Princess Michael criticised for wearing 'racist' brooch to meet Meghan Markle

Princess Michael of Kent is being criticised for a racially offensive brooch she wore to a royal event earlier this week.

The princess (wife of Prince Michael of Kent, Queen Elizabeth's first cousin) was photographed wearing the "blackamoor" brooch on the way to the Queen's annual Christmas luncheon at Buckingham Palace.

Image: Getty

"Blackamoor" art was popular in 18th century Europe, but today it's considered racially insensitive at best, or more often, just flat-out racist. It features exoticised depictions of people of colour; sometimes noblemen but especially servants and slaves, leading many to criticise designs for fetishising slavery.

Image: Twitter/@rococopacetic

It's an inappropriate badge for a royal to wear on any day, but many Twitter users pointed out that this occasion was especially poorly chosen. It was the first year Meghan Markle, newly engaged to Prince Harry, attended – and the first time she was formally introduced to many royal family members.

The biracial duchess-to-be, who has a black mother and white father, has endured a lot of ongoing commentary about her race. Last year, she wrote an essay for essay for  about dealing with racism, and following her recent engagement, said the focus on her race had been "disheartening".

Image: Twitter/@Style_Me_Royal

Princess Michael's history of racist and racially insensitive behaviour added further to many people's impression that the brooch was making an unpleasant statement.

In 2004, she reportedly told a table of black diners at a New York restaurant to "go back to the colonies". She then exacerbated the situation with a tone-deaf non-apology on ITV, in which she said she couldn't be racist because of her "love" for people of colour.

"I even pretended years ago to be an African, a half-caste African, but because of my light eyes I did not get away with it, but I dyed my hair black," she said in the interview, according to the Guardian.

"I travelled on African buses. I wanted to be a writer. I wanted experiences from Cape Town to right up in northern Mozambique. I had this adventure with these absolutely adorable, special people and to call me racist: it's a knife through the heart because I really love these people."

Earlier today a spokeperson for Princess Michael told TMZ TMZthe brooch was a gift she'd worn many times before, but added that the princess was "very sorry and distressed" and had not intended any insult to Markle.

Kensington Palace is yet to comment.