The royal race row has escalated as a bombshell trailer for Harry and Meghan’s £88million Netflix documentary was put up online.
It came the day after Prince William’s godmother resigned as a palace aide for asking a black British charity chief where she was ‘really’ from.
The 60-second teaser hinted at more damaging claims after they told US TV host Oprah Winfrey last year there were ‘concerns and conversations’ in the royal family about how dark their then- unborn son Archie’s skin might be.
‘I had to do everything I could to protect my family,’ the Duke of Sussex, says in the promo as piano music plays and images appear of Meghan, head in hands and wiping away tears.
‘No-one sees what goes on behind closed doors,’ Harry adds. Meghan says: ‘When the stakes are this high, doesn’t it make sense to hear our story from us?’
The scenes are intercut with stony-faced images including William and Kate – whose visit to the US to promote their Earthshot charity has been overshadowed by the palace race row.
The Prince and Princess of Wales even had to sit through a sermon on racism from an African-American pastor at an event. ‘On this day, I invite us all to consider the legacy of colonialism and racism,’ the Rev Mariama White-Hammond told them.
‘The stories lost, the species made extinct but also the persistence of people in the face of oppression and the fundamental dignity of all of our relations.’
The couple faced boos at a basketball match in Boston on their first overseas trip since the death of the Queen as news of the scandal was seized on by the US media.
They were still above the Atlantic when William put out a statement condemning Lady Susan Hussey’s words at a Buckingham Palace reception for groups opposing violence against women, hosted by Camilla, the Queen Consort, on Tuesday.
The late Queen’s lady-in-waiting had approached Ngozi Fulani, the head of a Hackney-based domestic violence charity, and repeatedly demanded to know ‘where are you from?’
Ms Fulani told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘It was like an interrogation. I have to really question how this can happen in a space that’s supposed to protect women against all kinds of violence. Although it’s not physical violence – it is an abuse.’
Ms Fulani denied claims from the Palace – repeated last night – that it reached out to her afterwards.
And she dismissed suggestions 83-year-old Lady Susan’s age may be a mitigating factor.
‘Let us be clear what this is,’ she said. ‘I’ve heard so many suggestions it’s about her age and stuff like that, and I think that’s kind of a disrespect – an ageism.
‘I’m very proud of my African heritage. This is like the Windrush thing to me. You’re trying to make me unwelcome in my own space.’
Nazir Afzal, a former chief crown prosecutor, said Lady Susan asked him the same question, tweeting: ‘She only asked me my heritage once and seemed to accept my answer – Manchester currently’. He added: ‘Racism is never very far away.’
Prince William’s statement said ‘racism has no place in our society’, adding: ‘The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.’
Buckingham Palace insisted it took this incident ‘extremely seriously’ as it quickly sacked Lady Susan after 62 years in the job. ‘In this instance, unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made,’ it added.
‘All members of the household are being reminded of the diversity and inclusivity policies which they are required to uphold at all times.’ William has not seen Harry since their grandmother’s funeral in September. They are not expected to meet on the US trip.
William and Kate were later given a warmer welcome when they visited a climate technology firm in Boston, Massachusetts, and were given a bouquet by Henry Dynov-Teixeira, eight, dressed as a Grenadier Guard.
The couple are seen in the Netflix trailer with Harry and Meghan at a 2019 Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. Viewers seemed to side with them while criticising the Sussexes.
‘My favourite part is her crying in front of her Hermes blanket,’ said one YouTube user, with another adding it was worth more than their salary.
‘You can’t tell me they didn’t plan on releasing this the week William and Kate arrive in the US,’ another said. While another pointed out: ‘I’ve never seen such a public attempt at privacy.’
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