It has been three years since the late Queen’s Lady in Waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, resigned from the royal household after becoming embroiled in a bitter racism row.
After more than 60 years of service, Lady Hussey was widely renowned as the late Queen Elizabeth II’s ‘Number One Head Girl’ by royal staff. Following Her Majesty’s death in September 2022, she then became one of Queen Camilla’s top advisors.
Yet in November 2022, the 84-year-old’s career came quickly crashing down after she was accused of asking black British charity boss Ngozi Fulani where she was ‘really from’ a total of seven times while attending a Buckingham Palace reception.
Ms Fulani took to social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, to express her outrage at the incident on November 30, which came after the Royal Family had faced accusations of racism by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle the year before.
In a series of posts, Ms Fulani said that she had been ‘insulted’ by Lady Hussey after she asked ‘where she was really from’ when she had initially answered ‘Hackney’.
The royal aide, also Prince William‘s godmother, then allegedly said: ‘No, but where do you really come from? Where do your people come from? When did you first come here?’
In response, Ms Fulani then claims she said: ‘Lady! I am a British national, my parents came here in the 50s’, to which Lady Hussey replied: ‘I knew we’d get there in the end. You’re Caribbean.’
Ms Fulani, founder of domestic violence charity Sistah Space, then allegedly quipped back: ‘No lady, I am of African heritage, Caribbean descent and British nationality.’
The charity founder said the morning after: ‘Mixed feelings about yesterday’s visit to Buckingham Palace. Ten mins after arriving, a member of staff approached me, moved my hair to see my name badge. The rest of the event is a blur.
‘It was such a shock to me and the other two women that we were stunned to temporary silence. I just stood at the edge of the room, smiled and engaged briefly with who spoke to me until I could leave.
‘Standing there in a room packed with people while this violation was taking place was so strange, especially as the event was about violence against women.’
While Lady Hussey has never confirmed the details of their exchange, her response to the allegations was swift. After 60 years of service to the late Monarch, she resigned from her position in Queen Camilla’s household with ‘immediate effect’.
The row occurred in the wake of a review into diversity at Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace following the claims made by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their notorious Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021.
Following several serious allegations of racism issued by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during the tell-all interview, Buckingham Palace were forced to issue a statement in which they described the claims by the Sussexes as ‘concerning’.
The statement added: ‘While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.’
Now, the Firm faced being rocked by another racism row. Not long after Ms Fulani’s public comments, Prince William issued a statement in which he said it was ‘really disappointing’ to hear what had happened and that ‘racism has no part in our society’.
A spokesman for the Prince of Wales described the comments as ‘unacceptable’, adding that it ‘is right that individual has stepped aside with immediate effect’.
Buckingham Palace also released a statement in which it declared that the incident would be taken ‘extremely seriously’ and that it had ‘investigated immediately’ in order to ‘establish the full details’.
It went on to confirm that in this particular instance, ‘unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made’.
The claims had cast a dark shadow over the start of a vital three-day trip to the US for William and Kate – their first overseas visit since the death of the late Queen. It had initially been hoped to be a ‘Super Bowl’ moment for the Prince.
Yet as the pair walked the green carpet at the Earthshot Awards in Boston, questions of how the Royal Family would recover from yet another public blow were rife.
According to royal biographer Omid Scobie, writing in his book Endgame, William informed his team that he ‘needed to distance himself’ swiftly from the incident involving his godmother. The Prince’s statement was issued just before their flight departed.
A source reportedly told the author that it was felt the whole issue could have been easily avoided and that William had demanded to know how it had happened.
‘Why was she there in the first place?’ William had asked, according to the book.
But Mr Scobie claimed that William’s decision to release his own statement was poorly received by his father and that he faced criticism for not thinking as part of a ‘team’.
Following the public backlash, Lady Hussey was quick to make amends, sitting down with Ms Fulani just two weeks later to offer her ‘sincere apologies’ for her comments.
The pair reunited on December 16, with Buckingham Palace and Ms Fulani subsequently issuing a joint statement which said that the meeting had been ‘filled with warmth and understanding‘.
‘Lady Susan has pledged to deepen her awareness of the sensitivities involved and is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the issues in this area.
‘Both Ms Fulani and Lady Susan ask now that they be left in peace to rebuild their lives in the wake of an immensely distressing period for them both.
‘Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort and other members of the Royal Family have been kept fully informed and are pleased that both parties have reached this welcome outcome.’
Once firmly well-established in the royal fold, Lady Hussey had been present in the late Queen’s life until the very end. Having attended her historic coronation in 1953, she was also present among many of the Monarch’s fellow Ladies in Waiting at her state funeral in September 2022.
Few could have foreseen Lady Hussey’s long and distinguished royal career ending in such an ignominious fashion, and her gaffe surprised many who know her well.
One friend suggested that the aide’s hearing was to blame. ‘Like many people of her age, Lady Susan is rather hard of hearing. It’s likely that her deafness contributed to the problems she had that day.’
Meanwhile, royal biographer William Shawcross claimed Lady Hussey was the victim of a ‘remorseless, cruel, blame culture’ due to ‘fear of the mob’. However, others suggested that the incident highlighted a Royal Family that could be out of touch.
Prince Harry even came out in Lady Hussey’s defence in an interview with ITV in January 2024, saying: ‘Meghan and I love Susan Hussey. [Meghan] thinks she’s great. And I also know that what she meant, she never meant any harm at all.’
Ms Fulani has been previously outspoken about her support for Meghan and Harry – even making the startling claim in March 2021 that the Duchess was a victim of ‘domestic violence’ from other members of the Royal Family.
In contrast, Lady Hussey was boldly unafraid to speak her mind about the royal couple, allegedly warning in the build up to Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding: ‘This will all end in tears, mark my words,’ according to royal author Tom Bower.
Less than three months later, in February 2023, Lady Hussey was cautiously welcomed back into the royal fold by Princess Anne.
Marking a public display of support for the former Lady in Waiting, Anne asked her to stand in for her at a memorial service in February 2023 for her mother’s friend, Dame Frances Campbell-Preston.
In March 2023, Ms Fulani announced that she was temporarily stepping down from her charity role over the backlash she received and claimed that Buckingham Palace had failed to support her following the incident.
