The Lady Wilson of Rievaulx | |
---|---|
Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
In role 4 March 1974 – 5 April 1976 | |
Preceded by | Vacant[nb] |
Succeeded by | Audrey Callaghan |
In role 16 October 1964 – 19 June 1970 | |
Preceded by | Lady Douglas-Home |
Succeeded by | Vacant[nb] |
Personal details | |
Born | Gladys Mary Baldwin 12 January 1916 Diss, Norfolk, England |
Died | 6 June 2018 St Thomas' Hospital, London, England | (aged 102)
Resting place | St Mary's Old Church |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 2, including Robin |
Education | Milton Mount College |
Occupation |
|
n.b. ^ The Prime Minister from 1970 to 1974 was Edward Heath, who was unmarried. |
Gladys Mary Wilson, Lady Wilson of Rievaulx (12 January 1916 – 6 June 2018) was an English poet. She was the widow of Harold Wilson, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid- to late-1960s and mid-1970s. Her birth name was Gladys Mary Baldwin.
Private Eye regularly published satirical pages under the title Mrs Wilson's diary in the 1960s when she was living in Downing Street with Harold. It was in the style of the BBC radio serial Mrs Dale's Diary. In 1969 it was made into a movie.[1]
In 1970 her volume of poetry, Selected Poems, was published and in 1976 Wilson was one of three judges of the Man Booker Prize, the other judges being Walter Allen and Francis King.[2]
In 2013, aged 97, she attended the funeral of Margaret Thatcher.[3]
In 2016, she became the first spouse of a British prime minister to turn 100.[4][5]
Wilson died on 6 June 2018, of a stroke, in London at age 102.[6] She is the longest-lived spouse of a British prime minister in history.[needs update]