LONDON: Britain’s government on Sunday rallied to the defence of the beleaguered royal family after a new racism row and explosive Netflix documentary.

Following recent trips overseas, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he would catch up first on Netflix hit “Stranger Things” in preference to the tell-all programme of Prince Harry and wife Meghan. But he stressed there was no stronger supporter of a multicultural Britain than King Charles III, Harry’s father.

“And I think the royal family’s attitude to this country reflects the modern country that we see,” Cleverly told Sky News.

“That’s my personal experience. But I also think that that is something that the whole world sees when they look at us.” However, a UK charity at the centre of the latest royal racism controversy says it has suspended work supporting black survivors of domestic abuse, after a torrent of toxic hate.

Sistah Space founder Ngozi Fulani, who is British, was asked repeatedly at a Buckingham Palace reception on Nov 29 where she was “really” from.

Since revealing the exchange with Susan Hussey, 83, a godmother to Harry’s brother Prince William, Fulani has been targeted by what she called “horrific” racist insults online.

In a statement, she said that as a result, Sistah Space had been “forced to temporarily cease” many of its operations to protect clients and staff.

Lady Hussey resigned from her role as a palace courtier after the row, and Prince William’s spokesman condemned the interrogation of Fulani as “unaccep-table”.

But it revived attacks on the royal family in the days before Harry and Meghan aired new accusations of racial bias in their Netflix docuseries last week.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2022