Lady Annabel Goldsmith facts for kids

Lady Annabel Goldsmith (born 11 June 1934) is an English socialite, which means she is a well-known person in high society. She is famous for a London nightclub called Annabel's, which was named after her. She was first married to Mark Birley, who created the club. Annabel's was a special club in Mayfair where only members could go.

Lady Annabel comes from a noble family, the Marquess of Londonderry. Her most important role has been as a mother to her six children. She is also an author. She founded the Democracy Movement, a group that wanted the UK to have more control over its own laws, rather than being governed by the European Union. Her children include journalist Jemima Goldsmith and Zac Goldsmith, who was a Member of Parliament.

Early Life and Family History

Lady Annabel was born in London on June 11, 1934. She was the second of three children in an Anglo-Irish noble family. Her family had roots in Ulster (Northern Ireland) and County Durham in England. Her father was Robin, Viscount Castlereagh, who later became the 8th Marquess of Londonderry. Her mother was Romaine Combe.

She became "Lady Annabel" in February 1949. This happened when her grandfather, the 7th Marquess of Londonderry, passed away and her father inherited the title. Lady Annabel faced sadness early in her life. Her mother passed away in 1951, and her father passed away in 1955.

Childhood and Education

Lady Annabel was named after her mother's favorite song, "Miss Annabel Lee." She grew up in the countryside at her family's large estates, including Mount Stewart and Wynyard Park. She also spent time at Londonderry House in London.

She went to school at Southover Manor School in Sussex and later to Cuffy's Tutorial College in Oxford. When she was young, she was quiet and shy. She loved to read books and enjoyed horse riding. She was also a Girl Guide. In the 1950s, she changed from a shy girl into a well-known socialite. Queen Elizabeth II even attended her special "coming-out" party in 1952.

Family Life and Motherhood

Lady Annabel is the mother of six children: Rupert, Robin, India Jane Birley, Jemima, Zac, and Ben Goldsmith. She always felt that being a mother was her most important job. She loved her children very much and always wanted to be with them.

She was also seen as a mother figure by her nieces, Ladies Cosima and Sophia Vane-Tempest-Stewart. Even Diana, Princess of Wales, looked up to her. Lady Annabel believed that if a husband left but came back, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Annabel's Club and First Marriage

On March 10, 1954, when she was 19, Lady Annabel married businessman Mark Birley in London. Mark Birley honored her by naming his famous nightclub, Annabel's, after her. The club opened on June 4, 1963, and Mark ran it for over forty years.

In the 1960s, Lady Annabel was often at Annabel's. It was known as one of the most glamorous nightclubs of its time. She met many famous people there, including Ted and Robert F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Prince Charles, and Muhammad Ali. She said it felt like a second home to her.

She raised her three children with Mark Birley at their home, Pelham Cottage. Her oldest son, Rupert, was born in 1955. He studied at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. In 1986, he disappeared off the coast of Togo in West Africa and was believed to have drowned. Lady Annabel said losing a child, especially her first-born, was the worst thing.

Her second son, Robin, was born in 1958. When he was a child, his face was injured by a tigress at John Aspinall's private zoo. Lady Annabel felt it was her fault for letting him get too close. Her first daughter, India Jane, born in 1961, is an artist.

Lady Annabel and Mark Birley separated in 1972 and later divorced in 1975. However, they remained very close friends and talked every day until Mark's death in 2007. Mark Birley said they were "the true loves of each other's lives."

Second Marriage to James Goldsmith

In 1964, Lady Annabel began a long relationship with Sir James Goldsmith. She had two children with him: Jemima, born in 1974, and Zac, born in 1975. Her last child, Ben Goldsmith, was born in 1980 when she was 46.

The children grew up in Ormeley Lodge in Ham, London. James Goldsmith was often away because he had three families. In 1978, James and Lady Annabel married. This was mainly to make their children legally recognized. When James Goldsmith passed away in 1997, Lady Annabel and her three youngest children inherited some of his wealth.

Life Today

Lady Annabel still lives in Ormeley Lodge, a large Georgian house with a big garden next to Richmond Park. She has several dogs: two Grand Basset Griffon Vendéens named Daisy and Lily, and three Norfolk terriers named Barney, Boris, and Bindy.

She has fourteen grandchildren. She also spends part of the year at her organic farm in Spain and has a holiday home by the sea in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. In 2004, she said she wished she had been "a one-man woman" instead of marrying twice.

Activism and Writing

Lady Annabel is involved in many good causes. She is the president of the Richmond Park branch of The Royal Society of St George, which aims to inspire young people. She supports the Countryside Alliance, an environmental charity called The Soil Association, and African Solutions to African Problems (ASAP), which helps children affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa.

As an animal lover, she is a supporter of the Dogs Trust and the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. She is also vice-president of the British Show Pony Society.

Journalism and Charity Work

Lady Annabel was interested in journalism when she was young. She later wrote opinion pieces for national newspapers like The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph.

In November 1956, she and Mark Birley volunteered with the Save the Children organization in Vienna. They helped refugees who were crossing the border from Hungary into Austria during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. She collected donations and visited the refugees every day.

In May 1997, she helped her second husband, James Goldsmith, with his political campaign. After his death, she continued to support his ideas, especially about the UK's relationship with Europe.

The Democracy Movement

In January 1999, Lady Annabel launched the Democracy Movement. She was its president, and her son Robin was its chairman for a few years. This group wanted to show people how their Members of Parliament voted on issues related to the European Union.

The Democracy Movement sent out millions of leaflets and placed newspaper ads. They wanted to make sure people knew about the idea of a "European superstate." Lady Annabel said she wasn't against Europe, but she didn't want the UK to be controlled by Brussels (where the EU is based). She felt people should not give up their country's power.

Books by Lady Annabel

In March 2004, Lady Annabel published her life story called Annabel: An Unconventional Life. The book talked about her childhood before World War II, her glamorous social life in the 1960s, and her life as a grandmother. The book was featured in The Mail on Sunday. Many people reviewed the book, and it became a best-seller in London. It also reached the top ten non-fiction best-sellers in England.

Two years later, in September 2006, she wrote another book called Copper: A Dog's Life. This book was told from the point of view of her pet dog, Copper. Her daughter, India Jane, drew the pictures for the book. Copper was a mixed-breed dog who lived an adventurous life in Richmond. He was known for riding buses, chasing joggers, and visiting a local pub. Lady Annabel said Copper was "probably the greatest character I ever knew."

Lady Annabel decided to write her memoirs after a scary experience on December 29, 2000. She was on a plane to Kenya with her son, daughter, grandchildren, and niece. A passenger tried to take control of the plane, and it dropped suddenly. Lady Annabel said everyone on the plane thought they were going to die. This event made her realize how precious life is and inspired her to write her story.

Her third book, No Invitation Required: The Pelham Cottage Years, came out in November 2009. This book shares personal stories and descriptions of interesting people who were part of the Birley and Goldsmith families' lives.