Annabel Elliot

Annabel Elliot
Born
Sonia Annabel Shand

(1949-02-02) 2 February 1949 (age 75)
Lambeth, London, England
Occupation(s)Interior designer, antiques dealer
Spouse
Simon Elliot
​
​
(m. 1972; died 2023)​
Children3, including Ben
Parents
RelativesQueen Camilla (sister)
Mark Shand (brother)
King Charles III (brother-in-law)

Sonia Annabel Elliot (née Shand;[1] born 2 February 1949)[2] is a British interior designer and antiques dealer. She is the mother of British Conservative politician Sir Ben Elliot, who served as the Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party. She is also the sister of Queen Camilla.[3]

Personal life

Elliot is the daughter of Major Bruce Shand (1917–2006) and his wife, The Honourable Rosalind Cubitt (1921–1994), daughter of the 3rd Baron Ashcombe and Sonia Rosemary Keppel. Her elder sister is Queen Camilla (born 1947), and her brother was travel writer Mark Shand (1951–2014).[4] Elliot went to Florence, Italy, to study fine art.[5]

On 27 April 1972, at the age of 23, she married Simon Elliot (1940–2023), a Dorset landowner and son of Air Chief Marshal Sir William Elliot and Rosemary Chancellor. They have three children, including Sir Ben Elliot, a former Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party.[6]

Career

Elliot is the founder of Annabel Elliot Interior design and antiques, which is based in Dorset. The shop has been running for 30 years.[7] She is also the co-founder of Gillingham-based antiques and interiors emporium Talisman.[8] Her daughter Alice and her husband Luke Irwin are also interior designers and antiques dealers.[9][8]

Elliot has been employed by her brother-in-law King Charles III. She is the chief interior designer of his estates. She first began renovating the Duchy of Cornwall estates. She has designed the interior of 12 Duchy of Cornwall cottages on the Isles of Scilly, holiday cottages at Restormel Castle and has also performed work on King Charles's estate of Llwynywermod in Wales.[7]

In 2011, Elliot renovated Bovey Castle Hotel in Devon and received recognition and positive feedback as an interior designer.[10][11] Bovey Castle Hotel made the 2011 Gold List as one of the world's best places to stay.[12] The same year she helped furnish the new sustainable building of The Duchy Nursery in Lostwithiel in Cornwall.[13]

Elliot furnished Dumfries Lodge House in Ayrshire, Scotland which was opened for business by Charles in 2012.[14] Elliot also furnished the Highgrove House Shops, which sells products for home and garden.[15] In 2016, Elliot helped furnish 20 bedrooms at the Duchess of Cornwall Inn pub at Poundbury village in Dorset.[16]

In 2014, The Daily Telegraph ranked Elliot as the fifth most influential female interior designer in Britain.[17]

Charity work

Elliot was a patron of British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) from 2005; it closed in 2015. She cited her mother Rosalind, who worked for an adoption agency, for influencing her to support the charity.[18] She is also a life member and patron of the Elephant Family, of which her brother Mark was chairman until his death in 2014.[19]

Lady-in-attendance

Annabel Elliot was lady-in-attendance at the couple's coronation in 2023.[20] With her son and daughter-in-law, she was invited to ride in the King's procession at Royal Ascot 2023.[21]

Honours

Country Date Appointment Ribbon
United Kingdom 6 May 2023 King Charles III Coronation Medal

References

  1. ^ "Annabel Shand". findmypast.
  2. ^ "Sonia Annabel Shand Elliot". Ancientfaces.com. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Annabel Elliot". Tatler. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Mark Shand: Farewell to an old-fashioned adventurer". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Sonia Annabel Shand". Stanford.edu. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  6. ^ Kingsley, Thomas (8 March 2023). "Queen Consort 'devastated' as brother-in-law dies after health battle". The Independent. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  7. ^ a b Pierce, Andrew (4 July 2008). "The Prince of Wales last year paid the Duchess of Cornwall's sister for interior design work". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Interiors: an 18th-century cottage gets a facelift". The Daily Telegraph. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Camilla attends niece wedding". Hello. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  10. ^ "Annabel Elliot, Interior designer". Duchy of Cornwall Nursery. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Spotlight on...Bovey Castle". 2 April 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  12. ^ "The Gold List 2011". Cntraveler.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  13. ^ "Charles and Camilla launch new nursery". Cornish Guardian. 20 July 2011. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  14. ^ "Dumfries Lodge House". Furtherafield.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  15. ^ "The English Home team at Highgrove". theenglishhome.co.uk. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  16. ^ "Meeting the residents and businesses owners of Poundbury". dorsetmagazine.co.uk. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  17. ^ "Why are these Britain's most influential female designers?". The Daily Telegraph. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  18. ^ "Who we are: President and Patrons". baaf.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 April 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  19. ^ "Hon Life Patrons". elephantfamily.org. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  20. ^ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Ascot Racecourse on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 29 June 2023.