Queen Consort Camilla accused of being racist to black girls at nursery

Queen Consort Camilla caught netizens' attention when she visited Barnardo's charity at Bow Nursery in London on Nov. 24 to gift the children the Paddington Bears given as tributes to Queen Elizabeth II. Footage taken from her visit had people accusing her of being racist towards two black girls at the nursery.

According to BBC, the former Duchess of Cornwall met with dozens of children during the visit, where she was joined by "Paddington" film actors Hugh Bonneville and Madeleine Harris. She was quoted telling the children and their carers, "It has been a pleasure to find a home for these bears - please look after them carefully."

Her visit made the news and netizens were quick to nitpick details from the engagement. Over at Twitter, people claimed that she refused to hold a black little girl's hand and chose to pull at the girl's sleeve instead.

"Well we know now they are racist, not just because of (Lady Susan) Hussey, because of the way mistress Camilla wouldn't hold a little black girl's hand so lifted the little girl's sleeve up, the video of that is sticking (sic) she was probably the person who asked, what colour Megan's baby would be," one commented.

But another clarified that Camilla was not being racist towards the child and said she was only admiring the girl's bracelet.

However, another video from the same visit to the nursery had others thinking the same, that Camilla was being racist.

But another defended the 75-year-old and said the full footage from the nursery visit showed she interacted sweetly with the children.

Days after the charity visit, the royals had to shut down allegations of racism stemming from an event hosted by Camilla. She hosted a Violence Against Women and Girls reception on Nov. 29 at Buckingham Palace where she met with world leaders and founders of various charities.

One of the guests was "Sistah Space" founder Ngozi Fulani, who later took to Twitter to share her experience with Lady Susan Hussey, one of King Charles III's senior aides. Fulani alleged she was racially discriminated and her confession eventually prompted the immediate resignation of Hussey.

Allegations that Camilla is racist remain unwarranted. But this is not the first time that Buckingham Palace was caught in a race row. In March 2021 during their Oprah interview, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle accused a senior royal of being racist for questioning their child's skin colour. They did not name the said person, but clarified that it was not Prince Philip nor Queen Elizabeth II.

Royal author Tom Bower, in his book "Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors" claimed that it was the former Duchess of Cornwall who questioned out loud if the couple will have children with ginger Afro hair. But his claims also remain unconfirmed. The racism allegations come ahead of King Charles III's and Camilla's coronation on May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey.