Mary Soames

 ( 1922 Births ) 

She served many public organisations, such as the International Churchill Society, as a Patron; Church Army and Churchill Houses; and chaired the Royal National Theatre Board of Trustees between 1989 and 1995.David Reynolds Obituary: Lady Soames, The Guardian, 1 June 2014 She was Patron of the National Benevolent Fund for the Aged.

She accompanied her husband, Christopher Soames, on his foreign postings as an Ambassador and/or Governor: to Paris (during 1968–1972) where she resided at Hotel de Charost, and to Rhodesia.

In 1980, Lady Soames was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her public service, particularly in Rhodesia.

In 1992, Soames appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Her chosen book was Memoirs from Beyond the Grave by Chateaubriand and her luxury item was a supply of fine Havana cigars. She chose as her favourite record a movement from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, which evoked the joy of returning to the countryside for her, a devoted countrywoman.

On 29 April 2002 she dined with Elizabeth II at Downing Street as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations, alongside Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the four surviving former prime ministers at the time, as well as several relatives of other deceased prime ministers.

She was made a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter (LG) on 23 April 2005, and was invested on 13 June at Windsor Castle."The Queen ... today held a Chapter of the Most Noble Order of the Garter ... Her Majesty invested the Baroness Soames with the Insignia of a Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter." Court Circular 13 June 2005. She used the insignia worn by her father, Winston Churchill, who was made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in 1953.

Six months after her death, on 17 December 2014, Sotheby's London auctioned 255 items out of her collection on behalf of her heirs, including paintings by and memorabilia attached to her father. According to Sotheby's, the sale "realised an outstanding total of £15,441,822, well above pre-sale expectations of £3.6-5.5 million."

• Clementine Churchill: The Biography of a Marriage (1979)
• Family Album: A Personal Selection from Four Generations of Churchills (1982)
• The Profligate Duke: George Spencer Churchill, Fifth Duke of Marlborough, and His Duchess (1987)This book engages itself with the gardens in Blenheim and Whiteknights.
• Winston Churchill: His Life as a Painter (1990)
• Speaking For Themselves: The Private Letters of Sir Winston and Lady Churchill (1999)
• Clementine Churchill: The Revised and Updated Biography (2005)
• A Daughter's Tale: The Memoir of Winston and Clementine Churchill's Youngest Child (2012)

• Booknotes interview with Soames on Winston & Clementine: The Personal Letters of the Churchills, 2 May 1999.
• The Papers of Lady Soames held at Churchill Archives Centre