31 Facts About Baroness Trumpington

1. Baroness Trumpington's died in her sleep on 26 November 2018.

2. Baroness Trumpington's enjoyed contract bridge, needlepoint and horse racing, In January 2010, while she was out, her flat in Battersea caught fire; her possessions were badly damaged.

3. On 30 November 2012, Baroness Trumpington was a guest panellist on the BBC TV's satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You; at the age of 90 she was the oldest guest to have appeared on the programme.

4. Baroness Trumpington's was appointed a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 2005.

5. Baroness Trumpington's retired from the House of Lords on 24 October 2017, one day after her 95th birthday.

6. Baroness Trumpington's had initiated the debate on 24 June 2004, and was widely praised for so doing.

7. Baroness Trumpington's voted against the bill to make a referendum necessary to transfer powers back from EU to UK.

8. Baroness Trumpington's was one of the few officials on hand in 1990 to recognise the new State of Mongolia, subsequently travelling to Ulan Bator to deal with KGB-backed Russian investors on a construction project.

9. Baroness Trumpington's continued until 1992, serving during John Major's administration as Minister of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, when at age 69 she was the oldest female minister ever.

10. Baroness Trumpington's was promoted to number two at the ministry in 1989 when the Prime Minister was still creating hereditary peerages; she valued her friendship and support.

11. Baroness Trumpington's was a member of the Farmers' Club and Grillion's Club in London.

12. Baroness Trumpington's became a resident expert on the committee, where she sat until 2010.

13. Baroness Trumpington's had an extensive address book in the United States; managing British interests on the Council in New York gave her a social profile that befitted her class status and ambition, but was nonetheless useful networking for the British Government.

14. Baroness Trumpington's served on various public bodies, including chair of the Air Transport Users Committee.

15. Baroness Trumpington's was one of the few who could get along well with the leader of her party, Margaret Thatcher.

16. Baroness Trumpington's sought election to Parliament, and reached the short list for the Isle of Ely for the October 1974 election.

17. Baroness Trumpington's re-entered politics in 1973, when she was elected to Cambridgeshire County Council for the Trumpington division but resigned in 1975 over the rapist scandal.

18. Baroness Trumpington's raised funds for Addenbrooke's Hospital and the Indo-Pakistan War Relief Fund, and undertook a swimathon.

19. Baroness Trumpington's arranged to "twin" Cambridge with three other great university cities, Florence, Heidelberg and Split.

20. Baroness Trumpington's granted the Freedom of Cambridge to RAF Oakington, revived the town's market, installed a travel centre, and built an entrance hall to the railway station.

21. Baroness Trumpington's was a member of the Rheumatism and Arthritis Association, which began serious research work on debilitation at Cambridge laboratories.

22. Baroness Trumpington's was appointed governor of the one in Cambridge, and moved to Cambridge where her voluntary work continued.

23. Baroness Trumpington's was forced to apply for a licence to the Solicitor-General to become the first couple in modern times to hold a wedding at the Chapel of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, which took place on 18 March 1954.

24. Baroness Trumpington's shared a flat above the Stork Club on East 52nd Street, off Park Avenue.

25. In 1952, Baroness Trumpington moved to America, travelling on board RMS Mauretania and arriving at New York on 28 January.

26. Baroness Trumpington's maintained a passion for tennis and French fashion.

27. Baroness Trumpington's went to parties at the Ritz and Crillion Club, frequented by politicians.

28. Baroness Trumpington's was billeted at Great Brickhill with W J Locke's family, before moving to Passenham Manor, home of banker George Ansley.

29. Baroness Trumpington's had two brothers educated at Eton; the elder, Alastair, was at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

30. Baroness Trumpington's spent a year at Montrichard receiving coaching from French tennis champion Jean Borotra.

31. On 30 November 2012 Baroness Trumpington was a guest panellist on the BBC TV's satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You; at the age of 90 she was the oldest guest to have appeared on the programme.