In the latest King Charles news, the palace has spoken out over the royal household’s failure to meet the diversity target for staff.
The annual Sovereign Grant report was released on Thursday (June 29) which publishes a breakdown of its workforce.
And Buckingham Palace has missed its diversity target for staff. But now, the palace has responded to the news.
King Charles news
Reports show the number of staff at Buckingham Palace from ethnic minority backgrounds remains at 9.7%. The King’s household originally had a goal of 10% for the end of 2022. It has now introduced a new target of 14% of all employees by 2025.
I recognise we are not where we would like to be and we are committed to making progress in this area.
However, Prince William and Kate’s household has 16.3% of staff from an ethnic minority background. This is a figure up from 13.6% last year.
Ethnic minority backgrounds remain at King Charles household
A Buckingham Palace official has since told HELLO!: “I recognise we are not where we would like to be and we are committed to making progress in this area. And hence why we’ve raised the target to 14 percent having got close to our 10 percent figure. We now need to set out the scale of our ambition to really make headway in this space.”
The report also shows that a new Inclusion and Diversity strategy and action plan has been put in place. This will offer training and education programmes.
Palace embroiled in ‘race row’
The amount and percentage of ethnic minority staff in royal households was published for the first time in 2021. It came in the wake of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s accusations of racism against the royal family in their Oprah Winfrey interview.
What’s more, last year, the royal household faced a race row and uproar. Lady Susan Hussey, the late Queen’s lady in waiting, repeatedly asked a black British charity leader where she “really came from” at a palace reception.
The 83-year-old was accused of making the comments during a reception set up by Queen Camilla, and she eventually resigned. Additionally, at the time she stepped down, Prince William condemned his godmother’s comments as “unacceptable”. His spokesperson also said that “racism has no place in our society”.
Lady Susan Hussey ‘back in fold’
However, in February, it was reported Lady Susan Hussey returned to her duties.
The Daily Mail claimed that Lady Susan had returned to performing official duties for Princess Anne. The report claimed that Anne turned to Lady Susan when she realised she would not be able to attend a memorial service for Dame Frances Campbell-Preston.
An unnamed friend claimed: “[Lady Susan Hussey] was more than happy to do so. Her official position was recorded in the order of service. It’s great to see her back in the royal fold.”
Read more: King Charles gives away that reconciliation with Prince Harry now very much on the cards?
So what do you think of this story? You can leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.