Mr Scobie suggests that Palace aides made the move in order to make Meghan “feel comfortable”, but the Duchess of Sussex was left feeling insulted by his appointment.
In his book Endgame, he suggests that assigning Ghana-born Lieutenant Colonel to help Meghan “stood out like a sore thumb”.
He writes: “When Palace aides told reporters, including myself, they ‘bent over backwards’ to make Meghan feel comfortable at Buckingham Palace, this included a follow-up suggestion that perhaps the Queen’s Ghanaian-born household cavalry officer Lieutenant Colonel Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah should be the one to help Meghan.
“Though a charming and intelligent man, it stood out like a sore thumb to Meghan and her friends ”.
Lieutenant Colonel Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, Queen Elizabeth’s former equerry and Britain’s first black equerry, was appointed to his role in 2017, the same year Harry and Meghan announced their engagement.
Mr Scobie notes that offering Lieutenant Colonel to assist Meghan was likely due to a “lack of Black or other non-white staff” in “relevant senior roles.”
According to the author and reports at the time, Meghan was initially assigned Lady Susan Hussey to assist her with her new royal duties.
However, Meghan later “turned down” the offer of Lady Hussey’s helping hand, leading to the Palace to “bend over backward” for the Duchess of Sussex, who would eventually be offered the help of the Queen’s equerry as a mentor.
Lady Hussey would eventually step down from her role as a lady-in-waiting in 2022, after making “unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments” to a black domestic abuse campaigner.
Mr Scobie’s claims are the latest among a barrage of revelations from his controversial Endgame book, which saw the Dutch publication name two senior royals embroiled in the race row surrounding Prince Archie’s skin colour.
The Daily Express has chosen not to name the royals mentioned, but the Palace was plunged into crisis talks following the revelations, and were said to be ‘considering all options’ following Scobie’s book release.
