Constance, Lady Crabtree is a comedy character created by the author and broadcaster Paul James in April 1978. Intended only as a single cabaret performance, Lady Crabtree proved to be so popular with audiences in the UK that he has now been performing her on stage, radio and television for over forty years. Lady Crabtree's first radio broadcast was as a celebrity panellist on a

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

quiz show ''Funny Peculiar'' (1982) with

Gyles Brandreth Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born 8 March 1948) is a British broadcaster, writer and former politician. He has worked as a television presenter, theatre producer, journalist, author and publisher. He was a presenter for TV-am's '' Good Morning Bri ...

Sandra Dickinson Sandra Dickinson (née Searles; born October 20, 1948) is an American-British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has often played characters within the trope of a dumb blonde with a high-pitched voice ...

Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory B ...

Clement Freud Sir Clement Raphael Freud (24 April 1924 – 15 April 2009) was a British media personality, broadcaster, writer, politician and chef. The son of Ernst L. Freud and grandson of Sigmund Freud, Clement moved to the United Kingdom from Nazi Germany ...

, Roger Cook,

Magnus Pyke Magnus Alfred Pyke (29 December 1908 – 19 October 1992) was an English nutritional scientist, governmental scientific adviser, writer and presenter. He worked for the UK Ministry of Food, the post-war Allied Commission for Austria, and di ...

and

June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television and film actress. Whitfield's big break was a lead in the radio comedy '' Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme ...

. Early television appearances included BBC 1's ''

Pebble Mill at One ''Pebble Mill at One'' was a British television magazine programme that was broadcast live on weekdays at one o'clock on BBC1, from 2 October 1972 to 23 May 1986, and again from 14 October 1991 to 29 March 1996. It was transmitted from the Peb ...

'' and ''

Daytime Live Daytime or day as observed on Earth is the period of the day during which a given location experiences natural illumination from direct sunlight. Daytime occurs when the Sun appears above the local horizon, that is, anywhere on the globe's ...

'' (1988) and ITV's ''The James Whale Show'' (1990); Lady Crabtree has broadcast on radio and television worldwide, most recently in February 2008 when she was one of Dame Margot Hamilton's guests on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

's ''Upstaged'' series and in 2013 when interviewed on the ''Scott Spears Now'' show for American television following the birth of Prince George. 2018 marked Lady Crabtree's 40th anniversary in public life. Lady Crabtree is the author of two books:''The Secret Journals of Queen Elizabeth II'' (Columbus 1988 and Virgin Books 1990) and ''The Secret Royal Love Letters'' (Virgin Books 1990).

Character history

Born Constance May Rose Battersby in Warrior Square Gardens,

St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origin ...

, East Sussex, on 1 May 1948; her twin sister Millicent was delivered shortly afterwards. This was not only a shock to their mother - who had not realised that she was pregnant - but even more of a surprise to people strolling through the Square. With parents in the theatre,(performing as the variety act ''The Gay Goslings'') the girls travelled widely throughout their childhood, and attended various schools for short periods. Constance completed her education at ''Madame Bernice's Academy of Refinement and Beauty'' in Gripe Street, London. She met her husband-to-be, the Hon Claude Crabtree, in the Assembly Rooms, York, during her twenty-first birthday ball. After a whirlwind romance, they were married on 1 July 1969 in the gloomy village church of King Herod the Great on the Crabtree family estate at Cleghorn St Percy, North Yorkshire. The couple later had twin sons, Giles and Miles.The present Lord Crabtree 1984- When Claude's father (Montfort, 8th

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Crabtree) died on 7 June 1977, at the age of 104, Claude inherited the

y and Constance became Lady Crabtree. If he had died just a day earlier, Lady Crabtree would not have been deprived of a seat at the Queen's Silver Jubilee Service in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

and she harbours a suspicion that he lingered deliberately just to spite her. As a fully-fledged member of the aristocracy, in 1978 her public life began in earnest, particularly in connection with Lord Crabtree's role as Chairman of the Mid-Yorkshire Swine Breeders' Federation - the Crabtrees owning some of the largest sites in Yorkshire. A highlight of her early married life was entertaining

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

at a Swine Breeders' dinner at Crabtree Hall, which greatly improved Lady C's standing as a society hostess. Continuing her family's interest in the theatre (''she had herself appeared as a chorus girl in her teenage years at

York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to off ...

'') Lady Crabtree became Patron of the Cleghorn Local Amateur Players (''The CLAP''), a role she still endures to this day. After Claude's death in 1984 (''Face down in the bombe-surprise at a dinner party.'') and left with astronomical death duties plus her husband's gambling debts, the Dowager Lady Crabtree found herself financially embarrassed. Taking pity on her situation, the Queen offered her the post of Relief-Woman of the Bedchamber within the Royal Household. After publishing extracts from the Queen's diaries and letters in the misguided belief that she was doing Her Majesty a favour, Lady Crabtree unexpectedly found that her services were no longer required. In 2005 she became a Reserve-Lady in Waiting to

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington i ...

. Now residing in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

, where she divides her time between a sea front hotel and a Home for Gentlewomen Living in Reduced Circumstances, Lady Crabtree continues to fulfil an active public life, presenting prizes, speaking at lunches and dinners, making personal appearances, and enjoys acting as compere at numerous functions, frequently regaling audiences with memories of her life with the Royal Family. She speaks at many events each year, is the doyen of Ladies' Lunch Clubs. With humour ideally suited to the over-fifties, current talks include "How To Grow Old Disgracefully" and "Glad To Be Grey" In 2018 Lady Crabtree will celebrate 40 years in public life. File:Constance, Lady Crabtree, 1978.jpg, Lady Crabtree 1978 File:Constance, Lady Crabtree, 1988.jpg, Lady Crabtree 1988 File:Connie_Blue_3.jpg, Lady Crabtree 2009 File:Constance,_Lady_Crabtree,_December_2015.jpg, Lady Crabtree 2015

Official style

Lady Crabtree is formally known as "Constance, Lady Crabtree", and in widowhood can also be referred to as "The Dowager Lady Crabtree". She should not be called "Lady Constance", and would only be addressed in this form had she been born the daughter of an Earl, a Marquess or a Duke.

Notes

External links

Lady Crabtree's background and photos

Lady Crabtree's latest news and videos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crabtree Female characters in radio Female characters in television Female characters in theatre Fictional British people Fictional lords and ladies Fictional characters introduced in 1978 Comedy theatre characters Comedy radio characters Comedy television characters Theatre characters introduced in 1978 Radio characters introduced in 1982 Television characters introduced in 1990