Ann Geraldine Mary Fleming (, 19 June 1913 – 12 July 1981), previously known as Lady O'Neill and Viscountess Rothermere, was a British

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having tradit ...

. She married firstly Lord O'Neill, secondly Lord Rothermere, and finally the writer

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., an ...

. She also had affairs with the Labour Party politicians

Hugh Gaitskell Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until his death in 1963. An economics lecturer and wartime civil servant ...

and

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lab ...

Life

Fleming was born to Frances Lucy Tennant (1887–1925) and Captain Guy Lawrence Charteris (1886–1967) in Westminster, London on 19 June 1913. She was the eldest daughter and her grandfather was

Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss and 7th Earl of March DL (25 August 1857 – 12 July 1937), styled Lord Elcho from 1883 to 1914, was a British Conservative politician. Early life He was the fifth but eldest surviving son of The 1 ...

. Her grandmother was Mary Constance Wyndham,Anne Fleming
Spartacus, Retrieved 5 February 2017 who had her own hedonistic past, having been one of

The Souls The Souls was a small loosely-knit but distinctive elite social and intellectual group in the United Kingdom from 1885 to the turn of the century. Many of the most distinguished British politicians and intellectuals of the time were members. Th ...

.Jane Ridley, Clayre Percy, "Charteris , Mary Constance, Countess of Wemyss (1862–1937)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, October 200
accessed 9 Feb 2017
/ref> Her sister was

Laura Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Frances Laura Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (''née'' Charteris; 10 August 1915 – 19 February 1990), was a British noblewoman and socialite. She was variously Viscountess Long, Countess of Dudley and became Duchess of Marlborough u ...

and her brother was the novelist

Hugo Charteris Hugo Francis Guy Charteris MC (11 December 1922 – 20 December 1970) was a noted British novelist and screenwriter, the author of nine novels, 17 television screenplays and numerous children's books and short stories. Early life Charteris wa ...

. She was educated by governesses after an unsuccessful term at

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to p ...

. She had a good understanding of literature but her future was to be a

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante, ( ; from french: débutante , "female beginner") or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and, as a new adult, is presented to society at a formal ...

and she quickly married Shane O'Neill, 3rd Baron O'Neill who was both an aristocrat and a financier in 1932. She had two children before beginning an affair with the influential

Esmond Cecil Harmsworth Esmond Cecil Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere (29 May 1898 – 12 July 1978) was a British Conservative politician and press magnate. Early life Harmsworth was the third son of Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, who had founded the ...

in 1936. Harmsworth was the heir to

Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, (26 April 1868 – 26 November 1940) was a leading British newspaper proprietor who owned Associated Newspapers Ltd. He is best known, like his brother Alfred Harmsworth, later Viscount Nort ...

, who owned the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

''. Her husband went to war and Ann appeared with Harmsworth as well as having an affair with

, then a stockbroker, who became an assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence. In 1940, Harmsworth became Lord Rothermere. Her husband was killed in action in 1944 and she married Lord Rothermere in 1945. The couple entertained and their social circle included the painter

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

(who painted her portrait), the choreographer

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the opposit ...

and the artist

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

. Meanwhile, Ian Fleming left the navy and became a journalist with ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

''. He had built

Goldeneye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the se ...

on land in Jamaica and he had demanded three-month vacations from his employer to enjoy his holiday home. The two spent three months of every year together in Jamaica.Andrew Lycett, "Fleming, Ian Lancaster (1908–1964)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, October 200
accessed 9 February 2017
/ref> Her new husband thought she was in Jamaica to visit

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

. In 1951 she was divorced by Lord Rothermere, and the following year she married Fleming. They had one child, Caspar. Ann was pregnant with her son when they married; he was born on 12 August 1952. Anxiety over his forthcoming marriage is said to be the reason that Ian Fleming wrote the first

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

novel, '' Casino Royale''. Ann had a £100,000 divorce settlement and Fleming sought additional sources of revenue to add to his salary from ''The Sunday Times''. The book and its sequels were immediate successes. The Flemings bought a house in London, where they entertained. They later rebuilt

Warneford Place Warneford Place, also known as Sevenhampton Place, is a Grade II listed country house in Sevenhampton, south of Highworth, in Wiltshire, England. The main house is modern but is listed because it incorporates some features from the original 18th ...

at Sevenhampton, near Swindon, renaming it Sevenhampton Place and moving there in 1963. Her husband was not keen on the socialising, but their houses attracted

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine '' Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote ''Enemies of Promise'' (1938), which comb ...

and

Peter Quennell Sir Peter Courtney Quennell (9 March 1905 – 27 October 1993) was an English biographer, literary historian, editor, essayist, poet, and critic. He wrote extensively on social history. Life Born in Bickley, Kent, the son of architect C. ...

. Ian died in 1964 and their son Caspar died in London in October 1975 from an overdose of narcotics. Ann Fleming died at Sevenhampton Place on 12 July 1981.Andrew Lycett, "Fleming , Ann Geraldine Mary ther married names Ann Geraldine Mary O'Neill, Lady O'Neill; Ann Geraldine Mary Harmsworth, Viscountess Rothermere(1913–1981)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, May 201
accessed 9 February 2017
/ref> Both were buried alongside Ian at the church of St James in Sevenhampton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Ann 1913 births 1981 deaths People from Westminster English socialites

O'Neill The O'Neill dynasty ( Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin, that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically the most prominent family of the Northe ...

Rothermere

Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in th ...

Chichester family English people of Scottish descent