Nobody Is Surprised Buckingham Palace Missed Its Diversity Targets Again

Buckingham Palace released its annual accounts this week. Alongside the usual figures on spending, travel, and the Sovereign Grant, there was a quieter admission: the Palace had once again failed to meet its ethnic minority staff diversity target.

The target was 14%. The actual figure was 12%. The Palace called it a “disappointment” and blamed slower staff turnover and set a new, longer‑term goal of 18%, without putting a timeframe on it. Kensington Palace fared slightly better, with 14.9% ethnic minority staff, but even that falls short of meaningful representation.

The problem is not just the number. The problem is that the Palace knows how to perform diversity in public but struggles to practice it behind closed doors.

Here is what Town & Country reported:

Buckingham Palace has today opened its annual accounts to shared details of how the monarchy has spent public money in the last financial year as well as its performance in other areas. And one of the things that has come to light is the fact that it has missed its own diversity target when it comes to the number of members of staff from ethnic minority backgrounds.

“As we shape a Household fit for the future, we have also sought to ensure our workforce properly reflects the society it serves,” Keeper of the Privy Purse James Chalmers—the King’s personal treasurer—told reporters today. “We are proud therefore that the gender balance of our staff remains broadly equal, with 54 per cent female employees and a mean gender pay gap of just 4.3 per cent, more than 8 per cent lower than the national average. However, we should be honest that some challenges remain. Our proportion of ethnic minority employees stands at approximately 12 per cent of our total workforce, 2 per cent short of our stated target for this year of 14 per cent. This is a disappointment.”

In the Palace’s report, it said that the reduction in ethnic minority representation amongst staff was down to a combination of factors, including the fact that staff turnover slowed last year. The reports said that the Palace intends to now move to a longer-term goal to have 18% of staff from ethnic minority backgrounds. It did not put a timeframe on this.

Targets Without Accountability Are Just PR

This is not a new issue. Reports have noted for years that Buckingham Palace has missed its diversity targets, while Kensington Palace shows only modest improvement. The Palace set a target of 14% ethnic minority staff. It reached 12%. Now it has shifted toward a longer‑term goal of 18%, without a clear deadline.

The problem is that the royals know how to perform diversity in public. They can spot the one Black person in a receiving line and smile with them for the photo. They can visit Commonwealth countries and speak warmly about unity. But representation inside the Palace, especially in meaningful roles, tells a different story.

That is the part people keep avoiding. Diversity is not just about who gets photographed beside them. It is about who gets hired, promoted, trusted, protected and listened to behind palace walls.

The monarchy keeps trying to present itself as modern. But you cannot modernise an institution while refusing to confront the racial hierarchies that helped build it. The Palace can set as many targets as it likes. Until people of colour are genuinely welcomed into power, not just used as decoration for public events, those targets will continue to look like public relations.