Ann Geraldine Mary Fleming (, 19 June 1913 – 12 July 1981) was a British aristocrat and

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or 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 ...

. She had three husbands: Lord O'Neill,

Lord Rothermere Viscount Rothermere, of Hemsted in the county of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for the press lord Harold Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth. He had already been created a baronet, of Horsey in ...

and

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, 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., and his ...

Biography

Anne Geraldine Mary Charteris 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; 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 Mary Constance Charteris, Countess of Wemyss and March (''née'' Wyndham; 3 August 1862 – 29 April 1937), styled Lady Elcho from 1883 to 1914, was an English society hostess and an original member of The Souls, an exclusive social and intell ...

,Ann 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 February 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. She was educated by governesses after an unsuccessful term at

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College (CLC) is a private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding and day school for girls aged 11 or older in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school was established in 1853 to provide "a sound academic edu ...

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

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Origin ...

, and in 1932 she married Shane O'Neill, 3rd Baron O'Neill, who was both an aristocrat and a financier. The couple had two children before Ann began an affair with the influential Esmond Cecil Harmsworth 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 Northcl ...

, who owned the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

''. Ann's husband went to war; she then appeared with Harmsworth, as well as having an affair with

, at that time a stockbroker, who became an assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence. In 1940, Esmond Harmsworth became the 2nd Viscount Rothermere. Lord O'Neill was killed in action in 1944, and Ann 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. His early career as a painter was inf ...

(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 oppositio ...

and the artist

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

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

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...

''. He had built

Goldeneye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...

on land in the British

Colony of Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was Invasion of Jamaica (1655), captured by the The Protectorate, English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British Empire, British colon ...

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), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

. 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'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

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. Ann also had a long-term affair with the Labour Party politician

Hugh Gaitskell Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until ...

. 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 18 ...

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 ''Decli ...

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 (British magazine), Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote ''Enemies of Pro ...

and

Peter Quennell Sir Peter Courtney Quennell (9 March 1905 – 27 October 1993) was an English biographer, literary historian, editor, essayist, journalist, poet and critic. He wrote extensively on social history. In his ''Times'' obituary he was described as "th ...

. Ian died in 1964; 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 one of the most prominent family of the Nor ...

Rothermere

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

Chichester family English people of Scottish descent