Waleses put on a brave face as racism row and Netflix series overshadow US tour

They crash-landed in the middle of a racism row and were blindsided by the Sussexes’ documentary, but at least the Prince and Princess of Wales were hoping to end their three-day trip to Boston on a high note.

A meeting with Joe Biden and a star-studded awards ceremony for Prince William’s environmental Earthshot prize rounded off what could be described as a bumpy few days.

Yesterday, William met the US president, shaking hands and chatting near the John F Kennedy Memorial Library and Museum in Boston.

The Earthshot ceremony later last night, where Billie Eilish led a lineup which included Annie Lennox, Ellie Goulding and the Beyoncé proteges Chloe x Halle performing at the MGM Music Hall in Boston, brought to a close the Waleses’ first visit to the US in eight years.

Headlines and TV bulletins, though, have been about the royal racism row that engulfed William’s godmother, the former lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey, which left the monarchy accused again of being institutionally racist, and about that Sussex trailer.

William and Kate were in the air, en route to Boston, as Lady Hussey resigned her honorary role following what Buckingham Palace described as “unacceptable and deeply regrettable” remarks when asking the black charity founder Ngozi Fulani about where she “really came from” at a palace reception.

On their second day in the US came the release of a one-minute trailer for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s forthcoming Netflix docu-series, replete with photographs of Meghan apparently in tears and a thunderous-looking Kate.

For the Waleses’ part, a Kensington Palace spokesperson reiterated comments made ahead of the visit that the couple would not be “distracted” by other matters this week, and that their focus was on meeting communities and local people across Boston.

But reports from those on the ground in Boston indicated this may have been something of a challenge. The Times suggested the Sussexes had “deliberately torpedoed” the visit, saying the mood in the Wales camp was one of “resignation, even amusement, rather than anger”.

The Mail proclaimed it a “declaration of war” by the Sussexes. Sussex sources, meanwhile, have reportedly put the provocative timing squarely at the door of Netflix.

While in Boston, where crowds braved the cold and rain to greet them, the prince and princess have visited budding environmental tech entrepreneurs at Greentown Labs, and a very chilly Boston waterfront area threatened by rising sea levels.

They also visited Roca, a non-profit organisation focusing on urban youth violence, and sat courtside at an NBA game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The princess was also visiting the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.

Harry and Meghan will be flying to the east coast themselves next week, to attend the Ripple of Hope human rights awards in New York on Tuesday, where they are being feted for speaking out on the alleged racism they experienced in the royal family.