Lady Annabel Goldsmith, namesake of London’s legendary nightclub Annabel’s, died peacefully at the age of 91 – and fans have spotted a huge mistake with BBC News’ tribute
Lady Annabel Goldsmith died at the age of 91 this week(Image: Getty Images)
BBC News viewers were left baffled following a special tribute to Lady Annabel Goldsmith. The English socialite, author, and political activist died tragically at the age of 91 on October 18, which has left many people devastated.
However, some viewers pointed out a major blunder during the tribute. The broadcaster, marking her passing, appeared to display the dates “2034–2025” rather than the correct birth year of 1934. The mistake was shared by X user Scott Bryan, who joked, “BBC News accidentally implying that Lady Annabel Goldsmith travelled through time.”
Another user quipped, “Weeping Angels are real!” – a reference to the time-travelling stone creatures from Doctor Who who send people into the past.
Social media users couldn’t help but notice the error
Lady Annabel Goldsmith reportedly died peacefully in her sleep. Her son, Zac Goldsmith, paid tribute in The Times as he described her as “quite simply irreplaceable” and said her life had been “extraordinary and complete.”
“She was quite simply irreplaceable,” adding, “We are bereft, not for her – because her life has been extraordinary and complete – but for us, because of the immense hole in our lives she leaves behind.
“I spoke to her every day for 45 years. She truly had my back and we loved each other very much. I will miss her terribly.”
Born Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart, daughter of the 8th Marquess of Londonderry, she became Lady Annabel at age 15. She married Mark Birley at 19, who later opened the iconic Mayfair nightclub Annabel’s in her name in 1963 – still one of London’s most glamorous venues.
The club was frequented by the elite, including Diana, Princess of Wales, who held her hen party there. She and Birley had three children, including Rupert, who was lost at sea in 1986, and Robin, who was mauled by a tiger as a child.
After their separation, she married Sir James Goldsmith, founder of the Referendum Party, describing him as “the most dynamic, charismatic and irresistible man I had ever come across.”
Lady Annabel was also an author, penning a 2004 memoir. Despite her aristocratic background, she once told The Guardian, “Give me dogs, give me children, give me books and I’ll be happy.”
She is survived by five of her six children, including film producer Jemima Goldsmith and former MP Zac Goldsmith. Her family say they are “desperately saddened” by her passing.
She also previously revealed the last words that her friend Princess Diana said to her before her fatal car crash in Paris. Recalling the final conversation, Lady Annabel revealed in 2007 Diana said she needed marriage to Dodi Fayed “like a rash on my face” days before her death.
The Guardian reports Lady Annabel told an inquest into Diana and Dodi’s deaths: “It had been splashed all over the papers. I said to her laughably, ‘you are not going to do anything silly are you?’
“I meant you are not going to do anything silly like rushing off and eloping or getting married and she said ‘I would need marriage like a rash on my face’. It was a very Diana expression.”
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