The late Queen Elizabeth II’s lady-in-waiting and Prince William’s godmother Susan Hussey walked out of the royal household on Wednesday and was forced to publicly apologize after repeatedly asking a black British woman where she was “really” a. Buckingham Palace in a new posting racist polemics.
Susan Hussey’s resignation came just as William and his wife Kate made their first visit to the United States in eight years and after alleged episodes of racism in the royal family involving William’s brother Harry and his wife Meghan.
In Boston, a spokesperson for the royal couple told reporters, “Racism has no place in our society. These comments were unacceptable and it is right that the individual is stepping down with immediate effect.”
William was not involved in the decision, but “believes it is the right way forward,” the spokesman added.
Hussey, 83, is a former long-time adviser to William’s late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and was lady-in-waiting to Queen Consort Camilla. She is one of William’s six feet.
Ngozi Fulani, CEO of London-based group Sistah Space, which campaigns for domestic violence survivors, said the comments were made while she was at a palace reception on Tuesday.
When asked where she was from, the North East London Fulani Hackney said, prompting the woman she identified only as “Lady SH” to ask, “No, what part of Africa are you from?”
Fulani replied that she was born and raised in the UK and that she is British, but the woman persisted. “Where are you really from, where are your people from? When did you first come here?’ they asked him.
Fulani reiterated that she was a British citizen born in the UK and forced to say she was “of African descent, Caribbean descent”.
The exchange, she later wrote on Twitter, left her with “mixed feelings” about the reception, which Camilla welcomed for highlighting violence against women and girls.
Mixed feelings about yesterday’s visit to Buckingham Palace. 10 minutes after arriving, a member of staff, Lady SH, approached me, moved my hair to see my name badge. The conversation below took place. The rest of the event is a blur.
Thank you @ManduReid 🇧🇷 @SuzanneEJacob For support pic.twitter.com/OUbQKlabyq-Sistah Space (@Sistah_Space) November 30, 2022
Women’s Equality Party leader Mandu Reid, who witnessed the exchange, called it “dark” and like an “interrogation”. Reid said it felt like they “weren’t treated like we fit in” or “like we were British”.
“Unacceptable”
Buckingham Palace said it took the incident “extremely seriously” and called the comments “unacceptable and deeply regrettable”.
“We have contacted Ngozi Fulani regarding this matter and invite her to personally discuss all elements of her experience if she wishes,” a statement read.
“However, the individual in question would like to offer his deepest apologies for the damage caused and has resigned from his honorary position with immediate effect. All members of the household are reminded of the diversity and inclusion policies they must uphold at all times”.
All British media cited palace sources who confirmed that it was Lady Hussey who made such remarks.
As a valet to the Queen, Hussey was described as one of the late monarch’s most trusted aides.
East coast rivalry
William and Kate are on a three-day visit to Boston, where Charles’s heir will award the Earthshot Prize to efforts to combat climate change.
Last year, William insisted he was not a “racist family” after Harry and Meghan claimed an unidentified royal family asked what color their baby’s skin would be.
William has since praised the “immense contribution” of the “Windrush” generation of Caribbean migrants, who helped rebuild Britain after World War II. Despite arriving legally, many were later unfairly detained and even deported under the conservative government’s harsh immigration policies.
While William and Kate visit Boston, Harry and Meghan will be in New York for another awards show, though the feuding siblings reportedly have no plans to meet.
Harry and Meghan left royal life at the beginning of 2020 and moved to California, where they won a lot of fans among young people and in the black community for taking on the British establishment.
However, British media has repeatedly accused them of exaggerating their unhappy status as members of the royal family, but the couple can make the latest accusations in justification.
The palace was accused earlier this year of turning a deaf ear to calls from Caribbean nations that still have Charles as head of state to recognize Britain’s past role in slavery.
William and Kate’s visit to Jamaica was also criticized for having overtones of colonialism.
Source: DN
