Oof, this is not a good look after that whole Baby Archie skin color incident…
On Tuesday, Queen Camilla held a reception at Buckingham Palace to raise awareness of domestic abuse and violence against women. Unfortunately it seems to have raised awareness of something else entirely — a continued environment of what one might charitably call racial insensitivity.
One of the guests for the reception was Ngozi Fulani, the CEO of London’s Sistah Space — a nonprofit which helps Black women affected by domestic violence and sexual abuse. She was supposed to be honored at the event, along with all the other charity organizers. Instead, she was mortified.
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In a tweet posted early Wednesday morning local time, Ngozi revealed that just a few minutes after her arrival, “a member of staff” touched her hair in order to move it to see her name badge. Already not OK. But then the woman, whom she identified as “Lady SH” — obviously referring to Lady Susan Hussey — asked where she was from. When Fulani explained which charity she was with, Hussey allegedly asked:
“No, where do you come from?”
And when the charity organizer tried to keep the convo focused on the charity, telling her the neighborhood where it was based, the lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II pressed:
“What part of Africa are you from?”
Yeah. She wouldn’t let it go, either. Fulani says when she explained she was a British citizen who was born in the UK, Hussey needled tactlessly:
“No, but where do you really come from, where do your people come from?”
It didn’t even stop there! She wouldn’t let it go until she knew where her parents had come from. Seriously, WTF! Read the full account (below):
Mixed feelings about yesterday's visit to Buckingham Palace. 10 mins 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.
Thanks @ManduReid & @SuzanneEJacob for support???????? pic.twitter.com/OUbQKlabyq— Sistah Space (@Sistah_Space) November 30, 2022
Does all this sound a little too familiar?
Yeah, not too long ago Prince Harry and Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey an unnamed Royal was way too concerned about the skin color of their unborn child. There was some pushback on their accusation, but this incident feels like it fits their description of the Palace perfectly. In fact, Camilla herself has been named by at least one author as the one who made things racial. Considering Susan was a close aide of Camilla’s, it doesn’t look good at all.
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As you might imagine, The Firm are NOT happy about history repeating itself, this time with an outside witness who wasn’t shy about giving her account immediately! As such, they took immediate action.
In a statement on Wednesday, just hours after the post, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson revealed an investigation had been launched, and that Lady Susan had already resigned. They said:
“We take this incident extremely seriously and have investigated immediately to establish the full details. In this instance, unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made. We have reached out to Ngozi Fulani on this matter, and are inviting her to discuss all elements of her experience in person if she wishes.”
The statement continued:
“In the meantime, the individual concerned would like to express her profound apologies for the hurt caused and has stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect. All members of the Household are being reminded of the diversity and inclusivity policies which they are required to uphold at all times.”
Sounds like King Charles is keen to make his reign less problematic. But good luck when you have all these folks with antiquated views on race grandfathered in.
Lady Susan was one of Elizabeth’s good friends and more than a lady-in-waiting, she was known as the “Number One Head Girl.” In fact, she was given the honor of being named Prince William‘s godmother! Oof.
Speaking of William, a spokesman for the new Prince of Wales, and his wife Princess Catherine, aka Kate Middleton, said on the couple’s behalf:
“I was really disappointed to hear about the guest’s experience at Buckingham Palace last night. Obviously, I wasn’t there, but racism has no place in our society. The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.”
The spokesman added that William, who was on a plane to the US when news of the incident broke, was aware and supported the ousting of his godmother. Ouch!
Lady Susan may be gone, but the damage to the Royal rep is done, isn’t it? Do YOU think this bolsters Harry and Meghan’s claims about the outdated way the Palace views race??
[Image via MEGA/WENN.]
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