Why the Queen chose loyal lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey for her loneliest journey
While Lady Susan s presence is often unremarked upon, she can be seen in photographs from all aspects of Royal life
18 April 2021 • 10:53am
The Queen with lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey (far right) during a 2005 walkabout at Sandringham House in Norfolk
Credit: Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
It was her loneliest journey – but she was not alone. In her darkest day on public duty, the Queen had her loyal lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey by her side.
The monarch and Lady Susan, carried in the State Bentley for the short journey from the Sovereign s Entrance of Windsor Castle to the Galilee Porch of St George s Chapel, travelled in companionable silence.
Under a vaulted stone ceiling, in a castle chapel replete with long dead kings and queens, a new widow is compelled to face not just the sorrow of loss, but also of a future bereft.
Alone in her carved seat in the Quire of St George’s Chapel, the Queen said goodbye to Prince Philip, the man who had been at her side for nearly 75 years – and each of those years a triumph of devotion and pragmatism.
Their marriage was a victory of constancy that few of their children were able to emulate, theirs was a union that proved itself in unbreakable alliance and mutual respect.
Atherton soldier drove Duke s Land Rover hearse thisislancashire.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisislancashire.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Duke of Edinburgh will join a range of kings and queens behind a set of iron gates
Among the Royals there include George III, George IV and George V of Hanover
Others who are also buried there include Queen Victoria s father Prince Edward
His coffin will be lowered in Royal Vault at around 3pm but only until Queen dies
When Her Majesty s time comes, they will go to King George VI Memorial Chapel
Prince Philip will be remembered as a man of “courage, fortitude and faith” at a martial but also personal funeral that will mark the death of a royal patriarch who was a beloved husband and father, and one of a dwindling number of World War II veterans. Hymns and music during Saturday’s funeral at Windsor Castle will reflect Philip’s military ties and wartime service in the Royal Navy, as well as his more than seven decades of support for his wife, Queen Elizabeth II.
Alastair Grant/AP
Prince Philip husband of Britain s Queen Elizabeth II died April 9, aged 99, his funeral will take place tonight at Windsor Castle in St George s Chapel.