Palace member resigns amid race comment

Prince’s godmother kept asking Black woman her origins

An honorary member of the Buckingham Palace household has resigned after repeatedly asking a Black woman who runs a charity for survivors of domestic abuse what country she “came from,” despite her insistence she was a British national.

The conversation was detailed on Twitter by Ngozi Fulani, chief executive of Sistah Space, an east London refuge that provides specialist support for women of African and Caribbean heritage.

The incident took place at a reception hosted by Camilla, the Queen Consort, for women working to fight domestic violence.

Britain’s Press Association and a number of other media outlets in Britain identified the woman who made the remarks as Lady Susan Hussey, who served as Queen Elizabeth II’s lady in waiting for more than 60 years. She is also a godmother to Prince William.

Fulani said that when she told a household member she was from east London, she was asked, “No, what part of Africa are YOU from?”

Despite Fulani explaining that she is British, Hussey allegedly said: “No, but where do you really come from, where do your people come from?”

“Oh, I can see I am going to have a challenge getting you to say where you’re from,” she badgered. “When did you first come here?”

Fulani obliged her throughout the brief exchange, explaining that she is a “British national” and her parents came to the country in the 1950s, before Hussey cut her off, saying: “Oh, I knew we’d get there in the end, you’re Caribbean!”

The palace said it took the incident extremely seriously and investigated the “unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments.’’

The incident will spark concern at the palace following allegations of racism by Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, who is married to Prince Harry. Meghan, a biracial American, last year said a member of the royal household asked her what colour skin her baby would have when she was pregnant with her first child.

Prince William’s spokesperson said “racism has no place in our society” in a statement. “The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.”