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Lady Susan Hussey was pictured attending the same church service as King Charles and Princess Anne on the Sandringham estate today.
The late Queen’s lady-in-waiting, 83, was seen in public with the Royal Family for the first time since she resigned from her honorary role at Buckingham Palace after repeatedly asking black charity boss Ngozi Fulani where she came from.
Lady Susan, Prince William’s godmother and one of Queen Consort Camilla’s closest aides, was seen walking into St Mary Magdalene Church in Norfolk, a short distance behind the King and the Princess Royal.
It comes after Lady Susan met with Ms Fulani in December and offered her ‘sincere apologies’ for her comments. Prince Harry late openly expressed his delight at the reconciliation between the two in his ITV interview with Tom Bradby.
Lady Susan Hussey arrives to attend a church service with King Charles and the Princess Royal at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham
Smartly dressed in a navy blue coat and hat, and carrying a matching handbag, Lady Susan was spotted walking alongside three other people a short distance behind King Charles and Princess Anne.
His Majesty, 74, is believed to have been at Sandringham since Friday and looked in good spirits as he walked to church with Princess Anne, 72.
He was seen smiling as he strode along in a long brown overcoat, carrying a navy umbrella. Princess Anne wore a dark chocolate-coloured coat, with a navy scarf.
Lady Susan was embroiled in a race row and later resigned from her position after repeatedly asking Ms Fulani where she was ‘really from’ during a Buckingham Palace reception in November.
His Majesty, 74, is believed to have been at Sandringham since Friday and looked in good spirits as he walked to church with Princess Anne, 72
Lady Susan Hussey leaves after attending a church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham
She later met up with Ms Fulani, who was representing abuse charity Sistah Space at the event, and apologised.
In ITV’s Harry: The Interview, Prince Harry backed Lady Susan, saying: ‘I’m very happy for Ngozi Fulani to be invited into the palace to sit down with Lady Susan Hussey and to reconcile, because Meghan and I love Susan Hussey.
‘And I also know what she meant – she never meant any harm at all.
‘But the response from the British press, and from people online because of the stories that they wrote, was horrendous. (It) was absolutely horrendous, the response.’
His backing came in contrast to his brother, Prince William, whose spokesman condemned the comments made by Lady Susan as ‘unacceptable’ in the wake of the furore.
Lady Susan met with Ms Fulani in December (pictured) and offered her ‘sincere apologies’ for her comments
The 83-year-old stepped down from her honorary role ‘with immediate effect’ amid a furious outcry after Ms Fulani tweeted about her experience at the event.
Ms Fulani said she was left feeling ‘violated’ after Prince William’s godmother, who served as the late Queen’s right-hand woman for 62 years, ‘interrogated’ her about where she was from at the Palace reception, despite her making it clear she was British.
She also accused Lady Susan of moving her hair in order to look at her name badge and asked her: ‘What part of Africa are you from?’ when she replied that she came from Hackney.
Only when the domestic violence campaigner said she was of Caribbean descent and African origin did Lady Hussey stop, saying: ‘I knew we’d get there in the end.’
Ms Fulani, 57, later posted a transcript of the exchange on social media, which led to a furious outcry, leading Lady Susan to quit her post.
In December Lady Susan met with the activist to express her ‘sincere apologies’, which Ms Fulani accepted.
Camilla, the Queen Consort, centre, attended the reception to raise awareness of violence against women and girls where the comments to Ngozi Fulani (circled in red) were made
Lady Susan Hussey (right), 83, Prince William’s godmother and one of Queen Consort Camilla’s closest aides, resigned from her honorary role at Buckingham Palace after asking Ms Fulani (centre, left image) where she came from
The Palace said shortly after the meeting: ‘At this meeting, filled with warmth and understanding, Lady Susan offered her sincere apologies for the comments that were made and the distress they caused to Ms Fulani.
‘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.
‘Ms Fulani, who has unfairly received the most appalling torrent of abuse on social media and elsewhere, has accepted this apology and appreciates that no malice was intended.
‘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.
‘They hope that their example shows a path to resolution can be found with kindness, co-operation and the condemnation of discrimination wherever it takes root.
Queen Elizabeth ll accompanied by her then lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey in 2012
‘It is the wish of both parties that, at the end of the UN’s 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, attention can now return to the important work of Sistah Space in supporting women affected by domestic abuse.
‘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.’
The Palace said it took the incident ‘extremely seriously’ and had investigated immediately.
Lady Susan, who was married to former chairman of the BBC’s board of governors, Marmaduke Hussey, enjoyed a particularly close relationship with Queen Elizabeth.
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Lady Susan was part of the ‘HMS Bubble’ at Windsor Castle, which only included a small team of trusted aides that lived with the late monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh.
In April 2021, she was chosen to accompany the Queen alone in her car as she was driven to the funeral of Prince Philip in Windsor.
So key was Lady Susan’s role in the royal household that King Charles had kept her on as Lady of the Household after the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
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