A member of the British royal family stepped down from her role after news of her racist comments about nationality to a black woman, an advocate for domestic abuse survivors, made headlines on Wednesday, November 30.
The royal hierarchy in Britain has seen a dramatic change since Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September, and King Charles III became the first new British monarch in seven decades, with several of his relatives taking up new roles.
The first major scandal to hit the royal family under the new monarch is all too familiar, as it is not the first time the royals have dealt with allegations of racism.
Lady Susan Hussey, Prince William’s godmother and Queen Elizabeth II’s lady-in-waiting for over 60 years, repeatedly asked a black woman where she was from during an event hosted in Buckingham Palace by Queen Consort Camilla. The event was meant to highlight the violence against women and celebrate charities and campaigners who work towards tackling the issue.
Ngozi Fulani, a British-born activist and the Chief Executive Officer of Sistah Space, a charity that helps victims of domestic violence, told BBC Radio 4 about her encounter with Lady Hussey. She said that during her meeting, which seemed like an interrogation, Lady Hussey repeatedly probed her about her ethnicity and asked her what part of Africa she was from.
According to Fulani, even though it was not physical abuse, it was still a form of abuse. Speaking to the radio station, Fulani questioned how that could happen in a space that was supposed to protect women from all forms of abuse.
The racism scandal erupted at a terrible time for the Prince and Princess of Wales, Harry and Kate, on the first day of their US visit to the Earth Shot Awards. It was their first foreign tour since they started their new roles.
A palace spokesperson quickly released a statement condemning the incident and calling Lady Hussey’s remarks unacceptable. They said it was the right thing for her to step down from her duties immediately.
The palace also quickly stated that they had taken the incident seriously and immediately investigated the allegations. They said that the aide had made “unacceptable and deeply regrettable” comments. The palace spokesperson announced that the aide had stepped aside, and she wanted to apologize for her comments and the hurt she had caused.
The palace also invited Fulani to meet King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla to discuss her experience.
This is the latest accusation of racism in the royal family since Meghan Markle made similar allegations when she and Prince Harry sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. Meghan said that a royal family member had questioned how her son’s skin tone would turn out after he was born.
A few days after the bombshell interview, Prince William said the royal family was “very much not racist.”
Diane Abbott, a labor member of Parliament, expressed her shock at the comments and said that perhaps Meghan’s accusations against the royal family, which she still gets criticized by the British media for, were not false.
The incident sparked new debates that the royal family is not diverse enough and does not fully represent the multicultural place that Britain had become.
According to the palace spokesperson, all royal family members must uphold diversity and inclusivity policies.