Godmother of Prince William gave the British monarchy a “racist” scandal

Sistah Space charity founder Ngozi Fulani said court lady Susan Hussey pushed her hair back to examine her name badge and persistently asked her where her “people” came from, despite being told that the black woman she spoke to was British citizen.

A spokesman for the Prince of Wales, who is Lady Hussey’s godson, said such comments were unacceptable and that “racism has no place in our society,” writes The Guardian.

Tuesday’s meeting at a reception on violence against women and girls was witnessed by two other women: mixed-racial Mandu Reid, leader of the Women’s Equality Party, and another black representative of the charity.

As noted by The Guardian, 83-year-old Susan Hussey, the widow of former BBC chairman Sir Marmaduke Hussey, is a close friend of the British king. She was one of the closest ladies to the late Elizabeth II and her lady-in-waiting for over 60 years. In this role, she assisted the Queen in her day to day activities, and although her presence was hardly reported, she was often spotted in the background of key royal events. In 2013, the Queen awarded her the Grand Cross of Dame of the Royal Victorian Order, the highest rank bestowed personally by the monarch. In confirmation of her close relationship with the royal family, Hussey became Prince William’s godmother and was the only person to accompany the Queen to Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021 (despite strict covid restrictions). After the death of the queen, Susan Hussey was appointed to the role of “lady of the court” to assist King Charles on official occasions. Her daughter, Katherine Brooke, has just been appointed as one of the new Queen Camilla’s companions.

Buckingham Palace described the elderly woman’s remarks as “unacceptable and deeply regrettable”. Susan Hussey issued a “deep apology” for the harm caused and immediately resigned from her honorary position at Buckingham Palace.

This is how Ngozi Fulani described the scandalous incident on Twitter: “Mixed feelings about yesterday’s visit to Buckingham Palace. 10 minutes after arriving I was approached by an employee lady SH [Сьюзан Хасс]moved my hair to see a badge with my name on it.”

Fulani then described a conversation with a courtier:

Lady Susan Hass: Where are you from?

Me: From Sistah Space.

SH: No, where are you from?

Me: We are based in Hackney.

SH: No, what part of Africa are YOU from?

Me: I don’t know, they didn’t leave any records.

SH: Well, you should know where you are from, I spent time in France. Where are you from?

Me: From here, from the UK.

SH: NO, what is your nationality?

Me: I was born here and I am British.

SH: No, where are you from, where are your people from?

Me: “My people,” lady, what is this?

SH: Oh, I see, I will have a challenge to get you to say where you are from. When did you first come here?

Me: Lady! I am a British citizen, my parents came here in the 50s when…

SH: Oh, I knew we’d get there eventually, since you’re from the Caribbean!

Me: No lady, I’m of African descent, Caribbean descent and British citizenship.

SH: Oh, so you are from…”

An attempt by a curious and very middle-aged lady to get to the bottom of the ethnic roots of her interlocutor provoked a scandal. Buckingham Palace said: “We are taking this incident very seriously and have immediately launched an investigation to establish all the facts. In this case, unacceptable and deeply regrettable remarks were made. We have contacted Ngozi Fulani about this and invite her to personally discuss all elements of her experience if she so desires. In the meantime, the person concerned would like to express his deepest apologies for the harm caused and immediately resigned from his honorable role.”

The court lady’s comments were widely condemned on social media. Responding to messages of support, Fulani tweeted, “I think it’s important to acknowledge that an injury happened.”

She wrote: “There was no one to report this to. I couldn’t tell the Queen Consort about this, and besides, it was such a shock to me and the other two women that we fell silent for the time being. I just stood at the edge of the room, smiled, and briefly interacted with those who spoke to me until I could leave.”

Fulani added, “It was so difficult to stay in a space where you were abused.” She told The Guardian that the first thing that offended her was that Hussie touched her hair: “You feel you have the right to come up to me and put your hand in my hair and insist that I am not entitled to British citizenship. What are you doing in such a space?”

The woman claims that she “never felt so unwanted or so uncomfortable”: “I was almost forced to say that I am not really British. I don’t know what she meant by “my people”. It was not clear to her that I have British citizenship. When she heard that my parents were from the Caribbean, she said: “We finally achieved something” … It was outright racism.

Mandu Reed, who was present during the conversation, supported Fulani: “We felt that our legitimacy was, in a sense, challenged and called into question. It’s the last thing I expected when I was invited.” Calling the incident an example of “institutional racism,” the activist said, “It’s about culture within the institution of the royal family. Now we have a new king who has a chance to show that he wants to do something better, do something different.”

Recall that this is not the first time that the Royal House of Great Britain is facing accusations of racism. In their controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke of racism against the family, which was refuted by Prince William. Meghan Markle said last year that an unnamed member of the royal family expressed concern about the color of her and Prince Harry’s son Archie’s skin when the baby is born.