Jane Stevens, Cara Delevingne’s grandmother, and the former lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, has died.
Known as Janie Sheffield, the 85-year-old was a close confidante of the late royal up until her death in 2002.
Similarly to her granddaughter, Sheffield had a “glittering career” as a model for Sir Norman Hartnell, a leading British designer renowned for his work for the royal family, in her younger years before becoming Princess Margaret’s lady-in-waiting in 1970.
“She was stunning, elegant and had a great sense of fun,” her daughter Pandora Delevingne, mother of Cara, told the Daily Mail.
“She was passionate about so many things. She loved horse racing and was really good at tennis, playing until two years ago. She’ll be sorely missed.”
Sheffield was born into high society, with both her grandfathers being baronets.
She was married for 23 years to publisher Sir Jocelyn Stevens, a former managing director of the Evening Standard and chairman of English Heritage, and had four children.
On the subject of her relationship with Princess Margaret, Sheffield said “there was never a dull moment” and that “fun and laughter” was often the order of the day.
In the TV series Margaret: The Rebel Princess, Sheffield recalled an occasion when she was entrusted to drive the royal after her chauffeur had fallen ill.
She had never driven a Rolls Royce before and upon departing Buckingham Palace found motorcyclists crashing into the side of the luxury vehicle.
Margaret simply commented, “Drive, drive on, Janey,” and assured her not to worry.
Sheffield leaves behind four children and several grandchildren, including Cara and Poppy Delevingne.
In a January 2022 interview with Harpers Bazaar, Cara Delevingne spoke out about the difficulties her family experienced growing up.
Her mother, Pandora, struggled with heroin addiction prior to the birth of she and her sisters, and was later diagnosed with manic depression and bipolar disorder when Cara and her sisters were still young.
She said: “Everyone has something they go through with their family. My life I feel was very stressful, because there was quite a lot of chaos, not being sure if people were OK or not.”
