Major Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah was the first Black British Army officer commissioned into the Household Cavalry. (Image courtesy of Youtube/Foreign and Commonwealth Office).
The new personal assistant selected to serve as one of Queen Elizabeth’s most-trusted aides also will go down in history as Britain’s first Black equerry.
Major Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, a Ghanaian native who served in the Afghanistan war, is slated to fill one of the most important roles in the royal household, The Times reported. As equerry, Twumasi-Ankrah will be tasked with assisting the queen with official royal engagements and welcoming high-profile guests into the royal residences.
The Independent reported that the position was originally created for someone to tend to the cavalry’s horses but later evolved into a role that required the equerry to be visible as an assistant to the queen. Twumasi-Ankrah’s recent appointment is said to be particularly important, as the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, plans to retire from public life later this year.
“As a young child, watching her majesty the queen’s birthday parade on television, I would have never imagined that one day I’d command the regiment which I’d fallen in love with,” Twumasi-Ankrah, or “TA” as he’s known by his friends, said in a documentary on Britain’s democratic society.
Immigrating with his parents from Ghana to the UK in 1982,Twumasi-Ankrah studied at Queen Mary University in London, as well as the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the Independent reported. He went on to join the Blues and Royals, becoming the first Black British Army officer commissioned into the Household Cavalry.
Twumasi-Ankrah also served as escort commander at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011, the newspaper reported. The 38-year-old currently lives in London with his wife, Joanna Hanna-Grindall, who serves as corporate sponsorships manager at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Though Twumasi-Ankrah’s appointment to such a high honor is cause for excitement, it should be noted that Buckingham palace has been accused of racial discrimination in the past.
In 2001, a former personal secretary to Prince Charles alleged that she’d been subjected to discrimination by fellow staff members, the Independent reported. The complainant, Elizabeth Burgess, claimed that the household at Highgrove estate “wanted a white face” and said “there were always Black jokes and names going round because it is the royal family and it is still very protected.”
Burgess filed a claim for constructive dismissal, which would allow her to resign in response to her employer’s egregious conduct, but it was ultimately denied.
The staff policy printed by Buckingham Palace maintains that “the household aims to employ the best people from the widest available pool of talent … irrespective of gender, race, ethnic or national origin.”
Twumasi-Ankrah seemingly agreed, citing his success among British military ranks as a sign of racial progress and acceptance.
“From where I sit and from what I’ve seen in the UK, our cultures really do mix and intermingle, and if I’m not a good example of that, I really don’t know what is,” he said in the documentary.
The Independent reported that Twumasi-Ankrah is currently in a transitional phase with the current equerry, Wing Commander Sam Fletcher, but is expected to fully take over the position by the end of this year.
