Lady Annabel Goldsmith: The Glamorous Legacy Behind London’s Most Famous Nightclub
For over half a century, Annabel’s has been the name whispered across London’s high society — a private members’ club where royalty, rock stars, and Hollywood legends mingled under soft lights and velvet walls. Founded in 1963 by the charismatic Mark Birley and named after his then-wife Lady Annabel Goldsmith, the club became an enduring symbol of elegance, mischief, and timeless allure.
In a reflective interview first published in NY Times in 2019, Lady Annabel looked back on her extraordinary years as the woman behind the name, offering a rare glimpse into the glamorous and often chaotic world of Britain’s most exclusive nightclub — a world now tinged with nostalgia following her recent passing.
The Birth of a London Legend
It began in the early 1960s when Mark Birley, a visionary entrepreneur with a flair for refinement, showed his wife a damp, low-ceilinged cellar beneath John Aspinall’s Clermont Club in Mayfair. “At first, I thought I was going to break my neck,” Lady Annabel recalled with a laugh. “It was a cellar — dark, damp and uninspiring. Mark asked me what I thought, and I simply said, ‘It’s a cellar.’”
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| Princess Michael of Kent at a fashion show at Annabel's in 1980 Richard Young |
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| Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart, daughter of the 8th Marquess of Londonderry, marries Mark Birley, son of artist Sir Oswald Birley in 1954 Fred Ramage/Getty Images |
Two years later, that unpromising basement opened as Annabel’s — and instantly became the most glamorous address in town. Beneath Berkeley Square, the club’s mirrored columns, Imari porcelain, and gilded décor reflected a clientele that included dukes, diplomats, musicians, and movie stars. “It was like a giant cocktail party every night,” Lady Annabel said. “You could be sure you’d know someone — though whether they wanted you to know them was another thing entirely.”
Royalty, Rock Stars and the Glittering Guest List
Annabel’s quickly drew an A-list crowd. The Queen herself visited in 2003 to celebrate the Countess of Airlie’s 70th birthday — her only known visit to a nightclub. “She was animated, laughing and joking,” Lady Annabel remembered fondly. “She told me she’d had a wonderful evening. I was amazed.”
Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson once famously donned police uniforms to sneak into Prince Andrew’s stag night, while Frank Sinatra leaned across the bar to greet Lady Annabel with a lazy, “Hello doll.” The club’s regulars also included The Beatles, though George Harrison was once refused entry for forgetting his tie. “Mark believed in fairness — if one rule was relaxed, it wouldn’t be fair on anyone else,” she said.
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| American industrialist J. Paul Getty at Annabel's with Mrs Dino Da Ponte and Hermione, Lady Ranfurly in 1966 John Downing/Getty Images |
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| Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau leaving Annabel's nightclub with his girlfriend in 1969 John Downing/Getty Images |
And then there were the political heavyweights: Teddy and Ethel Kennedy, Prince Stas Radziwill, and Ian Fleming, who would slip down the spiral staircase from the Clermont to the dance floor — until a falling out between Birley and Aspinall sealed it off for good.
Life Behind the Velvet Rope
Despite misconceptions, Lady Annabel was not the club’s hostess. “Someone once wrote that I pushed the dessert trolley at Annabel’s,” she laughed. “I was horrified. I was mostly in the background, supporting Mark — staying up until four in the morning and then doing the school run at seven because the nanny couldn’t drive.”
Her joy, she admitted, came not from the celebrities but from the camaraderie behind the scenes — particularly with Mabel, the beloved cloakroom attendant. “We used to gossip wildly in the ladies’ room,” she said. “Mabel would slip me into guests’ furs — sables, minks, even an ocelot once! When the owner came back for her lipstick, there I was, wearing it.”
Mabel’s “sink report” — a list of who did or didn’t wash their hands — was legendary, as was her loyalty. “If someone was rude to her, I’d say, ‘God, I’d like to slap them!’ But she’d always tell me, ‘Mustn’t upset Mr Birley.’”
A Life of Glamour and Grace
Today, the original Annabel’s cellar at 44 Berkeley Square has been shuttered, its contents auctioned at Christie’s: the barstools where Jerry Hall once perched, the red velvet sofa where Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell were photographed, and the serene Buddha statue that watched over generations of Mayfair’s elite.
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| Bill Wiggins and Joan Collins during Joan Collins step out of Annabel's in 1987 Tom Wargacki |
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| Raine Spencer, Countess Spencer outside Annabel's private members club in January 1993 Dave Benett/Getty Images |
Now in her eighties, Lady Annabel lived quietly at Ormeley Lodge, a stately Georgian home near Richmond Park. Her days of late-night revelry long behind her, she preferred evenings under the duvet “with a good book and covered in dogs.” Yet her charm and wit remained untouched. “I’m practically lame!” she joked during the interview, as one of her rescue dogs leapt into her lap.
Within the grand yet cozy halls of Ormeley Lodge — walls lined with portraits and family photos — she reminisced about her friendships with Princess Diana and her late husband, financier Sir James Goldsmith, who gifted her the ruby-studded gold cross she wore daily. “Diana was like a daughter to me,” she said softly. “Her death was a terrible blow.”
The Enduring Spirit of Annabel’s
Though she never returned to the new Annabel’s after its 2018 relocation to No. 46 Berkeley Square under new owner Richard Caring, Lady Annabel bore no resentment — only sentiment. “I couldn’t bear to go,” she admitted. “So much of Annabel’s to me is Mark. It was his creation, and I adored him.”
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| Sarah Ferguson leaves Conrad Black's wedding party at Annabel's in July 1992 Dave Benett/Getty Images |
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| Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn seen attending the Vogue BAFTA party at Annabel's in 2019 GOR |
Her portrait — the same one that once hung above the original bar — now occupies a quiet corner of her dining room. “Richard wanted it for the new club,” she said with a smile. “But I negotiated and got it back. He agreed to make a copy instead. So I have the original.”
Lady Annabel Goldsmith will always be remembered not only as the muse behind London’s most glittering social institution, but as the embodiment of its spirit: gracious, mischievous, and endlessly elegant.
From the Beatles to the Kennedys, from Diana to Sinatra, her story captures a vanished era — one of glamour, rebellion, and refined decadence — when London truly ruled the night.
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