Boris Johnson says questioning a baby’s skin colour is just ‘human nature’ amid royal racism row

In a piece for the Daily Mail, Mr Johnson said families usually wonder what a new, unborn baby may look like

Boris Johnson has called the racism row surrounding the royal family “normal” and  “not remotely racist”.

The racism row has reared its head once more in the wake of Omid Scobie’s tell-all book, which hit the stands on Tuesday.

A Dutch translation of the book identified King Charles and the Princess of Wales as the two senior royals who allegedly raised “concerns” about the skin colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son.

The apparent “translation error” meant the Dutch versions were dramatically pulled from shelves and pulped at the eleventh hour, but not before the names began circulating on social media.

Piers Morgan used his TalkTV show on Thursday night to give the names to the British audience, claiming those in the country “who actually pay for the royal family are entitled to know, too”.

The latest twist in the story has increased pressure on Buckingham Palace, which is reportedly “considering all options” including legal action but is yet to respond.

But in a piece for the Daily Mail, Mr Johnson said that families usually wonder what a new, unborn baby may look like.

The former prime minister wrote: “To ask such questions, in anticipation of a happy event, is simple human nature.

“It is one of the greatest joys and ­mysteries of life that we have no real idea, in utero, what our children will look like… that, I expect, was exactly the kind of ruminative debate that the so-called royal racist was having.”

The former prime minister went on to use his op-ed to attack “wokery and cancel culture”, which he believes is at the heart of the latest royal controversy.

He said: “Frankly, I neither know nor care which royal said something about Archie, but I am certain that he or she was not remotely racist.

“It’s time to stop all this nonsense, and re-draw the distinction between the ugliness of racism and prejudice — against which we have abundant statutes — and ordinary, innocent patterns of human thought and behaviour.”

Mr Johnson has in the past been accused of racism when he said women wearing burqas and niqabs look “like letter boxes” and “bank robbers”.

Author Mr Scobie insists he never included any names in the original text.

He told BBC’s Newsnight that a “full investigation” will now be carried out into how the names appeared in the Dutch edition of his book.

When asked if the “buck stops” with him, he replied: “It doesn’t stop with me because there are irresponsible people in this country that have broken the law and repeated names that should never have been repeated, should never be named.

“The book I wrote, the book I edited, the book I signed off on did not have names. So, I’m as frustrated as everyone else.”

It is understood Buckingham Palace is considering all options following the publication of the two names.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment when contacted by PA. Kensington Palace has also been approached for a comment.