Annabel Elliot

Sonia Annabel Shand^[1] was born on 2 February 1949,^[2] the second daughter of Major Bruce Shand (1917–2006) and his wife, The Honourable Rosalind Cubitt (1921–1994), daughter of the 3rd Baron Ashcombe and Sonia Rosemary Keppel. Her elder sister is Queen Camilla (born 1947), and her brother was the travel writer Mark Shand (1951–2014).^[3] Shand later studied fine art in Florence, Italy.^[4]

On 27 April 1972, at the age of 23, she married Simon Elliot (1940–2023), a Dorset landowner and the son of Air Chief Marshal Sir William Elliot and Rosemary Chancellor. The couple had three children, including Sir Ben Elliot, a former Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party.^[5]

Elliot is the founder of Annabel Elliot Interior Design and Antiques, based in Dorset. The business has been operating for 30 years.^[6] She is also the co-founder of Talisman, an antiques and interiors emporium located in Gillingham.^[7] Her daughter Alice and son-in-law Luke Irwin are likewise interior designers and antiques dealers.^[8][7]

Elliot has undertaken work for her brother‑in‑law, King Charles III, serving as the chief interior designer for his estates. She initially worked on the renovation of properties within the Duchy of Cornwall. Her projects have included the interiors of 12 Duchy of Cornwall cottages on the Isles of Scilly, holiday cottages at Restormel Castle, and work on the King's Welsh estate at Llwynywermod. ^[6]

In 2011, Elliot renovated Bovey Castle Hotel in Devon, receiving positive recognition for her work.^[9][10] The hotel was included in the 2011 Gold List of the world's best places to stay.^[11] That same year, she contributed to the furnishing of the new sustainable building at the Duchy Nursery in Lostwithiel, Cornwall.^[12]

Elliot furnished Dumfries Lodge House in Ayrshire, Scotland, which was opened for business by Charles in 2012.^[13] She also furnished the Highgrove House Shops, which sell home and garden products.^[14] In 2016, she worked on the interiors of 20 bedrooms at the Duchess of Cornwall Inn in Poundbury, Dorset.^[15]

In 2014, The Daily Telegraph ranked Elliot as the fifth most influential female interior designer in Britain.^[16]

Elliot was a patron of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) from 2005 until its closure in 2015. She cited her mother, Rosalind, who worked for an adoption agency, as the influence behind her support for the organisation.^[17] She is also a life member and patron of the Elephant Family, of which her brother Mark served as chairman until his death in 2014.^[18]

Elliot served as lady‑in‑attendance at Charles and Camilla's coronation in 2023,^[19] and later that year she, along with her son and daughter‑in‑law, was invited to ride in the King's procession at Royal Ascot.^[20]