Prince William and Catherine are in Boston as part of a tour of the US - but their visit is being overshadowed by a row over alleged racism back in the UK
The prince's godmother, Lady Susan Hussey, resigned from her royal role after repeatedly asking a black British charity boss where she was "really" from
Ngozi Fulani told the BBC the encounter was "like an interrogation" and "abuse"
Prince William and Catherine are in the US to promote the environmental Earthshot Prize in their first visit to the country in eight years
His spokesperson earlier said "racism has no place in our society"
Meanwhile, the first official trailer of Prince Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary has premiered, promising a behind-the-scenes look at the couple's time as senior royals
We're going to pause today's live coverage of the royal racism row there. Thanks for joining us.
This page was written by Alys Davies, Jack Burgess, Laura Gozzi, Chris Giles, Rachel Russell and George Wright. It was edited by Dulcie Lee, Andrew Humphrey, Sam Hancock and Jeremy Gahagan.
Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent
In the wake of the Queen’s funeral there was a wave of sympathy and support for the Royal Family.
This week has seen more of a bump in the road. It should have been all about a showcase first overseas trip for Prince William and Catherine, since they became Prince and Princess of Wales. They’re in the US for an environmental award, burnishing their green credentials as modern, caring royals.
Instead they’ve been overtaken by a race row at Buckingham Palace, raising questions about the Royal Family can reflect a modern, diverse Britain.
And to make it even more complicated, Prince Harry and Meghan have put out the trailer for their Netflix documentary, which could mean weeks of awkward headlines, depending on how hard-hitting they make the series.
It shows how Prince Harry and Meghan have carved out a Californian life for themselves, making films and making waves and making money. But it will put the light back on to the family back at home.
What kind of royal identity will Prince William and Catherine want for themselves? How much are they going to modernise? How will they engage with the public and put their side of the story?
And how will the core group at the centre of the monarchy – King Charles, the Queen Consort, Prince William and Catherine – present their own version of a modern family?
Image source, Yui Mok/PA WireBBC Newsbeat has been speaking to a presenter and activist called Kelvin who says he has interviewed Prince William before, and is on first name terms with the future King, but adds the Palace racism row has changed how he feels about the royals.
He calls William a "progressive guy" but says he wants to see more work done to make sure "no individual who has contributed so much to black British culture and society is ever treated in such a derogatory way again".
Kelvin also says he's been asked similar questions to that faced by Ngozi Fulani before they symbolise "the institutional racism that exists in our society".
Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent
Image source, EPARishi Sunak has said the UK must "continually learn the lessons" from acts of racism - after a royal aide resigned for repeatedly asking a black British head of a charity where she was from.
The prime minister said it "wouldn't be right" for him to comment on what happened at the Buckingham Palace reception, adding "they've acknowledged what's happened and made an apology for it."
Asked about his own experiences, Sunak said that while he had experienced racism, the country had made "incredible progress".
"But the job is never done," he added, "and that's why whenever we see it we must confront it and it's right that we continually learn the lessons and move to a better future."
As we report on the Prince and Princess of Wales's visit to Boston in the US, the racism row involving a member of the Royal Household has provoked much reaction in the UK.
Across the BBC, we've been hearing the reaction of some black British people to the incident, as well as their own experiences of being asked the question: "Where are you from?"
Quote MessageAs a black woman born and living in the UK - a melting pot of different cultures - I find this question a loaded one, one that seeks to put me in a box: where am I in relation to you? A judgement based on the colour of my skin when my very identity is made up of so many things. I am not a single narrative, I am not a stereotype and until we share a diversity of stories, dangerous assumptions will persist.
Amanda Mukwashi, Author
Quote Message“I don’t think that there is a person of colour who hasn’t had those experiences.... It’s wearying, it’s exhausting, but one sort of lives with it, and the time has come for us not to have to live with it any longer.
Margaret Casely-Hayford, Board member of Coop, chair of Shakespeare's Globe, and lawyer
Quote MessageI've had similar experiences... maybe not necessarily the consistency of the line of inquiry - I don’t think I’ve ever had that type of experience - but certainly people have asked me, 'Where are you from?' or 'Where are you really from?' But having said that, to be honest, you just learn to move on with these things.
Samuel Kasumu, Former advisor to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Quote MessageThese types of experiences are commonplace across every facet of society, and it’s something that people of colour have to learn to navigate and understand and deal with as a normal part of our existence in British society... It’s not just in these particular elite spaces if you will… but in the workplace, walking down the road, shopping, just general living.
Prof Nicola Rollock, Author and Professor of Social Policy and Race at King's College London
Image source, Getty ImagesAmerican author and playwright Bonnie Greer has been giving her thoughts on the Lady Hussey incident, and says that although the former royal aide has since resigned, "the deeper problem is the institution".
"This is the 21st century, but it doesn't seem to be in the Royal Household," she tells BBC News.
"The royal household is in a cocoon, they’re in a bubble and that bubble needs to be burst so that the Royal Family can enter the 21st century, or they’re gonna be in a lot of trouble.
She also offers the family, and King Charles III, some advice - to surround themselves with "younger, more diverse" advisers.
Actress Adjoa Andoh thinks it's a "generational thing"
Adjoa Andoh, who plays Lady Danbury in Bridgerton, has been speaking to the BBC about the incident involving a black British charity boss who was repeatedly asked where she was "really" from at a royal reception.
She says she’s been to events at Buckingham Palace and she says there are always lots of people there and you'd have conversations with people you haven't met before. She says, “‘Where are you from?’ could be a very innocuous, sort of ‘have you come far?’, type question."
"I sort of feel for Lady Susan in a way because she will have been talking to lots of different people and trying to be engaged with everybody, but I think it’s a generational thing," she says, adding "I would cut her some slack."
Asked if she sees the question Ngozi Fulani was asked as racism, she replies she sees it as casual racism, “because if you pause to think about it, you might ask in a different way."
Listen to the full interview here - from 27 mins into the recording.
Nazir Afzal is a former chief crown prosecutor for the North West and is now chancellor of the University of Manchester.
He's tweeted to say he was also at the reception at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, where a black British charity boss was repeatedly asked where she was "really" from by Prince William's godmother, Lady Susan Hussey.
He says Lady Susan also asked him about his heritage at the event.
"She only asked once and seemed to accept my answer - Manchester currently!" he writes, but adds that "racism is never far away".
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Ashitha Nagesh
Community affairs correspondent
Being intrusively probed about your cultural and ethnic heritage is an unwelcome but frequent occurrence for many people. So what makes the question "where do you really come" from so loaded?
Most people belonging to an ethnic minority in the UK will have been asked this many times, by people of all ages and political leanings. It is so common it has become a cliche.
Reading about what happened to Ngozi Fulani at Buckingham Palace reminded me of being asked this question a few years ago. I was out for drinks with a large group of friends and a young white man of about my age repeatedly asked me where I was "really from".
Each time I answered with increasing levels of detail, until this stranger had heard about my entire childhood. But he still kept asking. I eventually gave up and said that I am Indian.
"Aha!" he exclaimed. "Got there in the end."
Charity boss Ngozi Fulani gives her account of the Buckingham Palace incident which led to the resignation of a former lady-in-waiting of the Queen.
Ngozi Fulani says her experience felt like "an interrogation"
Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent
Image source, PA MediaLady Susan Hussey was a senior assistant to the late Queen
This began as an awkward private conversation but soon became a big public embarrassment for the Royal Family.
Prince William's godmother, Lady Susan Hussey, resigned from her royal role on Wednesday after repeatedly asking a black British charity boss, Ngozi Fulani, where she was "really" from.
The subjects of race and racism and inclusion and diversity have become very difficult territory for the royals - particularly after suggestions by Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, of prejudice within the Royal Family and Royal Household.
The timing could scarcely be worse. Prince William, currently on his first overseas trip as the new Princes of Wales, is wanting to carve out an international role as a modern, empathetic figure, as he hands out an environmental prize.
A spokesman distanced William from the comments.
Meanwhile, the family has been very publicly trying to send a message about supporting diversity and inclusion. The King has talked of wanting his reign to reflect Britain as a "community of communities", drawing strength from diversity.
Nada Tawfik
Reporting from Boston
Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockThis royal trip has long been anticipated, with local media declaring “The British are coming” and “Boston gets the royal treatment".
The racism controversy at Buckingham Palace has certainly loomed large in coverage so far, but Boston reporters have also been keen to highlight how the visit of the UK's future King and Queen will play out in their city.
Turn on a TV here, or browse social media, and news sites are closely chronicling the pair’s every movement with interest.
The newly-titled Prince and Princess of Wales wanted this trip to help them pave their own path - to help them come across as global leaders who act on solving weighty issues, such as climate and social change.
If they can get through this trip free of any gaffes or unflattering portrayals, they could still accomplish what they set out to do.
Daniela Relph
Royal correspondent in Boston
Image source, EPADressing up for the royals gets you noticed.
As the Prince and Princess of Wales left Greentown Labs in Boston they met eight-year-old Henry.
He waited for two hours in the chilly Boston morning to see the royal couple and wore a soldier's uniform clasping a bunch of flowers.
Finally, Henry got his moment to meet them as they finished at Greentown Labs.
He said Catherine and William asked his name and where he got his costume from.
After meeting them Henry said he was going to scream tell his best friend that he now felt famous.
Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockDaniela Relph
Royal correspondent in Boston
Image source, EPAThe Prince and Princess of Wales have completed their first engagement of day two in the US.
They spent almost an hour at Greentown Labs, learning more about the climate innovations being developed here. (You can see the crowds outside, greeting the royals, in our post from earlier.)
It is described as a community for climate pioneers and is very much aligned with the main theme of this trip - finding solutions to combat climate change.
Away from racism controversies and Netflix trailers, they were able to stay very much on message here.
Image source, ReutersAs Netflix teases its upcoming documentary series with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, there's talk about Prince Harry's role in the Royal Family moving forwards.
Despite stepping back from royal duties when he moved to the US, MPs have backed a new law allowing Harry to remain on a list of stand-ins for King Charles at official engagements. The role is referred to as being a counsellor of state.
Prince Andrew also remains on the list, despite having stepped back from a working role in the wake of his association with US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Camilla, the Queen Consort, Prince William, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Princess Beatrice are the other counsellors.
Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent
Image source, Duke and Duchess of Sussex/Netflix/PAThe trailer included several black and white photos of the pair
With its moody black and white photography and tension-building music, the trailer for the Harry and Meghan series is like a thriller waiting to reveal its plot.
Is it going to be a tell-all account of arguments among the royals? Will it be critical of senior royals, such as the Princess of Wales and the Queen Consort? Or will it be a more laid-back Californian journey of self-discovery, with a few red carpets and rows thrown in?
So far we’ve only seen a few images of a fast-forward version of their relationship – from goofing around in sunglasses to looking tearful and tense.
The handful of script lines – “I had to do everything I could do to protect my family” – suggest the drama ahead, but not how they’ll tell it.
How far will they go in being open about issues such as racism or rows with the other royals?
But the Royal Family will be apprehensive about what comes next. Prince Harry and Meghan divide opinion, but they have massive international box-office appeal and what they say will be heard.
The timing of the trailer will already be seen as cutting across Prince William and Catherine’s visit to the US.
The Royal Family, trying to build their own new roles, might worry about being drowned out by the Netflix royalty.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were welcomed by a small crowd as they headed for their first engagement on the second day of the tour a little earlier.
Take a look:
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
The Prince and Princess of Wales have been spotted out and about in Boston this morning as they continue their first official visit overseas since the death of the late Queen.
William and Catherine have been meeting entrepreneurs working in the climate technology sector.
Yesterday, the two attended an event to start the countdown to the Earthshot Prize on Friday - the global environmental prize founded by Prince William in 2020 - at Boston's City Hall, before heading to a basketball match later in the evening.
Daniela Relph
Royal correspondent in Boston
Image source, PA MediaStaying focused and not getting sidetracked by other things is the plan for the Prince and Princess of Wales today as they begin their second day in Boston.
But that’s easier said than done.
The Netflix drop of the trailer for Prince Harry and Meghan's series was another unexpected event in a trip that has had a few so far - and again threatens to overshadow the work Prince William and Catherine are trying to do in Boston.
Don’t expect the royal couple to say anything about the documentary series during engagements today.
Royal sources say they just want to concentrate on meeting communities and local people in Boston.
Image source, Duke and Duchess of Sussex/Netflix/PAThis photo was one of many black and white images of the couple which featured in the trailer
Streaming giant Netflix has released a trailer for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's new documentary series.
It's made up primarily of non-official black and white photos of the couple, including selfies and candid snaps from their home life.
In one, they are seen as newlyweds dancing at their wedding, while others appear to show them on holiday with Meghan cradling her baby bump.
But the trailer also shows Meghan wiping away tears and sitting alone covering her face. Images of paparazzi, huge crowds lining the streets and tense formal engagements also feature.
Asked in the trailer why they wanted to make this documentary, the prince replies: "No-one sees what's happening behind closed doors... I had to do everything I could to protect my family."
The trailer ends with Meghan saying: "When the stakes are this high, doesn't it make more sense to hear our story from us?"
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