A member of the court staff has resigned following allegations of racist comments at a reception at Buckingham Palace. The royal family takes the incident very seriously and the person concerned has resigned from her honorary role with immediate effect and apologizes for the suffering caused, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday. According to consistent media reports, it is Lady Susan Hussey. The 83-year-old is a godmother to the heir to the throne, Prince William, and was a close companion to Queen Elizabeth II for decades, as reported by the BBC, among others.
A prominent black activist for victims of domestic violence, Ngozi Fulani, who was invited as a guest at Queen Camilla’s reception, later described “mixed feelings”. On the Twitter account of her organization Sistah Space, she recounted the conversation from her memory: A female member of the court staff asked her several times where she “really” came from and was not satisfied with the answer that she was born in Great Britain and was British be.
“Racism has no place in our society,” said a spokesman for Prince William, who is currently traveling in the United States with his wife Kate. He reiterated to journalists that the comments were unacceptable and the resignation was therefore correct.
“Unacceptable and very regrettable comments” were made, the palace wrote in its statement. The Fulani have been reached out and invited to discuss the incident in more detail if they wish. All members of the Court staff would be reminded of the Palace’s standards of diversity and inclusion, which must be upheld at all times.
It is not the first time that the British royal family has faced such allegations: Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry, who have retired from their official duties as royals, also accused the palace of racism in a sensational interview last year. For example, a member of the Royal Family thought about the presumed skin color of Meghan and Harry’s first-born son. The palace announced at the time that the allegations would be processed internally.
