The party-loving ex-wife of millionaire banker Nat Rothschild, Annabelle Neilson, has died at the age of 49.
The onetime model turned Ladies Of London reality star died last Thursday, after her body was found by the ambulance service at her home in Chelsea, London, police told DailyMail.com. The death is not being treated as suspicious.
Annabelle was a great friend of cover girl Kate Moss and also close to the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen, after becoming his muse aged just 22.
The last person to see McQueen alive, she was left devastated by his death.
Tragic friends: Alexander McQueen’s best friend Annabelle Neilson has passed away aged 49; the two are seen in 2009
‘He was my brother, my boyfriend, my soulmate. Most of the time people called me Mrs McQueen. Quite often we were sharing a bed,’ she told the Daily Mail in 2015.
‘The truth is I was happier with Lee than with anyone else. He asked me to marry him towards the end and I said no. I wish now that I had said yes.’
A British aristocrat, Annabelle shocked high society when she eloped to Las Vegas with Nat Rothschild in 1994.
Rothschild is the only son and heir of banker Jacob Rothschild, and is in line to become the fifth Baron Rothschild and inherit around £500million on his father’s death.
![The last picture: Annabelle is seen with Kate Moss at the wedding of her ex-boyfriend, Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill the Duke of Marlborough's half-brother, at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire last week](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/16/19/4E52736400000578-5959949-image-a-89_1531766507152.jpg)
The last picture: Annabelle is seen with Kate Moss at the wedding of her ex-boyfriend, Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill the Duke of Marlborough’s half-brother, at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire last week
![Well connected: After her divorce from Nat Rothschild, Annabelle dated Edward Spencer Churchill; the two are pictured in 2008](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/16/19/4E528F6A00000578-5959949-image-m-95_1531767040662.jpg)
Well connected: After her divorce from Nat Rothschild, Annabelle dated Edward Spencer Churchill; the two are pictured in 2008
The former couple met on a beach in India, and a close family friend told the Daily Mail at the time of their divorce that Rothschild’s parents had been ‘appalled’ by their then 23-year-old son’s ‘vulgar’ choice of wife.
After just three years of marriage, marked by hard-partying and cataclysmic rows, the couple split and Annabelle reportedly received a generous financial settlement in return for rescinding the dynastic name and signing a confidentiality agreement.
Rothschild reportedly went on to date Natalie Portman and Ivanka Trump, before marrying a topless model, Loretta Basey, two years ago.
Annabelle went on to date Edward Spencer Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough’s half-brother, with the exes remaining close after their break-up.
Indeed the last picture of Annabelle was taken at his marriage last week, held at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. She posed happily alongside her friend Kate Moss in the image.
![Reality star: The late model is pictured in Spain on June 17, in a picture from her Instagram](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/16/19/4E5264D900000578-5959949-image-a-88_1531765364946.jpg)
Reality star: The late model is pictured in Spain on June 17, in a picture from her Instagram
![Reality TV star: She starred in two seasons of Bravo's Ladies of London from 2014 to 2015](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/16/19/4E52836D00000578-5959949-image-a-90_1531766641662.jpg)
Reality TV star: She starred in two seasons of Bravo’s Ladies of London from 2014 to 2015
While her ex-husband’s parents were not pleased by their son’s choice of wife, Annabelle was in fact very well connected – her paternal grandmother was a second cousin of the late Queen Mother.
The brunette beauty was the daughter of Elizabeth, the Marquesa Campus di Santinelli, while her first cousin was the Earl of Warwick. As a young girl Annabelle enjoyed play dates at Warwick Castle.
Growing up, she divided her time between the family’s country estate – Chiltern House in The Chilterns – and a home in West London.
However despite her gilded upbringing, Annabelle’s childhood was far from easy. Severely dyslexic, she was badly bullied at her exclusive private school and left at 16 without any qualifications.
She headed to Australia to stay with family friends, but while there was the victim of a horrific assault. Her attacker, later convicted of killing three women, tied her to a tree and beat her for two hours, leaving her in need of reconstructive surgery.
Left depressed, she was a heroin addict by the time she turned 16. She managed to get herself off hard drugs, but said they helped her survive the brutal experience.
‘In a way, heroin saved me because otherwise I would have killed myself,’ she told the Daily Mail.
![Famous friends: The former model is pictured with Sadie Frost and Kate Moss back in 2015](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/16/19/4E525C8000000578-5959949-image-a-87_1531764661327.jpg)
Famous friends: The former model is pictured with Sadie Frost and Kate Moss back in 2015
![Model royalty: With Kate and Naomi Campbell in 2010 at the Relief Haiti London show](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/16/19/4E525EF800000578-5959949-image-a-91_1531766732474.jpg)
Model royalty: With Kate and Naomi Campbell in 2010 at the Relief Haiti London show
Tall, beautiful and well connected, the young brunette turned to modelling – a decision which changed the course of her life.
It was her work as a muse for McQueen that put Annabelle on the fashion map, after they met when she was just 22.
They were introduced by the late Tatler fashion editor Isabella Blow, who was then the muse of celebrated milliner Philip Treacy.
‘Issie brought me to Lee as a model. She presented me to him as his new girl. Lee loved me immediately and it felt like we knew each other straight away,’ Annabelle told the Daily Mail in 2015.
‘We were so alike. He was also dyslexic; he mirrored me in so many ways.’
![High society: Annabelle with Meg Mathews, John Galliano and Vanessa Perander in 2000 at a Vogue party in Monte Carlo](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/16/20/4E52A98200000578-5959949-image-m-106_1531769246189.jpg)
High society: Annabelle with Meg Mathews, John Galliano and Vanessa Perander in 2000 at a Vogue party in Monte Carlo
![Party life: With designer friends Galliano and McQueen in 2000](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/16/20/4E52A8CB00000578-5959949-image-a-108_1531769400997.jpg)
Party life: With designer friends Galliano and McQueen in 2000
![Brit pack: With Sophie Dahl and Orlando Bloom in 1998 in Mayfair, London](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/16/20/4E52A75000000578-5959949-image-m-110_1531769469938.jpg)
Brit pack: With Sophie Dahl and Orlando Bloom in 1998 in Mayfair, London
Indeed it was while working for McQueen in the early 1990s that Annabelle met Kate and Naomi.
The trio became part of the now infamous Primrose Hill set, where all-night parties at Noel Gallagher and Meg Mathews’ Supernova Heights mansion were the norm.
Annabelle explained: ‘Kate is my best mate and I love her like a sister. Yes, she’s an icon but to me she’s just Kate.
‘We fight over stupid things, then we kiss and make up. We share clothes, we share everything and her fame has never been an issue.
‘She always looks out for me and I look out for her. We’ve got each other’s backs. I’m very proud of her and she’s very proud of me.’
![Long struggle: Severely dyslexic, Annabelle relaunched herself as a children's author two years ago, publishing a series of books, The Me Me Me's; she is seen in 2015](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/16/20/4E528BE000000578-5959949-image-a-111_1531770568197.jpg)
Long struggle: Severely dyslexic, Annabelle relaunched herself as a children’s author two years ago, publishing a series of books, The Me Me Me’s; she is seen in 2015
In later life Annabelle starred in the U.S. reality show Ladies Of London for two seasons, from 2014 to 2015.
She used the series as a way to relaunch herself as a children’s author two years ago, publishing a series of books, The Me Me Me’s.
The show chronicled her life in London, including a devastating horse accident, which left her with multiple broken injuries, including a broken back and pelvis.
While recovering Annabelle was cared for by her parents at their £2.5m home off the Kings Road in Chelsea, West London.
Speaking at the family home on Monday, Annabelle’s father Max told Mail Online:’ I am sorry but I can’t help you. Thank you for calling.’