I am a lawyer. I know the unfairness of imputing guilt by association. However, Lady Susan Hussey’s behavior makes it all too easy, even if improper, to do.
She, of course, is the late queen’s lady-in-waiting. She’s recently become infamous after a Black woman accused her of racism. It stems from how Lady Hussey allegedly interrogated her during a reception Queen Consort Camilla hosted at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
Harry and Meghan can thank fussy Lady Hussey
The Black woman is British charity boss Ngozi Fulani. And here, in part, is how she claims that interrogation played out – courtesy of The Guardian on November 30, 2022:
___________
SH: No, what part of Africa are you from?
Me: I don’t know, they didn’t leave any records.
SH: No, but what nationality are you?
Me: I am born here and am British.
SH: No, but where do you really come from, where do your people come from?
Me: ‘My people’, lady, what is this?
SH: Oh I can see I am going to have a challenge getting you to say where you’re from. When did you first come here?
Me: Lady! I am a British national, my parents came here in the 50s when…
SH: Oh, I knew we’d get there in the end, you’re Caribbean!
____________
“They didn’t leave any records…” LOL… Priceless!
The problem is that, with royals, courtiers, and household staff (of a certain age), this passes for polite banter with Black people. It’s how casual racism plays out.
Were Meghan and Harry right after all?
Arguably, Hussey’s exchange with Fulani proves Harry and Meghan are right. After all, that, but for the grace of God, could have been the late Prince Philip interrogating Fulani in the same imperious and racist manner. And I challenge any member of the British royal family to deny that.
Besides, this happened in the palace no less. And that lends credibility to Harry and Meghan’s infamous complaint about “structural racism in the Royal family.”
Institutional vs. individual racism
Even so, it’s one thing to assert that the British monarchy is a racist institution. It’s quite another to accuse a member of the royal family of being a racist. Fairness requires distinguishing between them.
After all, I know many lawyers who assert that their law firms reek of institutional racism. But they rarely have cause to accuse any particular lawyer of being a racist. Likewise, Harry and Meghan have no cause to accuse any (senior) member of The Firm (i.e., Charles, Camilla, William, or Catherine) of being a racist.
Nobody can blame King Charles for Lady Hussey’s racist interrogation. After all, the US government reeks of institutional racism. Yet nobody would blame President Biden for a similar incidence of racism.
I commend Charles for handling this incident like any good leader or CEO should. He summarily banished Lady Hussey from any further association with his royal household. That punishment was more than even her alleged victim wanted. But, to the lady’s credit, there’s this:
Lady Susan, former lady-in-waiting to the late queen, has reiterated her wish for a meeting so that she can apologise personally. Palace officials say they have reached out through a number of channels to try and facilitate the meeting and to express their ‘profound’ regret for the ‘unacceptable’ comments.
(LBC News, December 2, 2022)
One presumes Lady Hussey also wishes to be racially sensitized.
But imagine the reputational damage if this were Camilla. She got the Lady Hussey media treatment for allegedly asking if Harry and Meghan’s unborn child would have “ginger Afro hair.” I defended her innocent and decidedly non-racist question.
Yet now, I find myself commending Charles instead of defending Hussey. But that’s because her interrogation is indefensible. Moreover, it has done what I thought was impossible: It has made Harry and Meghan look credible and even sympathetic – but only just ;).
Racism vs. jealousy
For Harry and Meghan, the timing of Lady Hussey’s incriminating interrogation was fortuitous. But the way they welcomed William and Catherine to America last week was contrived.
After all, they chose this occasion to drop the trailer for the long-anticipated Netflix docudrama on their rift with the royal family. There’s no denying their vain intent was to upstage William and Catherine’s royal visit. Only petty jealousy would cause them to do so.
And don’t get me started on how cameras were constantly rolling or clicking as they were going through (aka orchestrating) this rift. That alone seems cynical, almost to the point of incriminating.
Of course, Harry and Meghan are nothing if not consistent. Because jealousy also made them agree to accept the RFK Ripple of Hope Human Rights award at a gala in New York on Tuesday. And, in typical fashion, their vain intent was to upstage the gala William and Catherine are attending in Boston tonight. William will award his annual Earthshot Prize for environmental innovation.
The juxtaposition afoot is as telling as it is damning. Harry and Meghan will accept a human rights award. But it’s only for their own self-serving complaints. After all, racism is inherent in the royal institution he was born into. And she happily married into it. Now both are complaining about it to enrich themselves.
By contrast, William and Catherine will give environmental awards to young innovators. And these innovators are developing cutting-edge solutions to help combat climate change.
I’m the son of a preacher man. So I am tempted to draw analogies with the Parable of the Prodigal Son. But I’ll spare you.
There’s no denying Harry and Meghan’s vindictiveness. Only that explains the timing of their self-serving Netflix trailer. It seemed intended to ambush William and Catherine’s performance of their royal duties. It smacks of a stunt with irony, pettiness, and malicious intent. And it’s bound to undermine any kernel of truth they utter when their docudrama finally airs.
In the meantime, Harry and Meghan are reveling in their notoriety. Not to mention the benefits they’re getting from these stunts, her podcast, his memoir, and their docudrama. Regardless, the fortune they’re gaining from these spiteful attacks on the royal family will prove as fleeting as a viral tweet. But they are too self-righteous and self-obsessed to appreciate that.
But you can bet your life savings that nobody will care what two B-list (ex)royals have to say in five years or less. Especially given that they are grifting a celebrity lifestyle in the USA. Notably, A-list celebrities are already shunning them. The very ones Harry and Meghan presumed would be queuing up to socialize with them.
On the other hand, William and Catherine will grow even grander in status as the Prince and Princess of Wales. And they will have all the enviable entitlements their status affords and the deference it commands.