Lady Susan Hussey: The 83-year-old was a close confidante of Queen Elizabeth II and is the godmother of Prince William, the Prince of Wales.
She was hired in 1960 and was her longest-serving lady in waiting, holding the title of Woman of the Bedchamber. Additionally, Lady Susan Hussey had a brief appearance in the most recent season of the well-known Netflix series The Crown.
Born in 1939, Susan Katharine Hussey, Baroness Hussey of North Bradley, is the youngest and fifth child of Mary Hermione, Countess Waldegrave, and the 12th Earl Waldegrave.
She was married to Marmaduke Hussey, a former BBC chairman, and is the sister of William Waldegrave, a former Conservative cabinet member.
She has two children, one of whom, Katharine, followed her mother into the royal service and currently works as Camilla, the Queen Consort’s official companion.
The year the Queen gave birth to her third child, Prince Andrew, Lady Susan Hussey began working for the Royal Family.
She began by assisting with letter responses, later joining a close-knit group of ladies-in-waiting who had an unmatched understanding of the palace’s operations.
As a courtier, she was frequently tasked with assisting newcomers, such as Meghan Markle and Princess Diana, in becoming accustomed to the customs of the Royal Household. In his book The Windsor Knot, author Christopher Wilson claims that Diana had developed a “personal distaste” for Lady Susan.
Being a Woman of the Bedchamber was a critical position. However, it was typically granted to affluent aristocrats who were paid no pay for the part of lady-in-waiting.
In the 2013 Birthday Honours, Lady Susan Hussey was elevated to Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). She also earned other long-service decorations for her devoted service to the Queen.
She traveled in the royal Bentley with the Queen to Prince Phillip’s burial, the Duke of Edinburgh’s, in 2021, and she served as the household’s leader when she was laid to rest at Westminster Abbey in September of that same year.
Last week, it was revealed by Buckingham Palace that Lady Hussey and the other former ladies-in-waiting who support the Queen will organize parties for King Charles III and will be referred to as “women of the household.”
After repeatedly asking a black British charity executive where she was from at a palace event for activists against sexual assault against women, she was forced to quit that position and provide an apology.
Who Is Lady Susan Hussey?
For 60 years, Lady Susan Hussey served as Queen Elizabeth II’s lady-in-waiting. This meant that her role was to serve as the late monarch’s assistant, accompanying her as she went about her daily tasks and gave performances at public events.
Lady Susan Hussey, one of the Queen’s seven ladies in waiting, earned the moniker “number one head girl” for the crucial part she performed in the royal household.
Image source: telegraph
Lady Susan Hussey was regularly spotted with the Queen, and because of Covid regulations, she was one of the few people invited to Prince Phillip’s burial when he passed away.
As a result of her service to the monarch, she was elevated to Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 2013 during the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
She developed a close relationship with King Charles during her time at court, to the point where he asked her to be William, the Prince of Wales’s godmother.
Following the affair, a William spokesperson declared that “racism has no place in our society.” The circle of Lady Susan Hussey extends far beyond the royal family.
She was wed to Baron Marmaduke Hussey, a former BBC board of governors chairman who passed away in 2006. Richard Cordery and Haydn Gwynne played the couple in an episode of the popular Netflix show The Crown. Her daughter Kathrine Elizabeth, one of Queen Camilla’s friends, continues in her mother’s footsteps and is one of her two children.
Leave a Reply