Lady Healey

Edna Healey died peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday morning at Eastbourne General Hospital, East Sussex. She was 92.

A distinguished author, historian and film-maker, lecturer and broadcaster, Lady Healey leaves her husband Denis, three children and four grandchildren.

While her husband was forging his own career as one of Britain's leading post-war politicians, she became a well-known and much respected figure in the literary world. Some of her works reached the best-seller list.

Lady Healey was born in the Forest of Dean on June 14 1918, the daughter of a crane-driver, and read English at Oxford University.

She married Denis – fresh from his wartime military exploits – in 1945 and their marriage endured happily for more than 60 years. The couple had met at Oxford before the war.

She wrote and presented some prize-winning documentary television films. Her first book was the best-selling biography of philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts, called Lady Unknown, which won a Yorkshire Post literary award.

Her other major works included Wives Of Fame, The Queen's House: A Social History Of Buckingham Palace, and Emma Darwin, The Inspirational Wife Of A Genius.

She travelled with her husband on many of his official trips, meeting world leaders.

Lady Healey knew every Labour prime minister from Clement Attlee to Gordon Brown and wrote about them with great insight and candour.

Although the couple lived in Sussex for many years, she retained strong connections with her native Forest of Dean.

Harriet Harman, acting leader of the Labour Party, said: "Edna Healey was a remarkable woman, a writer and film-maker of distinction and a true friend to the Labour Party over many decades."