Prince William's Godmother Resigned Over A 'Racist' Remark & People Say Meghan Markle Was Right
"It's the last thing you expect to happen to you at Buckingham Palace."
Buckingham Palace. Right: Ngozi Fulani.
Prince William's godmother has resigned from her post with the royal family after she was accused of making "racist" remarks to a Buckingham Palace guest.
Lady Susan Hussey resigned on Wednesday after she asked a guest "what part of Africa" she was from at a charity event at the palace on Tuesday, BBC reports. The guest was Ngozi Fulani, the head of U.K. charity Sistah Space.
Some people are comparing the "racist" comments to those allegedly made to Meghan Markle about her unborn child's skin colour years ago.
BBC News reports Lady Hussey has since apologized to Fulani.
According to The Telegraph, Lady Hussey was the late queen’s longest-serving lady-in-waiting and had stayed on in an honorary role to support the new king.
The outlet also reports that Buckingham Palace is aware of the incident and is taking it "extremely seriously." King Charles III and his queen consort are also "aware" of what happened.
\u201cBuckingham Palace confirm that the Queen's former Lady-in-Waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, has stepped aside from her new role as a lady of the royal household "with immediate effect". They add that she "would like to express her profound apologies for the hurt caused".\n\nSTATEMENT:\u201d— Omid Scobie (@Omid Scobie) 1669801485
Fulani is the founder of Sistah Space, which is described as a "safe venue" dedicated to women and girls of African and Caribbean descent who are victims or survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.
Fulani posted about the conversation she had with Hussey at the royal event on the charity group's Instagram account.
In the shared conversation, Fulani says Hussey asked her multiple times where she was from after she had repeatedly given answers to the question.
Multiple people, who say they know or have met Lady Hussey, are standing by the member of the royal family.
\u201cI\u2018ve known Lady (Susan) Hussey since I was 18. She is a decent woman and certainly not a racist. She often asked my mother where she was from because she had a Central European accent. I am sometimes mistaken for non British because of my colouring. I\u2019m never offended.\u201d— Petronella Wyatt (@Petronella Wyatt) 1669822323
Another person tweeted that Lady Hussey said a "stupid thing at 83" and pointed out that she has been dedicated to serving the royal family.
\u201cLady Susan Hussey is 83, and she said a stupid thing at 83. She has been utterly dedicated to serving the Royal Family and this country. When/if you all reach 83, I sincerely hope you don't have your name dragged through the press for saying something offensive.\u201d— Darren Grimes (@Darren Grimes) 1669830453
Another person emphasized that the former lady-in-waiting was "so mortified by the hurt she caused" but pursued her question "doggedly."
\u201cLady Susan Hussey was so mortified by the hurt she caused. But she pursued the \u201cwhere are you really from!?\u201d question doggedly.\n\nShe has expressed her "profound apologies for the hurt caused" and has stepped aside from her role with immediate effect. \n\nI smell damage limitation.\u201d— Michael Morgan (@Michael Morgan) 1669816325
Others are comparing the incident to Markle's experience before she and Prince Harry left for the U.S.
\u201cMeghan Markle and Prince Harry told you of racism in Royal Family & household. But she was vilified, abused & violated for speaking the truth.\n\nNgozi Fulani\u2019s experience with Lady Susan Hussey wasn\u2019t isolated, one off or a \u2018bad apple\u2019 at Buckingham Palace.\n\nYou can\u2019t reform this.\u201d— Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu (@Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu) 1669814416
In 2021, Markle sat down with Oprah and made several allegations of racism against the royal family, including that there had been multiple "conversations" within the royal household about the possible skin colour of hers and Harry's unborn child.
"In those months when I was pregnant, there were concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born," she explained in the Oprah interview.
The Daily Mail reports Prince William's spokesman condemned the "unacceptable" comments made by Lady Hussey.
"I was really disappointed to hear about the guest's experience at Buckingham Palace last night," the Kensington Palace spokesperson reportedly said.
"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 spokesperson noted that the prince is "aware of the comments" and "thinks the course of action taken is correct."
The Prince and Princess of Wales are currently in the U.S.
They will travel to Boston on Friday for the second annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of racism, or if you are interested in learning more about how you can fight racism in your community, refer to these supports and resources across Canada.
This article's left-hand cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
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