Everything You Need to Know About Tony Blair's Family
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Over the course of his decade-long tenure at 10 Downing Street, former Prime Minister Tony Blair saw some historic moments for both the UK and its royal family. Naturally, Blair's position means he's featured notably in the latest season of Netflix's The Crown, along with a few glimpses of his family. Want to know more about the family behind the PM? Here's a rundown of Tony Blair's wife and children.
Cherie Blair
Know professionally as Cherie Booth, she was born in 1954 to actors Gale Smith and Tony Booth—her father would later become well known for his role on the BBC show Till Death Us Do Part, though he had abandoned their family before his success. Cherie studied law at the London School of Economics, and in 1976, met fellow lawyer and future prime minister Tony Blair. The couple married in 1980 and went on to have four children.
While Cherie was active in the Labour party and even ran for a parliamentary position in the early '80s, she ultimately returned her focus to the law, particularly on human rights cases and supporting causes promoting women's issues. She became the first spouse of a prime minister to maintain a separate career while her husband was in office, founding the law firms Matrix Chambers during that period, and later the firm Omnia Strategy.
Speaking for Myself
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Despite maintaining her legal career rather than becoming a "political spouse" Cherie has been considered one of the most controversial spouses of a prime minister. "The P.R. wasn’t very good—that’s for sure," she told Vanity Fair in 2008 of her reputation as first lady. "Just looking at the press cuttings, you couldn’t say that it was a triumph, could you!"
In particular, in 2002, Cherie became the center of an incident later referred to as "Cherie-gate" in which Cherie's friend Carole Caplin and her boyfriend Peter Foster were involved in negotiating real estate deals on behalf of the Blairs. Foster was later revealed to be a known con man with jail sentences on three continents, and was also facing deportation at the time of their acquaintance, per Vanity Fair. Cherie made a public apology for the incident.
Reportedly less monarchist-minded than her husband, Cherie likewise caused a stir when she did not curtsey to Queen Elizabeth on her first visit to Balmoral in 1997, according to GQ. Likewise, Cherie wrote in her 2008 memoir Speaking For Myself, upon first meeting she told Princess Anne to call her Cherie rather than Mrs. Blair. When the princess informer her that was not how she'd been brought up, Cherie replied "What a shame." Her relationship with the princess, she said, "never recovered."
In 2008, after Tony Blair left office, she established the non-profit foundation the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, which aims to support women entrepreneurs in the developing world. According to their website, they have helped, "more than 230,000 women to build successful micro, small and medium enterprises in over 100 countries."
Euan Blair
The eldest of Tony and Cherie Blair's four children, Euan was born in 1984. As a teenager, he garnered public attention when he was found to be "drunk and incapable" in Leicester Square by police following his GCSEs (a set of qualifications in the UK, similar to a high school diploma in the U.S.) One of the properties involved in the "Cherie-gate" scandal (see above) was also reportedly for Euan.
Euan studied ancient history at the University of Bristol and later received a masters in international relations at Yale. However, despite his educational pedigree, Euan has ultimately made his name in eschewing the traditional university system. In 2016, he and Sophie Adelman set up the brand White Hat, which later changed its name to Multiverse, an apprenticeship and professional training service that Euan told The Guardian is, "a genuine, credible alternative that can compete with university." As of 2022, the business, which has been backed by Google and the Walton family (of Walmart fame) was valued at £700 million, with his personal worth estimated at £345 million.
In 2013, Euan married venture capitalist Suzanne Ashman, with whom he as two children.
Carrying on the family tradition, Euan also received an MBE (The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2022 from Queen Elizabeth—just six months after his father Tony was knighted.
Nicholas Blair
Better known as Nicky, the Blairs second son has made his name in the world of athletics, albeit off the field. After attending Oxford and doing a stint as a teacher at an inner-city school, Nicky became known as a sports agent, primarily focused on football talent (though The Standard notes he has been a solicitor since 2012.) He is married to divorce attorney Alexandra Bevir.
Kathryn Blair
The Blair's only daughter, Kathryn, followed her mother into the law, becoming a barrister after studying at King’s College London. In 2019 she married James Haslam in Sardinia
Leo Blair
Born in 2000, Leo made history by becoming the first child to be born to a serving British prime minister in more than 150 years. As of 2022, he was a student at Oxford.
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