Lady Cooper-Key, MP’s wife and sportswoman, dies at 93
LADY Cooper-Key, who combined life as an MP’s wife with a flair for sports that saw her continue skiing into her 80s, has died at the age of 93.
The aunt of Lord Rothermere, chairman of Daily Mail and General Trust, she was heavily involved both in charity work and in the creation of the exclusive ski resort of Méribel in the French Alps.
She was born in 1920, the eldest child of the second Viscount Rothermere, and was a highlyregarded water-skier in the south of France before the Second World War.
In 1941 she married Neill CooperKey, who served as the Conservative MP for Hastings from 1945 to 1970 and was knighted in 1960. The couple had four children – Adrian, Esmond, Emma and Linden. Sir Neill died in 1981. Lady Cooper-Key moved to Monaco in the mid-1970s and stayed there until nearly the end of her life.
She died peacefully at St Theresa’s Home in South Kensington, West London, on Wednesday surrounded by her family.
Lady Cooper-Key is survived by her daughter, Emma Abdy Collins, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, as well as her half-brother, Esmond Harmsworth.
A date for her funeral will be announced in due course.
Her daughter said: ‘She was a fascinating woman. She was articulate, intelligent, very i nvolved in charity work and great fun. She was adored by everybody.’