A royal baby with black heritage will have absolutely no effect on the issues facing black Britons like me

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. And now that the baby, with his mixed-race American mother and white British princely father, is here – does he represent the so-called progressiveness the United Kingdom increasingly ascribes for itself? While the black heritage of this child is significant in theory – purely by way of the fact that we’ve never seen anything like this, least of all tied to an institution as historically white as the royal family – I do find it strange that so many have instinctively lauded his birth as a win for social progress, especially now. Prince Harry hopes its a baby girl This is the same United Kingdom that, just a few months ago, was so taken aback by Jon Snow’s remark on Channel 4 News that he had “never seen so many white people in one place” at a predominantly white Brexiteer rally, that thousands of people, unfamiliar with being classified as anything but the default, complained, leading to an apology from Channel 4. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events It’s also worth noting the complexity and ever-changing parameters of racial identity when it comes to mixed-race people and this baby.