CoolBritannia - // OK, I get you but does it amount to racism? A very serious allegation. //
This is the question, and it has not simple answer.
The major thrust of the defence arguments for Lady Hussey has always been that she is an old lady, never been in trouble before, came up against a person with an agenda looking for offence where none was intended etc. etc.
But as I pointed out in my previous post, absence of intention to do damage does not automatically mean that damage has not been done.
The second line of defence was that Ms Fulani more or less deserved what she got by dressing in an attention-seeking fashion, and deliberately seeking to be offended by 'harmless' conversation.
As I recall, I don't believe Ms Fulani herself actually raised an accusation of racism, it was the palace spokesperson who used the term, followed by Prince William's statement confirming that racism has no place in a modern society.
But as is the way, again with human nature, people choose to view from the perspective that suits their view of the world, and we all do that, because that is what makes us human.