Lady Annabel Goldsmith, the inspiration behind the famous Mayfair club, Annabel's, has died age, 91. The renowned society beauty was the younger daughter of the 8th Marquess of Londonderry and a close friend of Princess Diana. Annabel's was founded in 1963 by her first husband, Mark Birley, and still today is known to be frequented by only the most upper echelons of high society.
An adoring mother
Lady Annabel was an adoring mother to six children, Rupert, Robin, India, Jane, Jemima, Zac and Ben from her two marriages. Lady Annabel and her first husband, Mark Birley, whom she married in 1954, share Rupert, Robin and India Jane. In 1963 Mark Birley created Annabel's eponymous club, which was known as the chicest club in the world, and still remains a private member's club.
Annabel and Mark's marriage lasted 21 years, but ended due to Mark's frequent "infidelities", Lady Annabel formerly describing her ex-husband as a "serial adulterer" to Vanity Fair. Meanwhile, Annabel had an extra-marital affair with Sir James Goldsmith - 'Jimmy' - who she would later marry in 1978. Following their nuptials, the couple had three children together, Jemima, Zac and Ben. Sadly, Sir James died of pancreatic cancer in 1997.
Last month, Lady Annabel attended the wedding of her son Zac to his now-wife and James Bond scion, Hum Fleming, who tied the knot at St James’s Church in Longborough in the Cotswolds. Just like their high-society It-girl mother, Lady Annabel's children have taken up significant roles in English society. Newly-wed Zac was recently made a member of the House of Lords after serving as a prominent Conservative politician and former MP for Richmond Park. He held government roles including as a Cabinet minister and also ran in the London mayoral contest in 2016. Meanwhile, her daughter Jemima, now Jemima Khan, is a prominent TV and film producer and journalist, who notably contributed to the fifth series of the hit Netflix show The Crown.
Family tragedy
While she was at the heart of the high-society social scene, Lady Anabel's life wasn't without its tough times. In 1986, her first son, Rupert, sadly died after going missing off the coast of West Africa in 1986 and her second Robin son was mauled by a tiger. In 2019, her granddaughter Iris, the daughter of Ben Goldsmith and Kate Rothschild, tragically died after an accident on the family farm when the all-terrain vehicle she was driving overturned.
Net worth
While Lady Annabel's net worth hasn't officially been disclosed, her late husband, Sir James had a net worth of £1.5 billion. In 2008, The Times reported her source of income as her inheritance, which was, according to the publication, £500 million, although no will was officially published.