support of her husband's political career, becoming a magistrate and running the Clothing Exchange, which played a major role in helping the victims of the East Coast floods in 1953. Eventually she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). She lived with the children in Halesworth to be near her father, who died in 1969 aged 91. The family fortune was wiped out by death duties and a stock market crash. She restarted her affair with Simon Elwes, and then had a long relationship with Sir John Davis, chairman of Rank Xerox. Gardening was another passion. She created a garden at Playford, her moated Tudor house near Ipswich. Later she created an English garden at her house near Santa Eulalia on the Spanish island of Ibiza, smuggling sacks of soil and rare plants through customs. Lady Aitken continued to be seen at many parties and with many men. Satirist and broadcaster Noel Picarda instantly fell in love with her, and eventually became her live-in companion until his death in 2003. Her house and her parties were often the scene of political machinations in Conservative circles and she was often seen holding court among politicians or her family, whether in London, her local pub or the Gironde. Aitken died of cancer, She had two children – Jonathan Aitken and Maria Aitken. She was the grandmother of the actor Jack Davenport, Petrina Khashoggi (biological daughter of Jonathan Aitken and Soraya Khashoggi (née Sandra Daly), conceived while she was married to Adnan Khashoggi), Victoria Aitken, Alexandra Aitken and William Aitken. She is buried in the churchyard of St. Mary's, Playford, Suffolk. References 1910 births 2005 deaths Aitken family British debutantes English socialites Daughters of barons Wives of knights Members of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from cancer in England People from Halesworth