The Duke of Kent was joined by Lady Susan Hussey as he led the
Royal Family’s attendance on the opening day of Wimbledon 2026.
The 90-year-old royal, a former patron of the All England Lawn
Tennis and Croquet Club, took his place in the Royal Box on Centre
Court as play got underway at SW19.
Lady Susan Hussey accompanied the Duke for Wimbledon’s opening
day’s action. She served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II
for more than six decades, acting as Woman of the Bedchamber from
1960 until the late Queen’s death in 2022, and was widely regarded
as one of the monarch’s closest confidantes.
Following the Accession, King Charles III appointed Lady Susan
as one of his Ladies of the Household. However, she resigned from
the role in November 2022 after a reception at Buckingham Palace
where charity founder Ngozi Fulani said Lady Susan repeatedly
questioned her about her heritage. Buckingham Palace described the
comments as “unacceptable and deeply regrettable”, while Lady Susan
issued an apology for “the hurt caused”.
Lady Susan, born Susan Katherine Waldegrave on 1 May 1939, is
the daughter of Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave. She
married Marmaduke Hussey in 1959, with the couple having two
children, James and Katherine. Lord Hussey later served as Chairman
of the BBC.
Her close relationship with the Royal Family extended beyond her
official duties. She became one of Prince William’s godparents
following his birth in 1982, and in 2021 Queen Elizabeth II chose
Lady Susan to accompany her on the journey to the funeral of the
Duke of Edinburgh during the COVID-19 restrictions.
The Duke of Kent, who has scaled back his public engagements in
recent years, has nevertheless remained a familiar face at major
royal occasions, including Trooping the Colour and Garter Day
earlier this month.
Among the other high-profile guests in the Royal Box on Monday
were David Beckham, Dame Mary Berry, Tess Daly and Katherine
Jenkins.
The Princess of Wales, patron of the All England Club since
2016, is expected to attend the Wimbledon Championships later in
the fortnight and traditionally presents the singles trophies on
finals weekend.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source royalcentral.co.uk ’
