On 29 November 2022, Camilla, then Queen Consort, hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace to highlight the fight against violence against women and girls. Guests included campaigners, charity leaders and survivors.
One of them was Ngozi Fulani, founder of Sistah Space, a London charity that supports women of African and Caribbean heritage affected by domestic abuse. She was born and raised in Britain.
The next day, she described an encounter at the reception on social media. She said that soon after she arrived, a senior member of the royal household approached her, moved her hair aside to see her name badge, and then asked her repeatedly where she was really from, and where her people came from, even after she said she was British.
The person was soon identified as Lady Susan Hussey, then 83, who had served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II for more than 60 years and was Prince William’s godmother.
The story spread quickly. Buckingham Palace responded the same day. It said it took the incident extremely seriously, that unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments had been made, and that the individual concerned had stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect and apologised.
Kensington Palace, speaking for Prince William, said that racism has no place in society and that the comments were unacceptable. The timing was difficult: William and Kate were in Boston for the Earthshot Prize at the time, and the row followed them there.
Many people defended Ngozi Fulani and said her experience was familiar to many Black Britons. Others felt Lady Susan, who had given decades of loyal service, had been treated harshly for what they saw as a generational misunderstanding.
In December 2022, the two women met privately at Buckingham Palace. A joint statement said Lady Susan had offered her sincere apologies and that Ngozi Fulani had accepted them, and that both hoped the meeting would help them move forward.
The row was short but significant. It came only days before the release of the Harry and Meghan Netflix series, and it reopened difficult questions about race and the royal household at a sensitive moment for the new King’s reign.