What is a blackamoor brooch?
BLACKAMOOR art is a form of European decorative art depicting people of African descent and range from paintings, statues and brooches.
Popular from the 16th to 19th century, they have since been viewed as racist depictions of black people due to social disparity between Europe and Africa at the time.
What is a blackamoor brooch?
Blackamoor sculptures and jewellery usually depict an African person as a servant and have a long history in decorative art, dating back to the 17th century.
This style of art fell out of fashion and today are rarely made as they are considered racist and highly offensive.
Italian fashion brand Dolce and Gabbana tried to pay homage to the heritage of the jewellery, which was particularly popular in the workshops of Venice, by producing blackamoor earrings in its spring/summer 2013 collection which attracted much criticism.
The term 'blackamoor' is defined as 'a person with dark skin who comes from Africa or whose ancestors came from Africa'.
Dating back to a bygone era rooted in British colonialism, the figures relate to the conquest of African nations by the British and other European powers.
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Princess Michael of Kent attended the function wearing a blackamoor brooch which depicted the bust of an African person, wearing a crown and jewels.
It has sparked particular outrage because of Meghan Markle's mixed heritage.
She has spoken openly on many occasions about being the daughter of a white father and a black mother and her engagement to Prince Harry has been seen as a huge marker for progress in the Royal Family.
After announcing their engagement that year, the pair were invited to attend the Queen's annual lunch on December 20th.
While Princess Michael apologised for 'causing offence' the incident has resurfaced as a result of the Netflix documentary 'Harry and Meghan'.
In it, Prince Harry refers to the 'unconscious bias' within the family and how he had not been fully aware of his own bias before meeting Meghan and that it was important to him to correct them, especially after the birth of his two children, who are both mixed race.
Meghan Markle outlined in her biography, 'Finding Freedom', how she was offended by the brooch.