Remembering Annabel Goldsmith: A Luminary of London’s High Society Passes at 91

Annabel Goldsmith, a towering figure in British high society and the namesake behind London’s famed Annabel’s nightclub, passed away on October 18th at a London hospital. She was 91 years old.
Her daughter, Jemima Khan, shared on social media that Ms. Goldsmith died peacefully in her sleep.
In 1963, her first husband, Mark Birley, inaugurated a new nightclub in the affluent Mayfair district, bestowing upon it her name: Annabel’s. This establishment swiftly became a premier destination for London’s elite. Though sold in 2007 for over 90 million pounds (more than $200 million today) and relocated nearby, Annabel’s remains one of the city’s most exclusive and sought-after venues.
Reflecting on its origins in her 2004 memoir, Ms. Goldsmith confessed, “Although I have never particularly liked the name myself, Mark thought it was a good one for a club.” She continued, “I look back on his decision with pride and consider it the most tremendous compliment he could ever have paid me.”
Over the decades, Annabel’s drew a prestigious clientele, including members of the royal family and global celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Kate Moss, and Harry Styles. Notably, a club spokesperson recounted Queen Elizabeth II’s sole visit to a nightclub, an evening she spent within Annabel’s walls alongside Ms. Goldsmith herself.
Its inception coincided with London’s vibrant rebirth from its post-war austerity. Ms. Goldsmith eloquently described this era in her memoir, stating that the city “had started to dazzle with a new and magnetic color,” a brilliance she herself appeared to personify.
Despite her frequent presence, Ms. Goldsmith admitted in her writings, “I have never been very good at late nights.” Yet, her formidable character, keen sense of humor, and knack for hosting unforgettable gatherings, combined with her aristocratic background, solidified her status as a definitive ‘high-society ‘it girl,’ a title aptly bestowed by The Telegraph.
Born Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart in London on June 11, 1934, she was the second child of Robin, Viscount Castlereagh, and Romaine (Combe) Vane-Tempest-Stewart. When her father inherited the title of eighth Marquess of Londonderry in 1949, teenage Annabel accordingly became ‘Lady Annabel’.
Her education included Southover Manor, a girls’ boarding school, followed by Cuffy’s Tutorial College in Oxford. Tragically, she lost both parents during her early adulthood: her mother to mouth cancer and her father due to complications from alcoholism.
Annabel’s private life was notoriously complex, consistently making her a subject of fascination in the British tabloids.
In 1954, just shy of her 20th birthday, she married Mark Birley, whose father was a renowned society portrait painter. Ms. Goldsmith later recounted that their paths diverged “almost imperceptibly.” Mark’s dedication to Annabel’s club absorbed much of his time, while she focused primarily on raising their children.
Their marriage was further strained by Mr. Birley’s repeated infidelities, and Ms. Goldsmith herself sought comfort elsewhere. In the mid-1960s, she embarked on an affair with James Goldsmith, a prominent British-French financier, who was also married at the time.
She and James Goldsmith had three children; two of whom were born while she was still legally married to her first husband. Their “discreet divorce” from Mr. Birley, she recalled, took place after the birth of her son, Zac Goldsmith.
Despite both professing little desire to remarry, they wed in 1978 to legitimize their children. By then, James Goldsmith had fallen in love with another woman and moved to the United States a few years later, leaving Annabel and their children in Britain.
In 1994, James Goldsmith launched a short-lived political party advocating for a referendum on Britain’s ties with the European Union. Following his death in 1997, Ms. Goldsmith passionately championed his political vision, even financing a campaign against pro-European candidates in the 2001 general elections.
She famously declared to The Telegraph, “I feel I owe it to Jimmy to carry on where he was forced to leave off.”
Her life was also marked by profound personal tragedies. In 1970, her younger son from her first marriage, Robin, sustained severe injuries in a tiger mauling at a zoo. Later, in 1986, her elder son with Mark Birley, Rupert, vanished while swimming off the African coast and was presumed drowned.
Speaking to The Guardian, Ms. Goldsmith described the loss of Rupert as “worse than my parents dying,” adding, “But I said to myself: ‘I have six children. I’ve lost one. I have to be strong for the rest of them.’”
Nicky Haslam, a renowned interior designer and a close friend, observed that despite Ms. Goldsmith’s inherent cheerfulness, “you could tell there was an underlying line of tragedy that could not leave her.”
He elaborated, “People all think about her as this sort of party girl,” but emphasized her deeper qualities: “She had a wonderful memory for poetry and things like that, which she very rarely displayed.”
Among her closest confidantes was Diana, Princess of Wales, who frequently sought solace at Ms. Goldsmith’s Richmond home in London during the latter part of her life.
Ms. Goldsmith penned her understanding of their bond: “I was aware that she came as much for the security and refuge that she found in the place as for the company of my family. I think she did regard me as something of a surrogate mother.”
She is survived by her children: Robin and India Jane Birley from her first marriage, and Jemima Khan, Zac Goldsmith, and Ben Goldsmith from her second. She also leaves behind 18 grandchildren.
Beyond her memoirs, ‘Annabel: An Unconventional Life’ (2004) and ‘No Invitation Required’ (2009), Ms. Goldsmith authored several other works. These include ‘Copper: A Dog’s Life’ (2006), a tribute to one of her beloved canines, and ‘The Pelham Cottage Years’ (2009), detailing her early life with Mark Birley.
Right up until her passing, Ms. Goldsmith was renowned for her annual summer parties. Her friend, the writer Taki Theodoracopulos, reminisced that these gatherings consistently boasted an impeccable guest list.
He described the perfect blend of attendees: “The better kind of journalists, aristos, writers, a lot of bad boys, a lot of naughty girls. It was perfect.”