KCL Faces Backlash after MPs, Staff Outrage over Prince Philip Email
A minister has criticised King’s College London (KCL) for its “silly” apology to staff for sending an email containing a photo of Prince Philip.
According to the details, KCL has been scorned by British members of the parliament (MPs) and its alumni have suggested withdrawing funding after it apologised for sending staff a photograph of Prince Philip opening a library.
Some staff members complained that including a photo of the Duke of Edinburgh opening its Maughan Library in 2002 in a round-robin email was “harmful” because of his “history of racist and sexist comments”.
Joleen Clarke, an associate director, then sent another message to staff, apologising and informing them the photograph had been meant “as a historical reference point following his death”.
“The inclusion of the picture was not intended to commemorate him,” she wrote. “Through feedback and subsequent conversations, we have come to realise the harm that this caused members of our community, because of his history of racist and sexist comments.”
James Cleverly, United Kingdom (UK) minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa, tweeted on Monday: “This is just getting silly now.”
King’s College London has been forced to apologise after an email bulletin featuring a picture of Prince Philip upset staff.
The original email was sent following the duke’s death, aged 99, last month with the caption: “As the nation marks the death of HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, we thought you might like to see this photo of the duke at the official opening of the Maughan Library in 2002, which some colleagues will remember.”
The duke had been a governor of the university since 1955.