UK royals show ruthlessness in latest race row

Hussey (standing, third from left) in a file photo with members of the British royal family at Windsor Castle in 1997. In the photo are (front, from left) Prince Harry, Princess Diana, Prince William, (the then) Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II; and (back, from left) King Constantine, Princess Alexandra, the Duchess of Westminster and Lord Romsey. Photo: AP

The timing could not have been worse for Britain's royal family, not long after one racial reckoning involving Prince Harry and ahead of a new publicity blitz from the maverick "spare heir".

Harry's elder brother Prince William - the heir to the throne - has been forced to part ways with one of his godmothers after she used racially charged language to a black British woman at a palace reception on Tuesday.