William & Kate news: Prince’s godmother quits Buckingham Palace role in racism row as couple arrive in Boston

The royal couple arrived at Boston’s Logan International Airport on a scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow.

The Prince of Wales has appeared on TikTok to promote the Earthshot Prize coming to Boston this week.

“The Earthshot Prize is going to,” Prince William said, smiling to a front-facing camera, before placing the device on the ground and appearing to step on it.

Text reading: “Boston, this Friday, 2nd of December” flashed onto the screen, as fast clips of video showing photos of the 15 finalists nominated for the environmental awards in five categories: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build A Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate.

Lady Susan Hussey, the late Queen’s lady-in-waiting, resigned after she asked Ngozi Fulani, a prominent Black advocate for survivors of domestic abuse, where she “really came from”.

Buckingham Palace said it took the incident, at the Queen Consort’s reception on violence against women on Tuesday, “extremely seriously” and had investigated immediately.

Speaking to reporters in the US ahead of a visit by the Prince of Wales, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said: “This is a matter for Buckingham Palace but as the Prince of Wales spokesperson I appreciate you’re all here and understand you’ll want to ask about it, so let me address it head on.

“I was really disappointed to hear about the guest’s experience at Buckingham Palace last night.

“Obviously, I wasn’t there, but racism has no place in our society. The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.”

The royal couple’s first engagement on arrival in Boston will see them join the Mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu, and Ambassador Caroline Kennedy at Speaker’s Corner outside Boston City Hall, where they will formally kick off the Earthshot celebrations by lighting up Boston landmarks in green.

The Prince, Mayor Wu, and Ambassador Kennedy will each give short remarks.

Ahead of their first public engagement, the prince and princess will have a private audience with Mayor Wu inside City Hall.

With their three-day visit to Boston, focused on Prince William’s initiative to find the environmental entrepreneurs of a new generation, supplemented with trips to an anti-poverty program, child development researchers and local flood defenses, the couple hope to demonstrate that they aren’t the last remnants of a dying institution. Instead, Americans will see the younger face of a monarchy that is tackling important issues as it seeks to remain relevant in modern, multicultural Britain.

The visit comes less than three months after the death of Elizabeth, whose personal popularity dampened criticism of the crown during her 70-year reign. King Charles III, William’s father, has made clear that his will be a slimmed-down monarchy, with less pomp and ceremony than its predecessors.

“I think this is less about saving the Earth and more about saving the royal family,’’ Boston University professor Arianne Chernock, an expert in modern British history, said. “To be honest, we’ve seen Charles as king and his first months in that position trying to feel his way, find his way towards being a more relevant, more modern monarch. And I think we see something similar happening with William and Kate.’’

As Prince William’s godmother and a lady-in-waiting for Queen Elizabeth II, Lady Susan Hussey is a close member of the inner circle of the royal family.

Here she is pictured at the Prince of Wales’s confirmation in 1997.

When the royal family travels overseas, security is the top priority, and planning will have started months out from the Prince and Princess of Wales’s trip to Boston.

In the US, the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is responsible for the protection of Prince William and Princess Catherine during their three-day trip to Massachusetts, their first visit to America since 2014.

Agents from the DSS spoke with ABC News about the role of the agency and the process of arranging security for the royal couple.

“We are the law enforcement and security arm of the US Department of State and we protect the secretary of state, foreign dignitaries who are visiting the United States, foreign ministers, former heads of state, members of the royal family, in this case, as well as US citizens, athletes, corporate sponsors,” Andrew Wroblewski, the deputy assistant secretary and assistant director of the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) for domestic operations said.

Mr Wroblewski, who in the past has served on various protective details, said the agency has been working with the UK to firm up William and Kate’s schedule and protection strategy.

“So, whenever the Diplomatic Security Service has a visiting foreign dignitary, what we do is we assess the threat against that dignitary in the United States,” he explained.

“We have our Threat Investigations and Analysis Directorate, they’ll actually look at all source reporting from open source to classified intelligence. And we’ll make it a determination on whether or not we need to protect that person and at what level we need to provide protection.”

Matthew O’Brien who, as the assistant special agent in charge of the Boston DSS field, will be leading coverage for the visit, told ABC News preparations began in September.

The operation spans multiple jurisdictions and involves 11 law enforcement agencies, from local police to state police and the federal government.

“I’m confident in the plan we’ve we’ve built,” he told the network. “I will say that we cannot do anything without our state and local partners.”

Journalist Omid Scobie, the co-author of the 2020 book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family, notes Buckingham Palace has been quick off the mark to respond to the allegations of racism as the Prince and Princess of Wales head to the US on their first overseas trip since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

He tweeted: “A speedy response from the Palace, who have a history of silence or denial for incidents regarding race. Lessons finally learned? Or is this just not wanting anything to overshadow the Wales’ Boston visit. Arriving in the US amidst another race scandal wouldn’t be the best start.”