Now Charles and William in race row

Published on Tuesday 13 January 2009 23:19

THE Royal Family was at the centre of a new race row yesterday after it was revealed that Prince Charles and his sons, William and Harry, referred to an Asian member of their exclusive polo club as "Sooty".

The princes were said to use the greeting "every time they meet", as a way of cocking a snook at political correctness.

Sources at Cirencester Polo Club claimed Harry, 24, had used the "affectionate nickname" to address businessman Kolin Dhillon since childhood. His father and brother, along with other members of the Royal Family, are also said to use it.

Mr Dhillon, whose family is of Indian origin, is a former chairman of the Schools and Universities Polo Association (Supa) and a respected member of the Cirencester club. The millionaire property developer, 58, who is understood to own a substantial property portfolio, is a good friend of the Royal Family.

His son, Satnam, 31, is a professional polo player who has represented England and played alongside Charles, William and Harry.

A source at Supa, who asked not to be named and who has known Mr Dhillon for many years, said: "He has been called Sooty for as long as I remember.

"The princes and other royalty have called him that since I first met him about 15 or 16 years ago. They call him Sooty every time they meet, and he's never upset about that. It's an affectionate nickname."

A member of the polo club, who also asked not to be named, said the name Sooty had been introduced to put "two fingers up" at political correctness.

He said: "Charles, along with both of his boys, have called this chap Sooty because it is his nickname and he is perfectly comfortable with it. I suppose we all see this as a sort of running joke about political correctness."

The controversy followed the release at the weekend of video footage that showed Prince Harry using a racist epithet to describe the Pakistani army cadet Ahmed Raza Khan, and describing Arabs using another derogatory term when talking about another colleague.

It also comes less than three years after the prince caused outrage when he attended a friend's birthday party dressed as a Nazi.

After the "Sooty" story broke, Clarence House issued a statement saying: "To imply the princes are racist is ridiculous. Through their charity work, all three are committed to helping people both in the UK and abroad regardless of who they are."

A spokesman added: "The Prince of Wales has a very strong view on racial intolerance."

Mr Dhillon also insisted the nickname was a "term of affection, with no offence meant or felt".

Neither the Cirencester club nor Supa would comment.

But last night, anti-racism groups reacted angrily .

A spokesman for Give Racism the Red Card said: "In our view, there's no friendly banter where racism is concerned.

"The members of the Royal Family, with all the money that's been spent on their education, should be aware that calling people 'Sooty' is unacceptable."

Weyman Bennett, from Unite Against Fascism, said: "Racism should be taken seriously at all times, on every level, and it appears the Royal Family are not doing that. This suggests that it is not a lack of judgment, but a deep-rooted problem that needs to be addressed.

"The Royal Family are the figurehead of this country and need to come out in strong opposition to this kind of behaviour."

When TV didn't mind its language

DURING the 1970s, racial stereotypes and terms were common fodder for sitcoms and stand-up comedians.

Love Thy Neighbour, which has latterly become the symbol of what is now considered unacceptable, was at the time hugely successful – even generating a spin-off film.

The basis of the comedy was that a white couple find a black couple moving in next door and have to deal with the cultural difference with "hilarious results" – though during the course of episodes, the white male character often used various racist terms to descibe the black characters.

Comedians such as Jim Davidson and Bernard Manning also regularly appeared on television during the 1970s telling jokes that would now be considered racist and completely unacceptable.