RENWICK, Rt Hon Homayoun Baroness 1929-2023
Richard R
Lady Renwick obituary
Iranian-born socialite who interviewed Ayatollah Khomeini before making her home in Britain, where she was dubbed ‘the caviar queen’
… She was born in Tehran in 1939, one of five children of Major Mahmoud Yazdanparast Pakzad and his wife Nusrat al-Muluk. As a teenager, she took an interest in politics and was offered a job on the news desk of a television station, where she met her future husband. In 1960, at the age of 22, Homayoun married Youssef (Joe) Mazandi and they had two children: a daughter, Yassemine (Yassi), and a son, Shariar…
… In 1972 she moved to London and divorced Joe in 1986. The children were sent to boarding schools, Heathfield and Harrow, but their mother remained an opinionated presence. When Yassi’s expulsion loomed for being involved in a student protest, her mother was disappointed to read in a letter from the school that Yassi was “a sheep”. When questioned, a curt headmistress clarified that Yassi was in fact “a wolf” who had commanded the march. Relieved and proud, she congratulated the headmistress on educating independent-thinking leaders. There were no expulsions…
… In 1989 Homayoun married Harry Andrew Renwick, 2nd Baron Renwick. At their wedding reception in the Houses of Parliament, a globe of golden beluga caviar was served with fanfare on a large silver platter…
… She is survived by her children Shariar Mazandi, an artist and hotelier in Hastings, and Yassi Mazandi Castilla, a sculptor and artist in Los Angeles.
When Lord Renwick suffered ill health, Homayoun turned her attention to her husband, caring for him until his death in 2020. Though she downsized homes in later years and the parties became more intimate and infrequent, she remained an indomitable spirit and renowned figurehead for Persia…
Homayoun Mazandi, Lady Renwick, was born on July 11, 1939. She died of kidney failure on July 5, 2023, aged 83
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lady-renwick-obituary-9f0jg7gsp
