Lady Susan Hussey, one of Prince William’s godmothers, resigned from her royal position on November 30, 2022. She resigned from her post after she made racist comments to charity boss Ngozi Fulani while visiting Buckingham Palace.
The noblewoman Lady Hussey served as a Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II for many years. She first joined the royal household in the 1960s and was described as a close friend of the Queen.
Following Queen Elizabeth’s passing in September, Lady Hussey was made a Lady of the Household. However, she resigned from the position shortly after she was accused of racism.
Lady Hussey had attended a Buckingham Palace reception hosted by Queen Camilla. Fulani, the head of a nonprofit organization known as Sistah Space, was also in attendance.
Shortly after the event, Fulani detailed her offensive conversation with Lady Hussey. Lady Hussey allegedly repeatedly pressed her about where she was from, even after Fulani stated she was from the UK.
By the 30th, a spokesperson for the Prince of Wales released a statement and confirmed that Lady Hussey “stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect.”
Lady Susan Hussey’s racism accusations explained
Shortly after the interaction with Lady Hussey, Fulani took to social media to relay what had happened. She revealed the interaction utilizing one of Sistah Space’s social media pages.
She revealed she had “mixed feelings” about her experience at Buckingham Palace after being approached by Lady Hussey within minutes of arrival. Lady Hussey allegedly looked at Fulani’s name tag before launching into the allegedly racist conversation.
Lady Hussey started by asking where Fulani was from, explaining that she came from the Sistah Space organization. However, Hussey then asked Fulani, who is Black, what “part of Africa” she was from.
Fulani explained to Lady Hussey that she was British and from the UK. However, Lady Hussey didn’t seem satisfied and continued pressing Fulani about where she was “really” from and what nationality she was.
She did not seem to understand that Fulani was of African heritage but of British nationality. Fulani later posted a follow-up to her initial Tweet.
She expressed gratitude for the support she received, as the Prince of Wales’ spokesperson agreed that the questioning was unacceptable. However, she also asked for the situation to be handled with kindness, which is one of the reasons she identified Lady Hussey only by her initials in the original post instead of by name.
Buckingham Palace responded to the allegations
Buckingham Palace addressed Fulani’s allegations in an official statement. They indicated they were approaching the situation as an “extremely serious incident.”
They also confirmed that an investigation had been launched and that they had reached out to Fulani and invited her to discuss her experience further.
The Palace also confirmed Lady Hussey’s resignation and stated that she wanted to “express her profound apologies for the hurt caused.” The statement concluded that all Household members were being reminded of diversity and inclusivity policies in light of the incident.”
Before the Palace’s statement, the Prince of Wales’s spokesperson commented on the incident. The spokesperson stated, “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 news of Lady Hussey’s resignation came just hours before Prince William and Kate Middleton arrived in Boston for the annual Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony.
The two released a statement expressing their “delight” at being back in the United States, shortly after their spokesperson’s statement regarding Lady Hussey.