Susan Katharine Hussey, Baroness Hussey of North Bradley, (''née'' Waldegrave; born 1 May 1939), known as Lady Susan Hussey, is a British noblewoman who served as a

Woman of the Bedchamber In the Royal Household of the United Kingdom the term Woman of the Bedchamber is used to describe a woman (usually a daughter of a peer) attending either a queen regnant or queen consort, in the role of lady-in-waiting. Historically the term 'Ge ...

to Queen Elizabeth II and as a

Lady of the Household A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

from September to November 2022 under

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

. According to

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, Hussey "was a key and trusted figure in the British royal household for decades."

Family

Hussey is the fifth and youngest daughter of the 12th Earl Waldegrave, and Mary Hermione Grenfell (1909–1995). She is the sister of the 13th Earl Waldegrave and the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician William Waldegrave. Her aunt, Dame Frances Campbell-Preston, was lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. On 25 April 1959, she married

Marmaduke Hussey Marmaduke James Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley (29 August 1923 – 27 December 2006), known as Duke Hussey, was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC from 1986 to 1996, serving two terms in that role. Education and career The so ...

(later Chairman of the

Board of Governors of the BBC The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It consisted of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and represented the interests of the public. It existed from 1927 until it was replace ...

) and had two children: James Arthur (b. 1961) and Katharine Elizabeth (b. 1964). Her daughter Katharine married Sir Francis Brooke and followed her mother into royal service, as one of the official companions to

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the a ...

Royal household

Hussey joined the royal household in 1960, initially helping with royal correspondence, before being promoted to the position of

, owing to her knowledge of the inner workings of the household. She was a close friend of Queen Elizabeth II, as well as of

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent fema ...

, and often spent time at Balmoral Castle. During her time as a courtier, Hussey was given the job of helping new arrivals adjust to life in the royal household, such as Diana, Princess of Wales. Another such new arrival whom Hussey was tasked with assisting was Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Hussey is a godmother to Charles and Diana's first-born son,

William, Prince of Wales William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was edu ...

, and was chosen to accompany Queen Elizabeth at the funeral of Prince Philip. With other members of the royal household, Hussey attended the

state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. The Queen's death wa ...

on 19 September 2022. Following the Queen's death, she was made a

, along with the late Queen's other ladies-in-waiting, and was responsible for assisting at events held at Buckingham Palace.

Departure and subsequent return to royal duties

In her role as a

, Hussey attended a reception hosted by Queen Camilla on 29 November 2022 as part of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative. One of the guests was

Ngozi Fulani Ngozi Fulani (born Marlene Headley) is a British former charity executive who served as chief executive officer of the registered charity Sistah Space. Early life and education Fulani was born in Harlesden, and grew up in Kilburn, London, wher ...

, who had founded Sistah Space, a London-based domestic violence charity that provides specialist services to women of African and Caribbean heritage. The two women engaged in a conversation which Fulani summarised on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, resulting in wider public attention. Fulani said that Hussey had questioned her origins by repeatedly asking where she was "really" from, which Fulani interpreted as racist. Witnesses to the conversation, such as

Women's Equality Party The Women's Equality Party (WEP) is a feminist political party set up in the United Kingdom in 2015. The idea was conceived by Catherine Mayer and Sandi Toksvig at the Women of the World Festival, when they concluded that there was a need ...

leader Mandu Reid, corroborated this account of events. Once Fulani's account of the conversation became public, Hussey stepped aside from her honorary role and apologised via the Buckingham Palace press office. A spokesperson for her godson,

, said that "racism has no place in our society". The

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, Rishi Sunak, declined to comment on the controversy specifically, but stated that the country had made "incredible" progress in tackling racism, adding that it was "never done" and must continue to be addressed. Some journalists defended her; her friend Petronella Wyatt offered a character reference. On 16 December, Hussey and Fulani met at Buckingham Palace to address the incident, with Hussey offering her apologies in person, which Fulani accepted. A joint statement was released afterwards, reporting that the meeting was "filled with warmth and understanding" and that Fulani accepted the apology and "appreciates that no malice was intended". Hussey had reportedly returned to performing official royal duties by February 2023, representing

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

at a memorial service for Dame Frances Campbell-Preston.

Honours

Susan Baroness Hussey of North Bradley Achievement

Having previously been appointed a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(CVO) in the

1971 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1971 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...

, and

Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(DCVO) in the

1984 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1984 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countri ...

, Hussey was promoted to

Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(GCVO) in the

2013 Birthday Honours The 2013 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

. She was also awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Version of the

Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal is a civil decoration awarded by the British monarch to servants of the royal household for long and faithful service. History The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal was establis ...

with 30-, 40-, 50- and 60-year bars. In September 2015, she received the Sash of Special Category of the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country. History It was created by decree on December 29, 1933 ...

, the highest Mexican honour awarded to a foreigner.

In popular culture

Hussey is portrayed by

Haydn Gwynne Haydn Gwynne is an English actress. She was nominated for the 1992 BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance for the comedy series '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1991), and won the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Feature ...

in season 5 of ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussey, Susan, Lady 1939 births Living people Waldegrave family People from Mendip District People from Somerset English people of Cornish descent English people of Scottish descent English people of French descent Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Daughters of British earls Spouses of life peers Hussey of North Bradley British ladies-in-waiting Women of the Bedchamber