Lady Major DBE |
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Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
In role 28 November 1990 – 2 May 1997 |
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Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | John Major |
Preceded by | Denis Thatcher |
Succeeded by | Cherie Blair |
Personal details | |
Born |
Norma Wagstaff 12 February 1942 Shropshire, England |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | John Major |
Children | James Major Elizabeth Major |
Education | London South Bank University |
Religion | Church of England |
Dame Norma Christina Elizabeth Major, Lady Major, DBE (born 12 February 1942), née Wagstaff and later Johnson, is the wife of Sir John Major, the former British Prime Minister. Major has been a keen supporter of the British Conservative Party.
She is the daughter of the late Norman Wagstaff and the late Edith Johnson, and was born Norma Christina Elizabeth Wagstaff. She was born in Shropshire while her father was stationed there. He was killed in a motorcycle accident a few days after the end of World War II, when Norma was three years old, and her mother subsequently changed the family name back to her maiden name, so that she was called Norma Johnson as she was growing up.
Norma was educated at a boarding school in Bexhill-on-Sea, Oakfield Preparatory School in Dulwich, and Peckham School for Girls where she was Head Girl. She was a skilled dressmaker and trained as a teacher, working at St Michael and All Angels Church of England School, Camberwell. She was also a member of the Young Conservatives.
At a Conservative Party meeting during the campaign for the 1970 Greater London Council elections she was introduced to John Major by Peter Golds, a party agent. They married on 3 October 1970.
The Majors have a son, James Major, and a daughter, Elizabeth Major. She kept a low profile during her time as wife to the Prime Minister (November 1990 to May 1997), doing charity work and writing two books, Chequers: The Prime Minister's Country House and its History (1997) and Joan Sutherland: The Authorised Biography (1994).