Buckingham Palace announced shortly afterward that Lady Susan Hussey, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William’s godmother, had stepped down from her “honorary” role following an internal investigation into the incident.
The charity Sistah Space, which supports women of African and Caribbean heritage affected by domestic abuse and sexual assault, wrote in a statement posted in an Instagram Story late Friday that “unfortunately recent events meant that we were forced to temporarily cease many of our operations to ensure the safety of our service users and our team.
“We are overwhelmed by the amount of support and encouragement and look forward to fully reinstating our services as soon as safely possible.”
Earlier in the week, Fulani said she had received abuse since speaking out about the incident at Buckingham Palace.
“The last week has been an extremely difficult time for us all at Sistah Space. My team, family and I have been put under immense pressure and received some horrific abuse via social media,” she said in a statement quoted by British media.
According to The Voice, a U.K. newspaper aimed at the British African Caribbean community, Fulani was subjected to a “social media hate campaign” after news of the incident emerged, including denunciations of her name and calls for her charity to be shut down as it caters only to women of African Caribbean heritage.
Fulani’s supporters on Saturday lamented that Sistah Space had been forced to pause its work.
“This is horrific but not surprising given the disgusting abuse Ngozi Fulani has had to endure. No doubt her abusers are proud of themselves and I hope and pray that a tragedy doesn’t occur because @Sistah_Space has been forced to pause their work,” broadcaster Lorraine King tweeted.
The November incident at Buckingham Palace, according to Fulani, had involved a member of staff moving her hair to see her name badge and refusing to accept her explanation that she was British.
Mixed feelings about yesterday’s visit to Buckingham Palace. 10 mins after arriving, a member of staff, Lady SH, approached me, moved my hair to see my name badge. The conversation below took place. The rest of the event is a blur.
Thanks @ManduReid & @SuzanneEJacob for support🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/OUbQKlabyq— Sistah Space (@Sistah_Space) November 30, 2022
Another guest who witnessed the incident previously told The Washington Post that it had “felt like an interrogation.”
Hussey, 83, has not publicly commented on the incident, but the palace issued a statement saying that she “would like to express her profound apologies for the hurt caused.”
Hussey’s supporters have emphasized her age and argued that she was simply curious about Fulani’s heritage.
However, Fulani has previously rejected any suggestion that the incident could be explained by Hussey’s age.
“Let us be clear what this is. 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 kind of thing,” she told BBC Radio 4′s Today program.
