Elizabeth Shirley Vaughan Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey, (''née'' Morgan; 4 December 1924 – 21 January 2017), better known as Dame Shirley Paget, was a British public servant and writer.

Early life and education

She was born in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

, the daughter of novelists

Charles Langbridge Morgan Charles Langbridge Morgan (22 January 1894 – 6 February 1958) was a British playwright and novelist of English and Welsh parentage. The main themes of his work were, as he himself put it, "Art, Love, and Death", and the relation between t ...

and

Hilda Vaughan Hilda Campbell Vaughan (married name Morgan, 12 June 1892 – 4 November 1985) was a Welsh novelist and short story writer writing in English. Her ten varied novels, set mostly in her native Radnorshire, concern rural communities and heroines. ...

and granddaughter of engineer Sir Charles Langbridge Morgan. She was named after the heroine in

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

's 1849 novel ''

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

''. She and her younger brother,

Roger Morgan Roger Ernest Morgan (born 14 November 1946) is an English former footballer who played as a winger in the Football League for Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur. Career Born in Walthamstow, London, Morgan came through the ranks at Que ...

(1924–2018), grew up in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

, London. She was educated at

Francis Holland School Francis Holland School is the name of two separate private day schools for girls in central London, England, governed by the Francis Holland (Church of England) Schools Trust. The schools are located at Clarence Gate (near Regent's Park NW1) ...

and

Malvern St James Malvern St James is an independent school for girls in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England. Founded in 1893 as Malvern Girls' College, it was renamed Malvern St James following a merger in 2006 with St James's School in West Malvern. It cont ...

until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when she, her brother, and their mother moved to America. She finished her schooling at

Kent Place School The Kent Place School is a girls independent college-preparatory day school (with a coeducational nursery and pre-kindergarten) serving students in preschool through twelfth grade in Summit, Union County, New Jersey, United States. Kent Pl ...

in New Jersey.

Career

Shirley Morgan began her career in the Foreign Office as personal secretary to

Gladwyn Jebb Hubert Miles Gladwyn Jebb, 1st Baron Gladwyn (25 April 1900 – 24 October 1996) was a prominent British civil servant, diplomat and politician who served as the acting secretary-general of the United Nations between 1945 and 1946. Early ...

until her marriage to Lord Anglesey in 1949. As Marchioness of Anglesey, she served as President of the

National Federation of Women's Institutes The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being th ...

1966–1969, a board member of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

1985–1995, chairman of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission 1987–1991, and vice-chairman of the

Museums and Galleries Commission The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) was until May 2012 a non-departmental public body and registered charity in England with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives. Its function ...

1989–1996. As an author she wrote ''The Countrywoman's Year'' (1960).

Personal life

She married

Henry Paget, 7th Marquess of Anglesey George Charles Henry Victor Paget, 7th Marquess of Anglesey (8 October 1922 – 13 July 2013), styled Earl of Uxbridge until 1947, was a British peer and a military historian. Biography Henry Paget was the son of Charles Paget, 6th Marquess ...

(8 October 1922 – 13 July 2013) on 16 October 1948, a year after he succeeded to the marquessate. They had met at the 1946 Paris peace conference. Queen Mary was a guest at their wedding as King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

was a godfather of the groom. Their marriage produced three daughters and two sons. Along with her husband, she attended the Coronation in 1952 of Elizabeth II. At the time of her husband's death in 2013, it was believed they were the only living married couple apart from Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to have attended the Coronation. She died in 2017, aged 92, at a Moorlands Lodge nursing home in Surrey.

Honours

Paget was invested as a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 1977. She was invested as a Dame Commander, Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1983. She was later invested as a Lieutenant,

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(

LVO The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

) in 1993.

References

External links

Brief profile of Shirley Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey
1924 births 2017 deaths Kent Place School alumni People from Chelsea, London British marchionesses British people of Welsh descent British writers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order

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