Ngozi Fulani receives personal apology at Buckingham Palace

1:54 pm on 17 December 2022

A handout picture released by Royal Communications shows Lady Susan Hussey (L) meeting Ngozi Fulani, founder of the charity Sistah Space, in the Regency room at Buckingham Palace in London on December 16, 2022. - Buckingham Palace declared a reconciliation between Prince William's godmother and a black British woman who was repeatedly asked where she was "really" from. (Photo by Handout / BUCKINGHAM PALACE / AFP) / XGTY - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ROYAL COMMUNICATIONS" - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION - NO MERCHANDISING NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - NO SALES - NO DIGITAL ENHANCEMENT, MANIPULATION OR MODIFICATION - NOT TO BE USED AFTER JANUARY 16, 2023 WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION FROM ROYAL COMMUNICATIONS /

Lady Susan Hussey meeting Ngozi Fulani in Buckingham Palace. Photo: AFP PHOTO / ROYAL COMMUNICATIONS

By Sean Coughlan

Lady Susan Hussey has given a personal apology to Ngozi Fulani, after asking her where she was "really from" at a Palace reception.

Lady Susan, a former lady in waiting, met black British charity boss Fulani at Buckingham Palace on Friday.

She offered her "sincere apologies for the comments ... and the distress they caused", Buckingham Palace said.

A statement said Fulani had accepted the apology and recognised the comments had not been malicious.

Fulani, founder of the Sistah Space charity, was a guest at a Buckingham Palace reception last month when she described Lady Susan moving her hair to see her name badge, and challenging her to explain where she was "really from".

Lady Susan, a godmother to Prince William, asked what part of Africa Fulani was from, despite Fulani explaining that she worked in London and had been born in the United Kingdom.

Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (C) and Lady Susan Hussey (L), attend the State Opening of Parliament in the Houses of Parliament in London on October 14, 2019. - The State Opening of Parliament is where Queen Elizabeth II performs her ceremonial duty of informing parliament about the government's agenda for the coming year in a Queen's Speech. (Photo by Paul Edwards / POOL / AFP)

Lady Susan Hussey, left, with the Queen Consort, Camilla at the state opening of Parliament in on 14 October, 2019. Photo: AFP

Fulani felt that she had been "interrogated" at the reception hosted by the Queen Consort for those working to tackle domestic abuse.

Following the controversy, Lady Susan, aged 83, stepped down from her honorary palace role.

The row prompted Prince William's spokesman to say that "racism has no place in our society".

In a joint statement issued with Fulani, Buckingham Palace described Friday's reconciliation between the two women as "filled with warmth and understanding".

Lady Susan has "pledged to deepen her awareness of the sensitivities involved" and the Royal Households would continue to "focus on inclusion and diversity", the statement said.

The Royal Households also made a commitment to training programmes, including "examining what can be learnt from Sistah Space".

There was recognition that Fulani had "unfairly received an appalling torrent of abuse on social media".

Last week the Sistah Space domestic abuse charity said it had ceased many of its operations because of concerns over safety.

The statement on Friday said both Lady Susan and Fulani wanted their meeting to show that "resolution can be found with kindness, co-operation and the condemnation of discrimination wherever it takes root".

Buckingham Palace will have wanted to draw a line under what had been an embarrassing row.

And King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, were said to have been kept informed and welcomed the outcome.

- BBC