EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Did deafness play a part in Lady Susan's palace race gaffe? trends now

Buckingham Palace guest Ngozi Fulani said she was left feeling ‘violated’ after Prince William’s godmother ‘interrogated’ her about where she was from at a reception on Tuesday, despite her making clear she was British.

I can disclose that a very common problem may have played a part in the domestic abuse campaigner’s fateful exchange with Lady Susan Hussey.

‘Like many people of her age, Lady Susan is rather hard of hearing,’ one of her friends tells me. ‘It’s likely that her deafness contributed to the problems she had that day, and may perhaps help explain the stilted nature of the conversation.’

The friend adds: ‘It was a very noisy room, with lots of people, so she may not have heard as much as she usually would.’ Lady Susan, 83, served as Queen Elizabeth’s right-hand woman for 62 years before being given the honorary position of ‘Lady of the Household’ by King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Ms Fulani accused Lady Susan of moving her hair in order to look at her name badge and asking her: ‘What part of Africa are you from?’ when she replied that she came from Hackney.

On Wednesday, after Ms Fulani published details of their conversation on social media, Buckingham Palace announced that Lady Susan was resigning her post and expressed her profound apologies for the offence caused.

Sources have told this newspaper that while there was no doubt the comments were made, ‘absolutely no malice was intended’.

Lady Susan, widow of former BBC Chairman Lord (Marmaduke) Hussey, has offered to meet Ms Fulani. During a string of media appearances, Ms Fulani described her Palace meeting as a ‘form of abuse’.

How it almost kicked off in Qatar for Charles

Human rights fisticuffs with Qatar are nothing new — just ask King Charles.

Newly unearthed Foreign Office documents reveal that, during a tour of the Gulf, he ran into the same hardline atttitudes as gay football fans are currently experiencing during the World Cup.

At one point, senior Qataris refused an invitation to a royal reception over concerns about the presence of women, alcohol and even Highgrove-sourced canapes.

The clashes arose as the then Prince of Wales was touring the Middle East on the Royal Yacht in 1997, promoting British trade and also greater East-West understanding.

In his classified despatch to his Foreign Office masters in London, the British ambassador to Qatar, Patrick Wogan, wrote that His Royal Highness’s friendly overtures were not reciprocated. ‘Several Qataris and expatriate Arabs have commented favourably on HRH’s efforts to encourage greater tolerance of Islam,’ he wrote.

‘I regret that they appear to view this as a one-way process: Qatari attendance at the reception on board Britannia was depleted because we were unable to give assurances that alcohol would not be served; the acting head of the Qatari Navy demanded a separate menu, to ensure that his meal was not contaminated by non-halal meat; and Qatari protocol were ruthless in ensuring that no women participated in the ceremonies during the visit.’

Let’s hope the current Prince of Wales gets an easier ride if England reach the World Cup Final — and he is compelled to head out there as president of the FA.

Vogue's Xmas wish is to put her feet up

The season of goodwill can be a battleground for many families, so model Vogue Williams and her Made In Chelsea star husband, Spencer Matthews, are opting for no-man’s land.

‘Last year we were in Ireland and this year we wanted somewhere neutral, so we’re going to Scotland,’ admits Vogue, who is from the Emerald Isle. Spencer, whose brother, James, is married to the Princess of Wales’s sister, Pippa Middleton, could take her to the Glen Affric estate in the Highlands, which is owned by his family.

Speaking at the Women In Film And TV Awards, at the London Hilton Park Lane, Vogue, 37, tells me: ‘It’s been a busy year. We literally want to do nothing.’

She gave birth to their third child, a boy called Otto, in April.

Boris' nanny ready to wield her whips

Her impending debut novel has been characterised as a cross between House Of Cards and Fifty Shades Of Grey — which may explain why the invariably elegant Cleo Watson opted for an almost down-at-heel look in London this week.

Favouring jeans, trainers and hooded coat, the former Downing Street adviser looked as though she might have been heading for a clandestine meeting with her old ally, Dominic Cummings.

Such were the pair’s contrasting styles that an observer remarked it was like looking at a gazelle next to a pit pony.

Cleo, who says she was Boris Johnson’s ‘nanny’ while at No 10, has entitled her book Whips.