Key role in Queen’s inner circle
LADY Celia Vestey was part of the Queen’s racing circle and, as a close friend of Prince Charles, she was one of six godparents to Prince Harry.
A guest at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s nuptials in 2011, she was very much part of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding in 2018 at St George’s Chapel.
Lord and Lady Vestey were delighted to be present at Prince Harry’s christening in 1984 with Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
She was born Celia Elizabeth Knight in 1949 and married Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey, in 1981. The couple had three children, William, Arthur and Henrietta.
Her husband was the Royal Household’s Master of the Horse from 1999 to 2018 and then became one Her Majesty’s Lords in Waiting.
Prince Harry has been in contact with the family to express his condolences. It is believed Lady Vestey took a close interest in his life.
One of Britain’s richest men, Lord Vestey is said to have a £ 750million fortune through his food business, Vestey Holdings, and has a 6,000- acre estate in Gloucestershire.
Lord and Lady Vestey joined the Queen and Prince Charles in the Royal Box at Cheltenham and stayed as guests at Sandringham on several occasions.
Lord and Lady Vestey married at Wantage Register Office in a quiet ceremony. He had previously been married to Kathryn Eccles with
whom he has two daughters. The honourable William Vestey is said to be a close friend of Prince William.
In recent years Lady Vestey had been seen walking with a stick but had appeared to be otherwise in good health. She died suddenly but peacefully.