Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh who said royal balcony was 'terribly white' collects MBE from Prince William
She made the comments on live TVBridgerton star Adjoa Andoh has received an MBE from Prince William years after she made comments about the royal family on live TV.
It’s that time again where highly influential people are honoured by the royal family for all of their hard work. On Wednesday, it was Prince William handing out the rewards at Windsor Castle. Just a few days ago TV star Claudia Winkleman was honoured with an MBE by King Charles.
But one star who received an MBE actually had faced some backlash a while ago for her comments about the royal family. Although, it clearly didn’t affect her hard work being rewarded.
What did Adjoa Andoh say about the royal family?
Back in May 2023, during the live broadcast on ITV of King Charles’ coronation ceremony, Adjoa Andoh made comments about how “terribly white” the balcony line-up was. As a result, she was flooded with backlash.
The star, who plays Lady Danbury in the hit Netflix show Bridgerton, was commentating for ITV alongside TV personality Myleene Klass and hosts Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham.
During the event, Adjoa reflected on how different the balcony looked to Westminster Abbey and noted the lack of “diversity”.
She said: “We have gone from the rich diversity of the Westminster Abbey to a terribly white balcony. I am very struck by that.
“I am also looking at those younger generations and thinking: ‘What are the nuances that they will inhabit when they grow?'”
I feel very honoured to receive the honour from Prince William..
However, after the comments were made, Adjoa faced a lot of backlash online. Thousands also complained to TV watchdog Ofcom about the comments.
Adjoa later issued a statement over the backlash.
The 62-year-old explained that she “didn’t mean to upset anyone” and thought the whole coronation was “marvellous”.
She said on BBC Radio 4 at the time: “I think I upset a few people yesterday. I was talking about the day and how marvellous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end and suddenly going: ‘Oh it’s so white!’ Because the day had been so mixed. I didn’t mean to upset anybody.”
But evidently, Prince William and the royal family have not let any comments made by Adjoa get in the way of recognising her talent.
Prince William honours Adjoa with MBE
On Wednesday, Adjoa was seen chatting away with Prince William as he handed her the honour of an MBE. She was given the award for her services to drama.
The star looked stunning in a white dress with black heels. As the prince gave her the medal, the pair were seen laughing and having a lengthy conversation.
Speaking about her honour, as reported by the BBC, Adjoa said: “I feel great imposter syndrome because I like what I do and drama’s the world I live in. I feel very honoured to receive the honour from Prince William. I think he’s doing amazing things for homelessness and for young people.”
Revealing what they spoke about, Adjoa added: “We talked about homelessness, because I’ve just been doing some things with St Mungo’s and young people and how we give our young people the best start in life. I’m thrilled that he’s engaged in that conversation and in a really proactive way, so that’s what we talked about.”
Adjoa’s successful career
Adjoa was honoured for her very lengthy successful acting career. She has had many roles, including in Doctor Who, medical drama Casualty, and in children’s spy show MI High.
She has also co-directed a production of Richard II at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. It was the first production of the play in the UK with a cast entirely of women of colour.
And obviously most recently she has became a huge hit through her role in Netflix’s Bridgerton. It was that role which led to her commentating on the king’s coronation.
Read more: Moment Katy Perry caused a stir at King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation
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