Golly, what's that in your car Camilla? Duchess of Cornwall spotted with controversial toy in boot

By DUNCAN ROBERTSON FOR MAILONLINE
UPDATED: 10:58, 8 July 2008

Members of the Royal Family tend to avoid taking their lead from Prince Phillip on matters of cultural or colonial insensitivity.

But the Duchess of Cornwall's choice of Burberry bag accessory suggests he is not the only one capable of gaffs of this sort.

Royal watchers were astonished to see - what appeared to be - a golliwog figure in the boot of her car, minutes before she was whisked away from the Hampton Court Flower Show yesterday morning.

The Duchess of Cornwall's car seemed to include a rather inappropriate accessory - a golliwog

Whether it was her own toy - or belonged to a friend - the Duchess of Cornwall should have been warned the golliwog is no longer considered an acceptable travelling companion.

Camilla enjoys the blooms at Hampton Court Flower Show

Dressed in traditional black and white minstrels garb of stripy trousers and stiff-collared shirt, the doll was a hugely popular toy when Camilla was a child in the 1950s - but has since been criticised for racial connotations.

At best the golliwog, with jet black skin, bright red lips and unruly hair, may be viewed as an innocent plaything from a bygone age of British imperialism.

But many will find the figure deeply offensive, amounting to a serious lack of judgment on the part of the Duchess.

The character of the golliwog was invented by a Florence Upton in the 19th century, inspired by the black and white minstrel shows she grew up with as a child in America.

It became one of the most popular dolls of the 20th century, and was identified in many households as the mascot for British jam manufacturer James Robertson & Sons.

A golliwog in minstrel costume

But the British public grew increasingly uneasy about the attitudes the golliwog represented.

In 1983, the company's products were boycotted by the Greater London Council as offensive, and the character was withdrawn from television advertising.

In the 1980s, other references to golliwogs were erased from popular culture.

Revised editions of Enid Blyton's Noddy books were famously replaced Mr Golly, the owner of Toytown garage, with a white replacement called Mr Sparks.

The word has now become such a racist slur that supermodel Naomi Campbell claimed an air-rage episode in April, was provoked by a British Airways employee calling her a 'Golliwog supermodel'.

Clarence House has said that the golliwog had been a present and that no offence was intended.'