Annabel Elliot

Sonia Annabel Elliot (née Shand;[1] born 2 February 1949)[2] is an English interior designer and antiques dealer. She is the mother of British Conservative politician Ben Elliot, who serves as the Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party and sister of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, a member of the British royal family.[3]

Annabel Elliot
Born
Sonia Annabel Shand

(1949-02-02) 2 February 1949
Lambeth, London, England
OccupationInterior designer, antiques dealer
Spouse(s)
Simon Elliot
​
(m. 1972)​
Children3, including Ben
Parents
RelativesCamilla, Duchess of Cornwall (sister)
Mark Shand (brother)

Personal life

Elliot is the daughter of Major Bruce Shand (1917–2006) and his wife, the Hon. Rosalind Maud Cubitt (1921–1994), daughter of the 3rd Baron Ashcombe and Sonia Rosemary Keppel. Her elder sister is Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, 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, a Dorset landowner and son of Air Chief Marshal Sir William Elliot and Rosemary Chancellor. They have three children: Ben (the current Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, born 1975), Alice (born 1977) and Catherine (born 1981).[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 Prince Charles. 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 Cornwalls cottages on the Isles of Scilly, holiday cottages at Restormel Castle and has also performed work on Prince Charles's estate 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.[13] Elliot furnished Dumfries Lodge House in Ayrshire, Scotland which was opened for business by Prince 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.[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]

Ancestry

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. "Sonia Annabel Shand". The Peerage. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  7. 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. "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. 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. 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.
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