Lady Douglas Has Travelled Widely

Press, Volume C, Issue 29536, 10 June 1961, Page 2

Lady Douglas Has Travelled Widely

t By SV SAN Who Is the world's most travelled woman? One of the contenders for the title must be 41-year-old Lady Douglas, wife of the chairman of British European Airways, Lord Douglas of Kirtleside. Wherever her husband goes—on short hops around the European routes of B.E.A. or on longer trips to deal with airline matters in such faraway places at Moscow, Los Angeles and Tokyo Lady Douglas usually manages to spare

the time to go too. It is an accepted practice among the world’s great airlines that when a top executive travels abroad on business, his wife may go along free. Many wives make use of this opportunity; but few do with the enthusiasm of Lady Douglas. She takes care to point out, however, that these are not just pleasure jaunts. "I can give my husband a kind of woman's eye view of the airways,” she told me. “It can be quite important.” One suggestion she made led to shorter skirts and generally more fetching uni-

VAUGHAN] forms for B.E.A. stewardesses and receptionists. Lady Douglas made her suggestion with authority. Before her marriage to Lord Douglas she was a top fashion model—a job she got after answering an advertisement from her secretary’s desk at the Admiralty. She is still in tip-top fashion trim. Her four-inch heels worn on a visit to Moscow were the highest the Russians had seen. She has the sort of figure that can wear ready-made clothes as though they had been made especially for her. Most of her day clothes—suits, skirts, jumpers and so on—are bought from a chain store. And after wearing them all over the world she has never met an identical garment. » She has also gained fame ■ as a result of her lively con- ■ versational opening gambits. • One day at a cocktail party ! she went up to the shipowner, • Aristotle Onassis, and rer marked: “I’ve never launched t a tanker.” Tanker Ready t It happened that Onassis , had a tanker ready for ’ launching. “Then you must launch one for me,” he said. ‘ On her Moscow trip, she E had a selection of handy 1 phrases ready in Russian. "Bottoms Up” and "How is ? Mr K?” were two of them. I She couldn't understand the ■ replies, but they certainly • help to keep the conversation going. Lord Douglas is her second husband—her first was killed during the war. And she is the second wife of 66-year-old Lord Douglas. His first marriage was dissolved. They have a three-year-old daughter. Katharine. And who do you think is one of the world's most travelled children?