Marcia Williams
The Baroness Falkender | |
|---|---|
Falkender on Talking Personally, 1984 | |
| Political Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 4 March 1974 – 5 April 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Douglas Hurd |
| Succeeded by | Tom McNally |
| In office 16 October 1964 – 19 June 1970 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Hurd |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Life peerage 11 July 1974 – 6 February 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marcia Field 10 March 1932 Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, England |
| Died | 6 February 2019 (aged 86) Southam, Warwickshire, England |
| Party | Labour |
| Spouse |
George Edmund Charles Williams
(m. 1955; div. 1961) |
| Children | 2 (by Walter Terry) |
| Education | Northampton High School, England |
| Alma mater | Queen Mary University of London |
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Marcia Matilda Williams, Baroness Falkender, CBE (née Field; 10 March 1932 – 6 February 2019), also known as Marcia Falkender, was the private secretary for, and then the political secretary and head of political office to, UK Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
Williams was known as Harold Wilson's closest confidant. Clever and sharp-witted, she had more power than most cabinet ministers, but her tirades caused tensions within Number 10. As a result, she was a deeply divisive figure. There was also speculation that Wilson had an affair with her, but if so, it appears to have been over long before Wilson came to power.