The tragedy of Lucy Birley – and the sadness of the gilded society set

The death of society beauty, photographer, and countrywoman Lucy Birley, aged 58, marks not merely a tragedy for her family, but has the feel of the end of an era. Born Lucy Helmore, she found fame as Mrs Bryan Ferry in the Eighties and Nineties, more recently as wife of nightclub owner Robin Birley. Her death this week came while on holiday in Ireland, surrounded by her beloved dogs. Her brother, journalist Ed Helmore, remarked: “Lucy fought a long battle with depression, a battle that she lost on Monday”. 

Birley’s death came less than two weeks after her friend, model and fellow socialite, Annabelle Nielson, was found dead of an apparent heart attack at her parents’ Chelsea home, aged just...