Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's biography author, Omar Scobie, has lashed out at the Royal Family, branding the monarchy "toxic" after Lady Susan Hussey was accused of a racist exchange.
The former Lady-in-Waiting, one of Queen Elizabeth II's most treasured aides, found herself at the centre of a race row after a chat with Ngozi Fulani, founder of the charity Sistah Space.
Ms Fulani, who was born in Britain, said that Lady Hussey had asked her repeatedly where she was from at Buckingham Palace, sparking an apology from the Firm as the aide stepped down.
Now Mr Scobie has weighed in, writing on Yahoo News: "The encounter was appalling but, sadly, didn’t shock many. The relationship between royals and racial sensitivity is similar to that of oil and water. Diversity at royal events sounds great, but does it work if the people there aren’t equipped to deal with it?"
It came after Ms Fulani told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "Although I didn't experience physical violence, what I feel I experienced was a form of abuse."
Describing how Lady Susan also touched her hair during the incident, she said: "I was stood next to two other women - black women - and she (Lady Susan) just made a beeline for me, and she took my locks and moved it out of the way so that she could see my name badge.
"That's a no-no. I wouldn't put my hands in someone's hair, and culturally it's not appropriate."
"I've heard so many suggestions it's about her age and stuff like that. And I think that's a kind of a disrespect about ageism," she said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"Are we saying that because of your age you can't be racist or you can't be inappropriate? If you invite people to an event, as I said, against domestic abuse, and there are people there from different demographics, I don't see the relevance of whether I'm British or not British. You're trying to make me unwelcome in my own space."
The Palace moved swiftly to respond to Ms Fulani's tweets on Wednesday morning, saying it took the incident at Tuesday's reception "extremely seriously" and had investigated immediately. It added, not naming Lady Susan, that the individual concerned had resigned and apologised and that the comments were "unacceptable and deeply regrettable".
The King, who acceded to the throne less than three months ago, and Camilla have been made aware of the situation, the Palace said.
A Kensington Palace spokesman issued a strong statement, saying: "Racism has no place in our society.
