daily Mail, ITV has received 4,165 complaints about Adjoa’s remarks. It is reported that the complaints are still increasing, but ITV has remained silent and is unwilling to continue to publish the number of complaints, but more than 4,100 complaints have set a record. After the outrage, Adjoa had to explain, “I think I upset some people,” the actress said. “I was talking about the day and how wonderful it was, and then I looked at the balcony at the end and suddenly said, ‘Oh, it’s so white’, because the day was so, so complicated, and I didn’t mean to upset anyone.”
Adjoa was originally a member of a well-known acting troupe, and became famous for starring in the popular costume TV series “Bridgerton”, in which she played a noblewoman – Lady Danbury – a close friend of the Bridgerton family and the royal family. “Bridgerton”, which is full of romantic plots, presents a refreshing feeling because it integrates many people of African ethnicity into the British aristocracy and even the royal family. At the same time, this show has has also received strong (negativity) publicity because of this perceived “political correctness”.
Adjoa, who started to talk nonsense after playing a noble lady just once, was also criticized and ridiculed by netizens. “She should read a book and know that the people standing on the balcony are the real royal family”, “They are born white and cannot change because they are right”, “Is Adjoa speaking up for Meghan?” Netizens expressed their opinions. In short, almost everyone felt that her “wokeness” was too inappropriate.
On the balcony of the palace, Princess Charlotte made an inadvertent moves (using subtle hand-signals to tell her children when to move and when to stop their ritualistic behaviour) – which should have been the reaction (to “stop”) that most people thought Adjoa should have done!
Chinese Language Text:
英国黑人演员批王室一家人“太白了”，惹愤怒，网友回击：生而如此
译言
2023-05-11 10:58发布于福建译言网官方账号
在加冕礼结束后，正式成为英国国王的查尔斯领着全家老小，齐刷刷地在白金汉宫的阳台上亮相。当然也不是所有的家里人，比如二弟安德鲁王子以及二儿子哈里就没有现身。而这也和女王在世时的白金汉宫“全家福”形成了反差，当时那些没有贵族头衔的家族成员，也是可以接受民众们的欢呼致意的。
很明显，这些人将是查尔斯“统治”时期的王室核心成员，其他的人已经被刨除在外了。
在大多数的英国民众看来，这样的“精简团队”还是不错的，只不过还是有人无法满意……
现年60岁的英国女演员阿乔亚·安多（Adjoa Andoh），作为ITV频道的嘉宾，在演播室内观看了查尔斯的加冕礼，并对此进行了评论。
当她看到王室一家人出现在白金汉宫阳台时，说了一句：“我们已经从教堂中丰富的多样性变成了可怕的白色阳台。”
身为黑人的阿乔亚，显然是说拿王室家庭的肤色说事儿，嫌他们“太白了”。而所谓的“多样性”，指的是查尔斯在威斯敏斯特大教堂举行加冕礼的时候，邀请了一些黑人歌手表演。
阿乔亚的话一出口，立即引发了观众的愤怒。据《每日邮报》报道称，ITV已经收到了4165起投诉，都是针对阿乔亚的那番话的。
据悉，投诉还在不断地增加，但ITV对此保持了沉默，不愿意继续公布投诉数字，但超过4100起的投诉，已经创下了纪录。
而在愤怒之声一浪高过一浪之后，阿乔亚不得不解释了，“我想我让一些人不高兴了，”女演员如此说道，“我正在谈论这一天，它是多么美妙，然后看着尽头的阳台，突然说，‘哦，太白了’，因为这一天是如此、如此复杂，我并不是有意让任何人不高兴。”
阿乔亚原本是剧团演出成员，而因为出演了大热的古装电视剧《布里奇顿》而被广为熟知，在其中她饰演的是一位贵族女士丹伯里夫人，是布里奇顿家族和王室的密友。
充斥着风花雪月剧情的《布里奇顿》，因为将很多非裔人士融入了贵族阶层，乃至王室，呈现出了耳目一新的感觉，同时也是因为这种“正确”，也获得了大力宣传。
对于饰演了一次贵族女士就开始信口开河的阿乔亚，也是遭到了网友们的抨击和讽刺。
“她应该好好看看书了，知道站在阳台上的人们才是真实的王室”，“他们生来就是白的，不能因为正确而改变”，“阿乔亚是在为梅根鸣不平吗”网友们各抒己见，总之几乎所有人都觉得她“觉醒”的太不是地方了。
宫殿阳台上，夏洛特公主做出的一个不经意间的动作，应该就是大多数人对阿乔亚所说的话的反应。
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 