When the incendiary story about Lady Susan Hussey’s ill-judged remarks broke this week, a detail that many were quick to spot was that Lady Hussey had been the person responsible for giving the Duchess of Sussex ‘protocol lessons’ when she first became part of the Royal Family. Defenders of Meghan Markle (who do exist, if not in any great quantity in Britain) seized upon this information. They have been trumpeting, ‘Of course, this is what that poor woman had to put up with! If people are as ignorant and rude as Lady Hussey, no wonder she accused the Royal Family and its members of racism! She called them out!’
It is with this in mind that she and Prince Harry will be collecting an award at the Ripple of Hope Gala in New York on 6 December from Robert F Kennedy’s daughter Kerry, for their ‘heroic and principled stand against racism in the Royal Family’. As Kerry Kennedy commented, ‘They went to the oldest institution in UK history and told them what they were doing wrong, that they couldn’t have structural racism within the institution; that they could not maintain a misunderstanding about mental health.’ Comparing their actions to her father’s fight against apartheid, and praising their ‘moral courage’, Ms Kennedy said, ‘Few would have the courage to question their colleagues, family and community about the power structure they maintained, and this is what Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have done.’
The Sussex grievance machine is back in full force, and this incident will only continue to keep the motor running
When the award was announced on 20 November, it was met with the usual eye-rolling and dark murmurings about attention-seeking and limelight-grabbing. However, now that recent events have made it an even greater provocation, it is a fortunate coincidence that the Prince and Princess of Wales were making their own embassy to the United States at the same time. Their activities include Prince William presenting the Earthshot Prize – a £1million environmental award, designed to reward innovative ideas for the future of the planet – and a formal meeting with President Biden. The implication of the latter, surely, is to suggest that while Harry and Meghan might be feted by the daughter of a one-time presidential candidate, the Duke of Sussex’s brother is meeting the actual US president: a reminder of where the true power and influence lies in the contemporary Royal Family.
All the same, the race row has proved personally embarrassing for Prince William, as Lady Hussey is his godmother. While a boilerplate statement was put out from Boston on the first day of their tour – ‘racism has no place in our society’ – it stopped short of any personal condemnation of his godmother, a woman who was a close friend of Queen Elizabeth (and, indeed, was portrayed by the actress Haydn Gwynne in the most recent series of The Crown). This may or may not have to be reconsidered over the coming days. After a series of public events in which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been marginalised, this regrettable incident has played into their hands. As Trevor Phillips wrote in the Times, ‘The stifled horse laugh you can hear emanating from California is the noise of a duchess trying not to guffaw “I told you so”.’
It remains to be seen what, if anything, is said publicly by the Duke or Duchess at the Ripple of Hope Gala, and if so how incendiary it is. It may also be that the Prince and Princess of Wales continue to win the PR battle, presenting themselves as the steady, dutiful duo, getting on with the task at hand and not being distracted by publicity-hungry initiatives. Yet the ‘prejudice at the Palace’ affair shows no signs of disappearing from view. It may end up overshadowing the Earthshot Prize, and a great deal besides. After a period of abeyance, the Sussex grievance machine is back in full force, and this incident will only continue to keep the motor running.
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