Jonathan Montagu is sad to report the death of his mother Fiona, Lady Montagu. She passed away peacefully at her home in London following a short illness on Sunday 14th May. She spent her last week surrounded by her close family including Jonathan, Nathalie, her grand-daughter Akina, Ralph and Mary.
Fiona, Lady Montagu was born in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), the daughter of Richard and Isobel Herbert. She attended finishing school in Switzerland after which she worked as a film production assistant in Britain before marrying Edward, Lord Montagu in September 1974. As Lady Montagu of Beaulieu, she became a champion of the newly established Countryside Education Trust, raising considerable funds for the charity, particularly through an annual Christmas Fair which she organised at Palace House.
She served as an international advisor to the World Centre of Compassion for Children, was a trustee of Vision-in-Action, led by Yasuhiko Kimura, and became a Patron of the Relational Thinking Network. She was instrumental in the foundation of the Club of Budapest, an informal association of people in art, literature and culture, and was appointed their first global ambassador. This gave rise to the formation of the World Wisdom Council which promotes the idea of change through a new dimension of consciousness.
Since the death of Edward, Lord Montagu in 2015, she lived in London. The family intends to hold a private funeral which will be followed by a service of thanksgiving for her life at a later date.
Fiona was a keen philanthropist and a key supporter of the Countryside Education Trust, helping with fundraising and organising an annual Christmas Fair at Palace House. She was also an international advisor to the World Centre of Compassion for Children, a trustee of Vision-in-Action and a Patron of the Relational Thinking Network. She aided the foundation of the Club of Budapest, ‘a group of eminent individuals dedicated to a global shift toward a more peaceful, equitable, and sustainable world’, and was appointed its first global ambassador. The Club of Budpaest went on to convene the World Wisdom Council, which ‘seeks to cultivate wisdom as the highest priority for our time through various means’.