Prince Harry has defended Lady Susan Hussey after she was involved in a race row.
Sistah Space charity Ngozi Fulani was repeatedly asked where she was "really" from while attending a reception hosted by Queen Consort Camilla in November, and it subsequently emerged the late Queen Elizabeth's former lady-in-waiting, Lady Hussey, had stepped down from her post in the royal household as a result of the exchange.
And Harry - who stepped down as a senior member of the Royal Family in 2020 to start a new life with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in the US - believes she didn't intend to cause any "harm at all".
Speaking to ITV's Tom Bradby in an interview that aired on Sunday night (08.01.23), Harry said: "I'm very happy for Ngozi Fulani to be invited into the palace to sit down with Lady Susan Hussey and to reconcile, because Meghan and I love Susan Hussey. She thinks she's great.
"And I also know that what she meant – she never meant any harm at all."
He went on: "But the response from the British press, and from people online because of the stories that they wrote was horrendous, was absolutely horrendous the response."
A palace spokesperson said at the time of the exchange: "We take this incident extremely seriously and have investigated immediately to establish the full details.
"In this instance, unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made. We have reached out to Ngozi Fulani on this matter, and are inviting her to discuss all elements of her experience in person if she wishes."
A month later, Ngozi and Hussey met at Buckingham Palace so she could apologise.
A palace source said: "A meeting took place this morning, 16th December, at Buckingham Palace between Ms Ngozi Fulani, founder of Sistah Space, and Lady Susan Hussey to address the incident that took place at a Palace reception last month.
"At this meeting, filled with warmth and understanding, Lady Susan offered her sincere apologies for the comments that were made and the distress they caused to Ms. Fulani.
"Lady Susan has pledged to deepen her awareness of the sensitivities involved and is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the issues in this area."
