Prince William was left 'frenzied' by racing storm Lady Susan Hussey with Kensington Palace fearing it could 'derail' his official visit to Boston

Kensington Palace feared Prince William's official visit to Boston would be 'derailed' by the race storm over Lady Susan Hussey.

In his new book, Robert Hardman reports the incident in which the late queen's trusted lady-in-waiting – who had remained at Buckingham Palace to assist King Charles as 'lady of the house' – was accused of questioning a guest about her. heritage during a palace reception in November 2022.

Ngozi Fulani, a representative of Sistah Space, a London-based charity for female victims of domestic violence of African and Caribbean descent, said she felt “violated” and “interrogated” when Lady Susan repeatedly asked her: “Where are you really from? '.

The incident went viral after Ms Fulani posted her version of events the morning after the reception. Hours later, Lady Susan, now 84, voluntarily stepped down from her honorary, unpaid position and apologized unreservedly. She had served the late queen at Buckingham Palace since 1960 and was so trusted by the family that she was William's godmother.

The palace issued a statement saying it had “immediately investigated”, describing the comments as “unacceptable and deeply regrettable” and inviting Ms Fulani to discuss her experiences. At the time, the Prince and Princess of Wales were about to board a flight to the US to host William's Earthshot Prize.

Prince William issued a statement saying he was “very disappointed” when he heard about Ms Fulani's experiences

His staff 'frantically' called Buckingham Palace for clarification. “Given the months of preparation for this event,” Hardman writes, “they had visions of the entire mission being derailed by a 'royal racing storm.'”

Shortly before he left, Prince William issued a statement saying he was “very disappointed” to hear about Ms Fulani's experiences. He added: 'Racism has no place in our society, these comments were unacceptable.'

Hardman writes of the incident: 'It was a well-intentioned attempt to find some kind of common ground. However, one of those guests had clearly felt marginalized and unwelcome as a result. A case that had ended up on social media out of the blue at 7.25am had been heard, assessed and closed by tea time.”

He adds that some of Lady Susan's friends were 'stunned' by the whole debacle. They pointed out that it had been a noisy, crowded, international gathering, with many people in national dress. Since the first ladies of seven countries were present with their entourages, there was plenty of 'where are you from?' style interaction.

The Prince and Princess of Wales pictured at the Earthshot Prize in Boston in 2022

Behind the scenes, an extraordinary reconciliation process took place between the two women. The King's Director of Community Engagement, the highly respected Dr Eva Omaghomi, teamed up with the Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, an honorary Chaplain to the King and the first black female Bishop of the Church of England, to to arrange a meeting between the two women. It took place two weeks later in the Regency Room of the palace.

Apparently many tears were shed over cups of tea. Lady Susan again apologized unequivocally and Mrs. Fulani brought her a gift.

The King's personal affection for a loyal family friend remained 'undimmed' and Lady Susan continues to attend Palace events to this day.