The king and queen of Norway faced a serious accusation of Netflix – this is why the Norwegians rushed to defend them | Shazia Majid

WHen Netflix released the documentary Rebel Royals: an unlikely love story last week, the world got another glance on the unconventional romance between Princess Märtha Louise from Norway and her American husband, Durek Verrett-Shaman self and spiritual science for Hollywood celebrities. The conjugation was controversial in Norway: Märtha Louise stepped down from its official duties before marrying Verrett, the couple has a date of promotion False beliefs, Verrett – which are black – have been a target of racial assault for a long time. At this last point, Verrett used the program to present a sharp criticism of its injury, King Harald and Queen Sonja.

“Most white people are trained to listen to white people, not for colored people,” says in the movie. “Her father, her mother, her brother … did not even know about racism. They will look at me as if I was crazy when I say that there is racism.”

It makes dramatic TV. But depicting the king and the queen as naive, out of touch and even bias is not merely a misleading, it distorts what they represent in Norway. In reality, For families like Lee, the royal couple has become a rare uniform power in a society that still learn what diversity means.

IDPs may see this as an echo of Britain’s winds, glamorous figures, who suffer from the scandal, polarized that dominates the main headlines-while the Norwegian royal family may coincide with more calm, less clear and more controversial. In fact, Harald and Sonija were ethical broadcasters in a country only began to receive a great migration from Asia and Africa in the 1970s. They do not practice any political force, but their authority carries weight. For many Norwegians who have immigrant backgrounds – including me – the royal couple was among the few who talked about us constantly about belonging.

This is why Verrett accusations have sparked widespread anger and retreat. This support was not designed from the support by the palace: Citizens automatically gathered behind their king and a queen.

Some of the highest votes came from minority societies. On a Show discussion at peak time Days after the shift of Netflix documentary for the first time, activists and actors lined up from religious groups, disabled societies, anti -racist networks and women’s organizations to testify to the comprehensiveness of the spouses.

Examples are not difficult to find. In 2016 Declared the king: “The Norwegians came from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Poland, Sweden, Somalia and Syria.” For tens of thousands of us, this single line transcends hate over the Internet tells us that we will never be “the real Norwegians.” The inclusion and diversity were not symbolic gestures, but the king’s life. In the New Year’s Eve in 2007, the king addressed the racism directly: “We are constantly reminded that humanity and mutual respect cannot be considered a foreground. Foreigners’ phobia, daily racism and violence are part of the news image.

Sonia, who has not been born royal and fought for nine years to marry Harald, has directed her own experience in excluding to decades of calling for women and minorities. In a homogeneous small country, these gestures were important.

Nothing means that Norway is free of racism. Its recent policies emphasize tension: In the recent elections, the Anti -Immigration Party has achieved sudden gains, indicating the feeling of fragile social cohesion at a time of increasing polarization. Verrett personal experiences of prejudice worth recognizing. But for the brand of kings as ignorant or racists does not harm more than benefit. If each criticism is re -drafted as racism, the term itself is emptied by power – which leaves those who are most affected.

Disagreements in Verrett are also important. In Norway, he was subjected to less criticism because of his skin color more than his actions: Selling amulets He claimed that he could protect from Covid, or suggest Childhood cancer is caused by misery. Self -told jars with northern standards of modesty. Confusion between cultural rejection with racial bias only deepens lack of confidence.

The lesson is larger than Norway. Public figures who call for racism are responsible: they can clarify their words, but they can also withhold. If we want to succeed in combating discrimination, we must name the real bias when we see it – as well as getting to know the real allies, even when it is incomplete.

Despite their privilege, King Harald and Queen Sonia opened the doors, literally and metaphorically, for those who closed once. It deserves better than caricature. Norway – like every democracy – deserves a conversation about race facing difficult facts without collapsing to distortion.

• Shazia Majid, writer of a column in the Norwegian newspaper VG

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