The Royals Are Doing “Damage Control” After Lady Susan Hussey’s Racist Comments

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The Royals Are Once Again in “Damage Control” ModeSamir Hussein - Pool - Getty Images
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The royals are currently doing “damage control” following reprehensible racist comments Prince William’s godmother Lady Susan Hussey made to Sistah Space director Ngozi Fulani at Queen Camilla’s Violence Against Women and Girls reception.

According to royal expert Christopher Andersen, the royals are “scrambling” in the wake of Lady Susan Hussey’s comments, especially as Prince William and Kate Middleton are currently in Boston for several days of public engagements.

“This latest scandal has Palace operatives scrambling to do damage control, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time,” Andersen told Us Weekly. “She’s not a marginal player—she operates at the heart of the royal household.”

Andersen added that it’s “another PR disaster for the royal family—and with the release of the Sussexes’ documentary on December 8 and Harry’s tell-all book in January, the next couple of months are going to be tough for the Royal Family in general and the King in particular. Many of the older royals are still unquestionably tone-deaf, and it remains to be seen what impact this will have on King Charles—and the monarchy.”

Lady Susan Hussey has resigned from her honorary position as one of King Charles’s advisors due to her racist behavior—which included aggressively and repeatedly asking Ngozi Fulani where she “really came from.”

Fulani provided a transcript of the conversation on Twitter, writing, “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.”

Ngozi told The Guardian that “I was almost forced to say that I’m not really British. I don’t know what she meant by ‘my people’. It was incomprehensible for her to consider that I have British citizenship. When she heard my parents were from the Caribbean she said: ‘Finally we are getting somewhere’…It was overt racism.”

Buckingham Palace released a statement, saying, “We take this incident extremely seriously and have investigated immediately to establish the full facts. In this instance, unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made. We have reached out to Ngozi Fulani on this matter, and we are inviting her to discuss all elements of her experience in person if she wishes. 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.”

A spokesperson for Prince William and Kate Middleton also gave a statement, saying, “I want to address the story relating to a guest attending a reception at Buckingham Palace last night. This is a matter for Buckingham Palace, but as the Prince of Wales spokesperson, I appreciate you’re all here and understand you’ll want to ask about it. So let me address it head on. I was really disappointed to hear about the guests’ 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.”

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