Lady Susan Hussey, the former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II for over 50 years who found herself at the center of a royal race storm on Wednesday, has been defended by a society author who said she will be “devastated” by what’s happened.
Petronella Wyatt, the daughter of one of the late Queen Mother’s closest friends, politician and journalist Woodrow Wyatt, took to Twitter on Wednesday, writing: “I feel sorry for her.”
She has also authored an opinion piece, titled In Defence of Lady Susan Hussey, for a British magazine, after the 83-year-old left her position within the royal household following a backlash over allegations made against her earlier in the day.
After an event at Buckingham Palace to raise awareness of violence against women and girls on Tuesday, Ngozi Fulani, the chief executive of Sistah Space, a charity supporting women and families of African heritage who have suffered domestic abuse in Britain, expressed her disappointment on social media over a conversation with a courtier she identified as “Lady SH.”
Later identified as Hussey, British born Fulani recounted the racially insensitive conversation on Twitter, which included the courtier asking: “What part of Africa are you from?”
“This event remains a blur after the violation,” Fulani wrote.
In the hours after the post was made, Buckingham Palace issued a swift response, revealing that Hussey had quit. It said: “We take this incident extremely seriously and have investigated immediately to establish the full details. In this instance, unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made.
“We have reached out to Ngozi Fulani on this matter and are inviting her to discuss all elements of her experience in person if she wishes.
“In the meantime, the individual concerned would like to express her profound apologies for the hurt caused and has stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect.
“All members of the Household are being reminded of the diversity and inclusivity policies which they are required to uphold at all times.”
Hours later, Wyatt took to Twitter in defense of Hussey, writing that she herself has “often asked people where their families have originally come from.”
“I’ve known Lady (Susan) Hussey since I was 18,” she said in a three-Tweet post. “She is a decent woman and certainly not a racist. She often asked my mother where she was from because she had a Central European accent. I am sometimes mistaken for non British because of my colouring. I’m never offended.”
I‘ve known Lady (Susan) Hussey since I was 18. She is a decent woman and certainly not a racist. She often asked my mother where she was from because she had a Central European accent. I am sometimes mistaken for non British because of my colouring. I’m never offended.
— Petronella Wyatt (@PetronellaWyatt) November 30, 2022
“Poor Susan Hussey is 83 and this must be the first time she has ever offended anyone,” she continued. “She is very kind and considerate and I feel sorry for her. Her main sin appears to be friendly curiosity. I have often asked people where their families have originally come from.”
“Knowing Susan Hussey, who was the Queen’s chief Lady In Waiting, she will be devastated. The Palace should not have sacked her after decades of service. This will ruin her life.”
Knowing Susan Hussey, who was the Queen‘s chief Lady In Waiting, she will be devastated. The Palace should not have sacked her after decades of service. This will ruin her life.
— Petronella Wyatt (@PetronellaWyatt) November 30, 2022
Wyatt is an experienced journalist and former editor of right-wing British current affairs magazine The Spectator.
On Thursday, she published an article on the magazine’s website in which she wrote that if Hussey “is a racist, then I am an ornamental fountain.”
She went on to state that elderly Brits are now expected to “behave in accordance with a particular bourgeois stereotype, enforced by social media,” and that those who fail to do so will be “pilloried and put in the dock, no matter if you are in your last years and your life has been spent in unselfish public service.”
As a magazine, The Spectator often writes commentary on royal stories and it has published articles critical of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, including a cover story titled Drama queens: the return of Meghan and Harry, released when the couple visited the U.K. for the queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Despite Wyatt’s character assessment of Hussey in defense of her age, Fulani told Good Morning Britain on Thursday that age should have no influence on the offensiveness of the remarks made.
“You realise, this is not about age,” she said, per Metro. “She seems to be quite capable of conducting herself. This is what it is, this is what you call racism. I’m there for two hours feeling like I need to leave [the palace], I want to leave, but not knowing what to do.”
When asked by show hosts about Buckingham Palace’s response to the situation, Fulani said: “People keep saying the palace has reached out to me. They haven’t reached out to me. I’m telling you categorically, we have not heard.”
The Hussey race storm overshadowed the first day of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s visit to the U.S. to attend the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in Boston. Before the couple’s first engagement, their spokesperson referenced the situation, as focus was paid to Hussey being William’s godmother. They said, per Reuters:
“Obviously, I wasn’t there, but racism has no place in our society…The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.”
Newsweek approached Buckingham Palace and Petronella Wyatt for comment.
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