Irene Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever

The Right Honourable
The Lady Astor of Hever
Born
Irene Violet Freesia Janet Augusta Haig

(1919-10-07)7 October 1919
Belgravia, London, England[1]
Died12 August 2001(2001-08-12) (aged 81)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1945; died 1984)​
Children
Parent(s)Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Dorothy Maud Vivian
RelativesHussey Vivian, 3rd Baron Vivian (grandfather)
George Haig, 2nd Earl Haig (brother)
FamilyAstor family

Irene Violet Freesia Janet Augusta Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever (née Haig; 7 October 1919 – 12 August 2001) was an English philanthropist and member of the Astor family.[2] Her philanthropic contributions included being chairman of the Sunshine Fund for Blind Children from 1947 to 1989, during which she raised over £14 million, She served as vice president of the Royal National Institute for the Blind from 1977 to her death in 2001.

Early life

Astor was born on 7 October 1919 at 27 Chesham Place in Belgravia, the youngest of four children of military officer and later Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861–1928),[3] and Dorothy Maud Vivian (1879–1939), a daughter of Hussey Vivian, 3rd Baron Vivian.[4] Her father was created Earl Haig when she was 12 days old entitling her to the prefix Lady. Her elder siblings were Lady Alexandra Henrietta Louisa Haig (wife of Rear-Admiral Clarence Howard-Johnston and Hugh Trevor-Roper),[5] Lady Victoria Doris Rachel Haig (wife of Col. Andrew Montagu Douglas Scott) and George Haig, 2nd Earl Haig.[2]

Career

During World War II she worked for the Red Cross, and was also involved in the Girls' Training Corps, leading a group of girls who turned the ruined site of 145 Piccadilly into an allotment.[2]

Irene was chairman of the Sunshine Fund for Blind Children from 1947 to 1989. She raised over £14 million as chairman.[2] From 1977 until her death, she served as vice president of the Royal National Institute for the Blind.[6]

Personal life

She married Gavin Astor, later the 2nd Baron Astor of Hever, the eldest son of John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever, and Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound on 4 October 1945.[7] She became Lady Astor of Hever when her husband succeeded to the barony on the death of his father in 1971.[8] They had five children:

  • John Astor, 3rd Baron Astor of Hever (b. 1946), who married twice, first to Fiona Diana Lennox Harvey in 1970;[9] the couple had three daughters and divorced in 1990. He married, secondly, Elizabeth Constance Mackintosh, daughter of John Mackintosh, 2nd Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax, in 1990; the couple have two children.
  • Bridget Mary Astor (1948–2017), who married twice, first to Count Arthur Tarnowski in 1980; the couple had two sons before divorcing in 1986. Her second marriage was in 1989 to Geofrey Richard Smith; the couple had one daughter.
  • Elizabeth "Louise" Astor (b. 1951), who married twice, first to David John Shelton Herring in 1979; they divorced in 1981 and she married, secondly, David Joseph Ward in 1985; the couple have two children.
  • Sarah Violet Astor (b. 1953), who married George Edward Lopes, son of Massey Lopes, 2nd Baron Roborough, in 1975 and has three children; their son, Harry Marcus George Lopes, is married to Laura Rose Parker Bowles, daughter of Andrew Parker Bowles and Queen Camilla.
  • Philip Douglas Paul Astor (b. 1959), who married twice.[8] His second marriage was in July 2012 to Justine H. Picardie.

She died on 12 August 2001.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Births". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 9 October 1919. p. 1.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Irene Lady Astor of Hever". The Daily Telegraph. 14 August 2001. Retrieved 28 July 2014. Irene Lady Astor of Hever, who has died aged 81, was the widow of the second Baron Astor of Hever - the former proprietor of The Times - and the daughter of Field Marshal Earl Haig, who commanded the British Army during the 1914-18 war; she was also a central figure in the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) and worked hard for a large number of charities, including the Red Cross and Royal National Institute for the Blind.
  3. ^ TIMES, Wireless to THE NEW YORK (12 November 1934). "PRINCE EULOGIZES HAIG.; Edinburgh Crowd Cheers Words of Duke of Kent". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  4. ^ Wilson, P. W. (5 May 1929). "EARL HAIG'S PLACE IN HISTORY; A British Estimate Ranks Him as the War's Greatest Soldier Earl Haig's Place". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Lady Alexandra Haig". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Lady Astor". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 14 August 2001.
  7. ^ Times, Cable To the New York (28 July 1945). "CAPT. ASTOR FIANCE OF LADY IRENE HAIG". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b Irene Astor, peerage.com, accessed June 2009.
  9. ^ "John J. Astor Weds Fiona Harvey". The New York Times. 19 July 1970. Retrieved 25 February 2022.