Member of Household resigns

[myrtleWilson]

Awful story just broken on twitter about horrendous racist questioning from Lady Hussey to Ngozi Fulani from Sister Space at yesterdays VAWG event.

Lady Hussey has resigned.

[Edited by MNHQ to correct typo at OP's request]

In what decade was it acceptable to interrogate royal guests about their heritage?

Isn't the whole purpose of the royal family to represent the UK and its values so that would mean any senior aids involved in engaging with members of the public should be skilled in diplomacy and etiquette? They hold influential official posts yet conduct themselves in such un professional and unkind manner.

Since when has it ever been ok to touch a guest, move their hair to read her name label and ask personal questions in a persistent and pushy way. Susan let the royal family down. William must be furious.

It would be a huge shame to delete the thread although some posters might just be trying to achieve this.

I agree that I usually pick up on when people don't want to go down a certain road. I haven't met many people who don't want to talk about their background/heritage though.

Do you also agree SchrodingersFat that asking a black person who's just told you they're British "but where do your people come from?" is not ok?

Love this. Useful. I’m going to donate, as opposed to talking to racism apologists on MN.

Ngozi Fulani answered the questions. She told Lady SH that she was from Hackney.

I think it was the charity, Sistah Space, being based in Hackney that Ngozi meant - she quite naturally centred her charity in her first two answers, not realising that Susan Hussey apparently didn't want to talk about the charity.

I'm from London. My ancestors? On my mother's side they came from Northern Ireland. They left for Scotland to find work in the 1940's. On my fathers side mostly from the South of England...naval seamen and agricultural workers, as far back as I can find.

Woman in her 80s displays a lack of tact. Ground breaking.

If you have goodwill, use this incident as a teaching moment. do not become an apologist for racism.

@Snoozer11 Racism is not a lack of tact.

Most positive thing to come out of this thread! Thank you so much for the suggestion, @queenofthewild. I usually make a donation to someone instead of sending Christmas cards. This year, this will be mine.

And this woman was an aide assigned to help Meghan.
Maybe she did have grounds then to see the whole institution as racist?

The Royal Family has BIG problem when their fans are mainly racists. Not a good look.

I have asked people about their heritage, as I was genuinely interested. And I never before saw my query as racist, nor do I think it was ever received as such. But having read this thread, I'll not be asking in future.

I agree @Maximinimalist
Hardly the modern anti-racist image they were hoping to project.

Glad you've been educated.

It doesn't matter if you are genuinely interested. If you ask someone where they are from and they say Hackney you don't then interrogate them further

as usual i dont think anyone is going to change anyone's mind here.
we all have our opinions.
i am 30 years younger than Lady Hussey and would not ask the question.
i do feel for the 83 year old who has resigned, whatever than means in this context. she probalby spent her life meeting people from all parts of the world. including the president of south africa who was here recently. i think the charity worker was wrong to go to the press/twitter.
i imagine if the charity worker had been a similar age to Lady Hussey she would have told her that she perhaps came over to UK at the age of 6, for example. Lady Hussey should have chosen her words better and as perhaps said above because she was referring to the charity workers outfit. - who knows - Lady H is being lambasted. no racism is tolerated. good.
it doesnt mean there is racism in the royal family.

Why did they assign her a racist?

And? If you wish to give a complete random a rundown on your family history, that is your affair. No one should be required to do so.

I agree and I don't think many people would be asked to do so at an event such as the one this occurred at. A family tree convention maybe.

@SchrodingersFat do you think Susan would have interrogated you about your background? You are blind to the obvious racism. The questions from Lady Susan are absurd. Why is she asking her about her nationality? Why does she patronise her saying Well, you must know where you’re from. HN did answer her questions (NO, but what Nationality are you? Me: I am born here and am British.) but Lady Susan doesn't accept this clear statement assuming that she must be from the Caribbean. It is SO rude.

Lady SH: Where are you from?
Me: Sistah Space.
SH: No, where do you come from?
Me: We’re based in Hackney.
SH: No, what part of Africa are YOU from?
Me: I don’t know, they didn’t leave any records.
SH: Well, you must know where you’re from, I spent time in France. Where are you from?
Me: Here, UK
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!
Me: No Lady, I am of African heritage, Caribbean descent and British nationality.

No.

It is not possible to have "a bit of peace and love" when the subject is racism.

You are probably going to pull this thread, but it would not only be a shameful act of censorship to do so, but spectacular gaslighting of the many posters, who, over the years, who have tried to talk about racism on these threads in the context of the Royal Family, with many posts deleted.

What is needed is not "a bit of peace and love", but a hard hitting conversation about race.

Which this is.

And all views matter, even the most abhorrent.

Just listen to Chimamanda Adichie's spectacular Reith lecture today. We cannot retreat to positions of comfort on such important societal matters as racism in the Royal Family. Enough is enough.

Air and sunlight are what is needed. Not peace and love.

Thank you.

I'd also really like to write to them to let them know exactly why I'm making a donation: there was no option to do that as mine came though via text with a code to input.

Somehow it seems important to let them know that some people do want to stand with them against racism, and that they want this even (or perhaps especially) when it emanates from within one of the most cossetted, privileged yet least-challenged institutions in the country.

Exactly. I wouldn’t accept an old man squeezing my arse just because that was ok in the 1970s.

Agreed. But MN has a history of deleting posts about racism. Happens again and again.

This is the family that assigned Prince Philip to give Diana marriage guidance counselling! They pick people who are 'in the family' or known to be blindly loyal, not people who might actually have the skills and life experience to do the job required.

Why did they assign her a racist?

Probably because they're white and didn't realise how she was treating people of colour?

I highly doubt the RF and other decision-makers knew she could be like that but still decided it was still a good idea to match her with Meghan - seems like they didn't know as she's never been racist to the white people in charge.