A woman who aids the British royal family stepped down from her role after news broke out about her racist comments about nationality to a black woman, an advocate for domestic abuse survivors, on Wednesday, November 30.

Lady Susan Hussey, the godmother of Prince William, and the late Queen Elizabeth II’s lady-in-waiting for over 60 years, asked a black woman where she was from during an event hosted in Buckingham Palace by Queen Consort Camilla.

It’s not the first time the royal family has had to deal with allegations of racism, but it is the first scandal related to racism during the reign of King Charles III.

The victim of the godmother’s interrogation, Ngozi Fulani, is a British-born activist and the Chief Executive Officer of Sistah Space, a charity that helps victims of domestic violence. She told BBC Radio 4 about her encounter with Lady Hussey. She said that during her meeting, which seemed like intimidation, Lady Hussey repeatedly questioned her about her ethnicity and asked her what part of Africa she was from.

Fulani said that even though she did not experience  physical abuse, it was still a form of abuse.

The racism scandal erupted at a bad time for the Prince and Princess of Wales, Harry and Kate, who were on the first day of their US visit to the Earth Shot Awards – their first foreign tour since they started their new titles.

A Palace spokesperson released a statement condemning the incident and said Lady Hussey’s remarks were unacceptable. The spokesman said it was the right thing for her to step down from her duties immediately.

The Palace also said that they take the situation seriously and were investigating the allegations. They said that Lady Hussey had made “unacceptable and deeply regrettable” comments. The spokesperson apologized for the comments and the insults to Ngozi Fulani.

Fulani was invited to meet King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla to discuss her experience.

This is the latest accusation against the royal family of racism since Meghan Markle made allegations when she and Prince Harry gave their interview to Oprah Winfrey in 2021. Meghan said that a royal family member had questioned her how she thought her son’s skin tone would turn out after he was born.

A few days after the Oprah interview, Prince William said the royal family was not racist.

The incident sparked discussion about the royal family perhaps not being diverse enough and that they do not fully represent the multicultural environment that Britain has become.