Lady Annabelle Goldsmith, the socialite immortalized by the naming of a Mayfair nightclub after her, has died aged 91.
Lady Annabelle was the mother of six children, including Conservative politician Zach Goldsmith and filmmaker Jemima Goldsmith.
Her first husband, hospitality entrepreneur Mark Birley, founded the Annabelle London Private Members Club in 1963. This exclusive place welcomed the royal family and rock stars.
Lady Annabelle was the younger daughter of the 8th Marquess of Londonderry. In a statement to the BBC, her youngest son Ben said she was “simply irreplaceable”.
He added: “We are not lucky for him – because his life was wonderful and perfect – but for us because of the huge hole he leaves in our lives.”
The statement continued: “I spoke to him every day for 45 years, he really had my back and we loved each other very much. I will miss him very much.”
Her children said in a joint statement: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our mother, Mrs. Annabelle Goldsmith, who passed away peacefully in her sleep this morning at the age of 91.
Lady Annabelle had six children, three from her first marriage and three from her second marriage to businessman Sir James Goldsmith. talk to The Times In 2006, she said, “I was a hands-on mom and I’m a hands-on grandmother,” adding, “We go on vacation, I talk every day. I don’t judge women who work, but I was so involved with my children that I never wanted them out of my sight.”
She had Rupert, Robin and India Jane with her first husband Mr Birley and Jemima, Zac and Ben with Sir James.
His first marriage failed after Lady Annabelle discovered that Mr. Birley had been unfaithful. Vanity Fair exhibition“He should have seduced every woman like a butterfly.”
But she told the magazine: “Living with a perfectionist is very difficult, but the thing is, living with Mark was fun.” He was close to Mr Birley, with whom he spoke regularly until his death in 2007.
She became the mistress and then the wife of the entrepreneur Sir James Goldsmith, who had two children with his mistress, Laure Beaulay de la Moreth.
Lady Annabelle’s long relationship with Sir James made her the talk of the town in the 1960s and 1970s.
Born Annabelle Van-Tempest-Stewart in 1934, the second daughter of Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, she knew tragedy from an early age when her mother died of cancer at the age of 17. Her father became an alcoholic after her mother’s death and died of liver failure two months after the birth of Lady Annabelle’s first son, Rupert.
In 1986, at the age of 30, Rupert disappeared off the coast of West Africa and was presumed drowned. In an interview with him, Lady Annabelle described the incident as “the worst thing that ever happened to me”. guard, “It was worse than my parents dying, but I said to myself, ‘I have six children,'” she told the paper. I missed one. I have to be strong for the rest of them.”
She wrote a number of books, including her autobiography Annabelle: An Unconventional Life, and a book that chronicled the life of her pet dog, Copper.
He said in 2009 guard Stating that his happiness in life did not come from being an elite, he added: Give me a dog, give me a child, give me a book so that I will be happy.
