Family of Lady Annabel Goldsmith, society matriarch who gave her name to London’s swankiest nightclub, hail her ‘extraordinary and complete’ life… but say her death has left them ‘bereft’

If Mayfair club Annabel’s was once the epitome of elegant glamor, so too was the woman who inspired it.

But while the excitement of the world-famous nightclub would eventually fade, Lady Annabel Goldsmith’s never did.

Friends say the 91-year-old was in ‘bright form’ at her son Zac Goldsmith’s wedding in the Cotswolds just last month.

“She came in wearing a floral maxi dress and said, ‘She still has that!'” a fellow guest said. “I remember thinking,” he said. ‘And his mind was as sharp as ever.’

Lady Annabel, who died peacefully in her sleep this morning, in many ways personified the Berkeley Square club for which she gave her name.

Mischievous, fun and charming, she never took herself too seriously. And perhaps neither was Annabel’s, given her longevity.

Both attracted the attention of the beau monde. Queen Elizabeth was drawn into young Annabel’s orbit by attending her ‘coming out’ ball in 1952.

Born Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart in London in 1934 to an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, she became known as the society belle and established herself as a key figure in the Swinging London of the 60s.

She was probably best known to the next generation as the mistress and later wife of billionaire financier Sir James Goldsmith.

Yet to his family he was the generous, wise, and highly respected high patriarch of an ever-expanding clan.

Lady Annabel, a close friend of Princess Diana, was the mother of six children from her two marriages; these included Zac, who was the Conservative MP for Richmond Park for eight years and a former London mayoral candidate, and film producer Jemima Goldsmith.

He has 14 grandchildren in total. His youngest son Ben, an environmentalist, said he was ‘irreplaceable’, adding: ‘We are deprived.

‘Not for him – because his life was extraordinary and complete – but for us, because of the huge void he left behind in our lives.

‘I talked to him every day for 45 years. He really had my back and we loved each other so much. I will miss him very much.’

A statement later issued on behalf of her children simply said: ‘It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our mother, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, who died peacefully in her sleep this morning, aged 91.’

Annabel’s nightclub was founded by her first husband, Mark Birley, in 1963 and for a time was the most sought-after club in the world.

Lady Annabel called it her second home and recalled: ‘Everyone from the Kennedys to the Royal Family came and once I found myself standing next to Frank Sinatra without realizing it.’

She was given the title of Lady Annabel in 1949, aged just 15, after her father became the 8th Marquess of Londonderry following the death of her grandfather.

Two years later, his mother died of cancer, and his father followed in 1955. Although he was privileged, his life was interrupted by tragedy.

His first son, Rupert, died in 1986 off the Togo coast of West Africa at the age of 30. Lady Annabel said it was ‘the worst thing that ever happened to me’.

She said of losing him: ‘There’s actually nothing worse than losing a child and there’s something special about your first-born child.

‘Because I was very young when Rupert was born… we were more like good friends than mother and son.

‘This was worse than my parents dying, but I said to myself: “I have six children. I lost one. I need to be strong for the rest.”

His second son, Robin, was disfigured after being mauled by a tiger at a private zoo when he was 12.

Lady Annabel was the mother of six children from two marriages, including to film producer Jemima Goldsmith (pictured with her mother in 2007)

Lady Annabel, who let the pregnant tiger go to her, said: ‘It was my fault. ‘I was angry with myself.’

She had three children (Rupert, Robin and India Jane) with Birley and three children (Zac, Jemima and Ben) with Sir James, one of Europe’s most flamboyant industrialists and founder of the Referendum Party.

He stayed with her even after she famously said: ‘If you marry your mistress, you create a void.’

Lady Annabel was the founder of the Democracy Movement, a Eurosceptic political advocacy group.

He was an advocate for causes such as rural agriculture, animal charities, and working to reduce the impact of HIV/Aids on children in South Africa.

As a published author, he offered intimate glimpses into his life in British society. Annabel: An Unusual Life (2004) and its sequel, No Invitation Needed: The Pelham Cottage Years (2009), were noted for their wit and warmth.

She once described herself as ‘an incredible mother, a pretty good mistress, but not a very good wife’.

One of the biggest clubs of the sixties and seventies, Annabel’s was the place to host a wide variety of guests, from Ted to Robert F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra to Prince Charles, Richard Nixon to Muhammad Ali.

‘I was there every night, even if I had three little kids to take to school the next day,’ she said.

‘A rose may be named after a person, but rarely is there a nightclub. This is pretty good.

‘I was fed up with it when Mark told me he named his club that. It’s a lovely gesture and people still ask if I’m Annabel’s Annabel.’

He added: ‘Over the years I’ve become proud of it. HE [Birley] transformed it into an extraordinarily beautiful place.

‘My favorite place was the toilets with dear Mabel looking after them. They were incredibly stylish, with matching sinks, and were carefully maintained.

‘I used to get there early to gossip; Nothing happened there that Mabel didn’t know about.

‘And he was meticulous about hand washing. ‘He would always tell me who ‘did’ and who ‘didn’t’.’

The Birleys separated in 1972 and later divorced Sir James in 1975, following the birth of her second child.

Lady Annabel was a close friend of Princess Diana (pictured together at a film premiere in 1989)

‘The reason we broke up was not because I was in love with Jimmy, but because of Mark’s infidelity,’ Lady Annabel recalled.

Revealing that Birley had numerous other girlfriends from the beginning of their relationship, she added: ‘I think he was absolutely incapable of being faithful.

‘He was a serial adulterer. He had to seduce every woman like a butterfly.’

Despite their divorce, the pair remained best friends and soul mates, speaking to each other every day and holidaying together until Birley’s death in August 2007.

Birley said they were the ‘true loves in each other’s lives’.

In 1964, she began a decade-long relationship with Sir James, a member of the Goldsmith family.

Although both she and Sir James, who was then married to his second wife Ginette Lery, believed it would be a temporary fling, their relationship soon became infamous in the gossip columns.

He once said: ‘Jimmy was married when I met him. Even though he hasn’t been unfaithful to me over the years, I should have known that he would eventually.

‘Maybe in my heart I knew this would happen.

‘Of course, I cared deeply about the fact that he had another family.

‘But what could I do? I had young children and I eventually went along with it. And of course I loved it.’

TV show turned my villa into a place of sexual shenanigans, he told MoS in his latest interview

Written by: Charlotte Griffiths, General Editor

It was one of the last joys of Annabel Goldsmith’s life when the Spanish farm where she spent so many happy moments with her extended family became the dazzling setting for a racy television series.

In her latest interview with The Mail on Sunday this month, Lady Annabel was delighted by the fact that her nine-bedroom villa Tramores was being used as the location for Amazon Prime’s The Girlfriend movie.

Starring Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke, the series includes X-rated scenes on Lady Annabel’s beds and sunbeds.

With glorious disdain, he insisted the ‘hoaxes’ had never been seen before at the villa, despite hosting royals and politicians over the past four decades.

The former socialite said: ‘What a strange feeling it was to see my home, which I had discovered and recreated and loved and cherished since the 80s, featured in The Girlfriend, especially the nonsense of my big blue terrace bed.’

By the way, the pictures in the Goldsmith archives are much healthier. They show Lady Annabel’s three children – a young Jemima Khan and brothers Zac and Ben Goldsmith – relaxing in the same bed as their father, the late financier Sir James Goldsmith. In fact, as he confirmed, the family built it themselves to make room for their growing offspring.

While Lady Annabel was comfortable with the adult scenes, she was said to be less than impressed with what the producers did to the Moorish-influenced property’s décor.

A friend of the jewelers complains that manufacturers have replaced some carefully selected furniture with ‘modern, cheap-looking’ items.

In her latest interview with The Mail on Sunday this month, Lady Annabel was tickled by the fact that her nine-bedroom villa Tramores (pictured) was being used as a location for Amazon Prime’s film The Girlfriend.

Footage from the Goldsmith archives (pictured) shows Lady Annabel’s three children – a young Jemima Khan and brothers Zac and Ben Goldsmith – relaxing in the same bed as their father, the late financier Sir James Goldsmith.

And Lady Annabel was said to be ‘concerned’ that viewers might think the furniture belonged to her.

“Some of the priceless furniture Annabel had collected since the family bought Tramores decades ago has been removed,” her friend sniffed.

‘Instead they brought in cheap-looking, modern and – dare I say it – rather ordinary furniture. Truly a travesty.”

However, Lady Annabel was ‘delighted’ with the result; especially after fans of the show started booking Tramores, which rent for up to £35,000 a week while the family were away.

Located on 600 acres of forested land near Marbella, the luxury villa appears in the series as the holiday home of millionaire Laura, played by Ms. Wright from House of Cards. This character’s life is turned upside down when his son brings home his new girlfriend, Cherry. This role is played by House of the Dragon star Ms. Cooke.