This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Princess Keisha Omilana of Nigeria. It has been edited for length and clarity.
When I met my husband, Prince Kunle, I was at the peak of my modeling career.
It was the middle of New York Fashion Week in 2004, and all the models were going on show castings at the time. I was newly single and had just exited a relationship that was not for me. I was happy being single and was enjoying my career — I wasn’t at all looking for a boyfriend.
I was in Union Square, looking for an address for an audition that I was meant to be on. I didn’t know this at the time, but the casting director had given the wrong address. So I’m standing there, calling my agency, and I felt someone’s presence. I felt someone staring at me.
I see Kunle standing there, and I’m thinking, “Do I know this person?”
I didn’t think that he would wait around for me to get off the phone, but he did.
He came up to me and said: “You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Would you do me the honor of having your number? Because I’d love to take you out.”
Honestly, I was thinking, “Who talks like that?” I made up a line that I had a boyfriend so that I couldn’t give him my number, and I turned to walk away. But as I was about to go for my audition, my women’s intuition said: “You know what? He was kind. He wasn’t rude. He was tall, dark, and handsome. You should just give him your number.”
So I ran back up the steps, and he was still there, phone in hand, smiling as if he knew I would come back.
We dated for 2 years before I learned that Kunle was a prince
We dated for two years, and I did not know he was royal. I knew that he was Nigerian and that he previously lived in London, but I had no idea about his background.
In Nigerian culture, when you are serious about someone, that’s when you introduce them to your family. I remember going to a family wedding and his mom coming out with open arms. It was almost like she knew me already.
She kept calling me “my princess.” I was thinking it was a term of endearment, since a lot of moms call their daughters princesses. That’s when I discovered he was a royal. She started telling me the history of the kings, his name and its meaning, and where he was from.
Kunle is a crown prince from the Arugbabuwo ruling house. Unlike the British royals, where there’s one family and lots of royals within that family, in Nigeria there are many tribes and many royal families within those tribes. Not all of those tribes have a crown prince — the crown prince is the chosen one who is going to rule at a certain age.
I remember thinking, “We’ve been together for two years, and he just left that detail out?”
It was a nice thing to know, but it didn’t affect our lifestyle. It would have, if he had chosen to be king in Nigeria. That’s when everything changes and you literally give up life as you know it. We would have to live and remain in Nigeria. We would not hold our own schedules and would not have the luxury of traveling when we want to travel or where we want to travel. It would no longer be acceptable for me to call Prince Kunle “my baby,” “my honey,” or any other name apart from King Omilana. We would also not have the freedom to be together every day and in every way like we are now.
He made it very clear to me that while this is his bloodline and this is who he is, it’s not how he lives his life when he’s not in Nigeria.
We started our married life in NYC before spending time in Dubai, Cyprus, and London
We married on January 28, 2006. Our son, Diran, was born later that year and our daughter, Dior, was born six years after that. Both of my children were born in New York, and about nine months after Diran’s seventh birthday we moved to Dubai.
A post shared by Princess Keisha Omilana (@keishaomilana)
We stayed there for about a year before moving to Cyprus. After a year in Cyprus, we moved back to London, which has always been a second home to Kunle.
We stayed in London for seven years. It was wonderful. We launched our companies there, and we raised Dior there. It was nice to be there with the children — to go back as a family was really fun.
Kunle and I experienced discrimination in the UK
We like to focus on positive things, but at the same time, it is always necessary to raise awareness of injustice. And this is for pretty much anyone and everyone who happens to not be English.
The discrimination occurred very subtly and was mostly witnessed in our business dealings and in one former neighborhood.
It’s not even a racist thing, as far as us being Black. When it comes to England, what I’ve learned after being there for seven years is that it’s a non-British thing. So the same thing that I’m feeling, that I’ve been discriminated against, my friend who is Australian — who is not Black — is going through.
It’s more so: “We are English, this is how we do it. And you’re not one of us.” Especially when you’re doing business and you’re moving in those circles and they’re not used to seeing people who don’t look like them.
We dealt with that quite a lot, and we just dealt with it with grace and ease. We stayed classy, we stayed professional, but it was something we noticed and experienced. I must say though that is not just a UK thing. Prince Kunle and I have traveled all over the world and lived on four continents. Discrimination has unfortunately been experienced before.
It is very important that this statement is not mistaken as a portrayal of myself as a helpless victim. In England, I encountered extremely subtle forms of discrimination. However, If I were an English elite, this exhausting act of one seeking to validate their accomplishments by working ten times harder to earn what one deserves would not have occurred. We all saw this play out in the press and media coverage of the Duchess of Sussex.
I am keenly aware of the difference between how Meghan is covered in the news versus how Kate Middleton is covered in the news.
I hear things like, “How dare they leave?” It’s kind of like: “Yes, we don’t like you. But you have to stay here and hear it every day.” Why would you want them to stay in that?
I understand the struggles that Meghan Markle has faced
I always say that Meghan Markle and I have a lot of parallels, just for the fact that we are both women of color, we are both married to royalty, we are both from California, and we’re both actresses. We are also both feminists advocating for women’s empowerment.
I personally don’t watch the news or read tabloids. I do that purposefully because a lot of the time it’s just negative, and I don’t want to feed my soul with negative energy. But I am aware of what’s going on because I’m on social media and I hear about it.
Whenever you are linked to someone or compared to someone, your eyes are opened to what their life is. I wish people would lead with empathy and put themselves in that person’s shoes. Would you want to wake up every day and be scrutinized in a negative way?
It’s a shame. And I really tip my hat to Harry and Meghan for standing up to The Firm, for choosing their happiness and their mental health, for saying that they want to live a life where they are free to be who they are.
