Could the next Poet Laureate be an ethnic minority writer? Prince Charles ‘wants Carol Ann Duffy’s replacement to reflect multicultural Britain’ as Buckingham Palace compiles its shortlist

• Prince Charles admires the work of Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) poets
• Poet laureate position is a royal appointment and a shortlist has been submitted
• Charles could be crowned as monarch within the 10-year term of next laureate
• Carol Ann Duffy due to step down at end of this month and successor may speak at Charles’s coronation

The next poet laureate could be from a black and minority ethnic (BAME) background, with Prince Charles apparently keen that the new occupant reflects multicultural Britain.  

The current holder of the position, Carol Ann Duffy, is due to step down from the 10-year role at the end of this month and her replacement will remain a royal appointment. 

A list has been submitted to Buckingham Palace by Downing Street and lifelong poetry fan the Prince of Wales is said to be closely monitoring the process, the Times reported.  

The next poet laureate could be from a black and minority ethnic (BAME) background, with Prince Charles apparently keen that the new occupant reflects multicultural Britain

Charles is known to admire the work of BAME poets, and Sir Jonathan Bate, provost of Worcester College, Oxford, described the prince as ‘passionately committed to poetry’. 

He said: ‘Charles does see himself as the future monarch of a very multicultural Britain and, of course, many of our most interesting poets do come from ethnic minorities.’  

Poet Daljit Nagra, the son of Indian immigrants who uses a colourful mix of Punjabi and English – or Punglish – is one contender for the role. 

Poet Daljit Nagra, the son of Indian immigrants who uses a colourful mix of Punjnabi and English – or Punglish – is one contender for the role

Other BAME names mentioned include Pakistani-born Imtiaz Dharker, the winner of the Queen’s gold medal for poetry and Lemn Sissay, the son of an Ethiopian immigrant who sold his first poetry to Lancashire miners on strike.    

With Charles’s coronation as monarch on the horizon in the next decade – given the age of the Queen, 92, and Prince Philip, 97 – the selection committee which compiled the shortlist is understood to have discussed the prospect and the emotions it could provoke.  

They may still go for a specialist in the traditional verse of the likes of William Wordsworth and Alfred Tennyson, but could equally opt for a modern voice and the new laureate could perform at Charles’ ceremony.

Another contender is Lemn Sissay, the son of an Ethiopian immigrant who sold his first poetry to Lancashire miners on strike

Clarence House told The Times yesterday that ‘the Prince of Wales has had no involvement in this process at any stage’ but he may be taking a keen interest because the new laureate’s poems could be about him. 

Republican poet Benjamin Zephaniah has previously criticised Charles’s involvement in public affairs and ruled himself out of contention for the laureateship by tweeting: ‘I won’t work for them. They oppress me, they upset me, and they are not worthy.’  

The compilation of the shortlist had the help of a 15-strong ‘steering group’ featuring the heads of poetry organisations, literary festivals and libraries around the country. 

Other BAME names mentioned include Pakistani-born Imtiaz Dharker, the winner of the Queen’s gold medal for poetry, pictured above (second from right) with current poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy (centre)

They then met cultural department officials before Number 10 was handed their recommendations. 

However, the post does remain a royal appointment and final approval rests only with the Queen.

Charles’s love of the poetry of Ted Hughes, who served as laureate from 1984 until his death in 1998, extended to him erecting a ‘shrine’ to the writer at his home. 

Current laureate Carol Ann Duffy is paid £5,750 a year for her role, despite it not entailing any specific duties

Bate said the prince ‘worshipped’ Hughes and regarded him as a mentor. 

He added that the prince once told him how ‘wonderful’ it was to sit at Hughes’s feet and listen to him.  

Current laureate Carol Ann Duffy is paid £5,750 a year for her role, despite it not entailing any specific duties.

She was criticised in 2016 for opting to write a poem about gas meters rather than pen one for the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations. 

Duffy reportedly only wrote a poem for the weddings of Princes William and Harry after much pressure was applied. 

She once also refused to write a poem for Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, saying that ‘no self-respecting poet should have to’.

The BAME poets who could replace Carol Ann Duffy as poet laureate

Daljit Nagra

Nagra, 53, was born and raised in west London by his Punjabi parents. He has published four books of poetry and his poem Look Who We Have Coming To Dover won the Forward Prize for Best Individual Poem in 2004.   

His first collection of poems won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection in 2007 and gained media attention for its exploration of the experience of British Indians. 

His poetry often uses ‘Punglish’ – a mixture of English and Punjabi words spoken by Indian Punjabi immigrants.  

His subsequent two collections, Tippo Sultan’s Incredible White-Man Eating Tiger-Toy Machine!!! and his own version of the Ramayana – an epic of ancient India – were nominated for the TS Eliot prize.   

Imtiaz Dharker 

Dharker, born in 1954 in Lahore, Pakistan, moved to Glasgow when she was less than a year old. 

In recent years she has been based on Mumbai in India but spends several months of the year in London.

She writes on themes including childhood, exile, journeying, home and religious strife. 

Dharker is the author of six collections of poetry: Purdah And Other Poems (1988), Postcards From God (1997), I Speak For The Devil (2001), The Terrorist At My Table (2006), Leaving Fingerprints (2009) and Over The Moon (2014). 

In 2014 she was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.  

Lemn Sissay

Sissay, 51, is the son of an Ethiopian immigrant and was born in Wigan, near Lancashire. 

He grew up in care even though his mother, who came to Britain to study, begged Wigan council to return him when she was better able to care for him. 

But he was instead renamed Norman by a social worker and fostered by a family of devout Christians. 

He spent time in four different children’s homes and says he was bullied and imprisoned by staff at the notorious Wood End assessment centre. 

He was not reunited with his mother until he was in his late 20s and left the care system aged 18 with no money or qualifications. 

Much of Sissay’s poetry is marked by his difficult childhood, and a documentary about Sissay’s life and his search for his father, Internal Flight, was recently broadcast on BBC1.    

He is the author of five poetry collections: Tender Fingers In A Clenched Fist (1988); Rebel Without Applause (1992); Morning Breaks In The Elevator (1999); The Emperor’s Watchmaker (2000) and Listener (2008).    

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