Who is the UK’s new ‘first lady’ Victoria Starmer? The incoming prime minister’s wife works for the NHS and caught a Taylor Swift concert with husband Keir Starmer – why was she compared to Kate Middleton?
- Victoria and Keir Starmer met when they were both lawyers, and the first thing she reportedly said about her future husband, the new prime minister, was, ‘Who the f*** does he think he is?’
- She’s vegetarian, volunteered for Tony Blair, and keeps a low profile but was recently photographed at a Taylor Swift concert with Keir, who said ‘Change’ is his favourite Swift song
Move over, Rishi Sunak - the Starmers are moving into 10 Downing Street! With Labour winning a historic landside in the July 4 UK elections, Keir Starmer is officially the next prime minister, ending 14 years of Tory rule. While the UK doesn’t do first ladies, strictly speaking at least, all eyes are now on the Labour leader’s wife Victoria Starmer –perhaps especially because so little is known about her.
Throughout this election campaign, Lady Starmer has maintained her strikingly low profile, prompting discussions about how she could have been her husband’s greatest asset had she stepped into the spotlight. She has been nicknamed the “reluctant first lady”, but some argue that she simply has her priorities in check.
So, who is the “sassy” spouse of Sir Keir (says Grazia, anyway), and will she be able to transition smoothly into the role of, well, first lady? For one, as the wife of a knight of the empire, she’s already a lady – yep, the new PM was knighted following his work as a human rights lawyer and prosecutor.
Here’s what else we know.
What is Victoria Starmer’s background?
Victoria Starmer is believed to be aged 49 – more than a decade younger than the 61-year-old incoming PM – and has called north London home for most of her life. She grew up in the affluent neighbourhood of Gospel Oak with her sister Judith and their parents, both of whom are British. Her father is from a Jewish family who immigrated to the UK from Poland before World War II.
Starmer’s father worked as an economics lecturer before taking on the job of a chartered accountant later in life. Her mother was a Yorkshire woman who worked as a community doctor and later became a renowned general practitioner in London. She converted to Judaism after marrying her husband.
Lady Starmer went to Gospel Oak Primary School, where her sister was once a teacher, and then Channing School in Highgate for her secondary education. She studied law and sociology at Cardiff University.
Lady Starmer was a student union president
