Lady Susan Hussey talks to King Charles at Royal Ascot, six months into the competition row at Buckingham Palace

Lady Susan Hussey, the former lady-in-waiting to the late Queen Elizabeth II, seems to be back in the fold after she was spotted chatting with the king at Royal Ascot.

Lady Susan, who was once referred to as Her Majesty’s ‘Chief Maid’ and was kept in the palace by King Charles after his mother’s death, beamed as she interacted with the monarch in the Royal Box on Ladies Day at the festival of 2023 , months after a race last November.

Dressed in a blue floral dress and a blue wide-brimmed hat, while wearing a three-layer pearl necklace, she put her hand on her chest and appeared to be giggling.

The friendly conversation comes a month after the late Queen’s friend attended the coronation at Westminster Abbey, suggesting she was six months after housewife Ngozi Fulani, a black woman who runs domestic violence charity Sistah Space in Hackney, said she she had asked, “What part of Africa are you from?” at a domestic violence reception at Buckingham Palace.

In response to Ms Fulani’s allegations on Twitter, Buckingham Palace said it took the situation “extremely seriously”, adding that Lady Susan Hussey had issued a “profound apology” for her words.

After appearing at Westminster Abbey last month to attend King Charles’s coronation, it appears that Lady Susan, although no longer employed by the palace, has been welcomed back into royal circles.

Lady Susan, 83, was welcomed to The Firm in 1960, around the time Her Majesty’s late gave birth to her third child, Prince Andrew, when she was hired to help answer letters to the Royal Household.

She is the youngest daughter of the 12th Earl of Waldegrave and the widow of Marmaduke Hussey, former chairman of the BBC who died in 2006.

After assuming her role and growing closer to the monarch, she soon became known as one of the Queen’s late ‘Head Girls’ as a lady-in-waiting. Before long, she was reportedly nicknamed ‘Number One Head Girl’ as she continued to support the Queen.

Lady Susan attended King Charles’ coronation at Westminster Abbey last month, signaling she was back in the royal fold after racing

During her time as the royal family’s closest confidante, Lady Susan grew close to King Charles. So close, in fact, that he asked her to be godmother to his eldest son, Prince William.

In the 1980s, she was an expert on the inner workings of the royal family and royal convention, and is thought to have been one of the key figures who taught Princess Diana the ropes when she married in The Firm. When Diana appeared in the infamous BBC Panorama interview with Martin Bashir in 1995, Marmaduke Hussey was BBC chairman.

Her closeness to members of the royal family, including Diana, led to her being portrayed briefly in series five of The Crown by actress Haydn Gwynne. Marmaduke Hussey, who reportedly objected to the Bashir interview, is played by Richard Cordery.

She is also said to have played a similar role in helping the Duchess of Sussex acclimate to life within the royal family.

While her role within the Royal Family has largely remained under the radar, eagle-eyed fans will have seen her presence alongside several senior members over the years, guiding them along the way, but also standing in for the Queen when she was unable to attend a event such as a funeral.

Lady Susan attended the Remembrance Sunday proceedings at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, where she appeared on the balcony alongside Sophie Wessex, the Princess of Wales, and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Princess Anne’s second husband.

She was also pictured alongside the King and Queen Consort at Royal Ascot this year, where the trio appeared glued to a race, with King Charles using binoculars to get a closer look.