Poppy Delevingne opens up about family tragedy playing on her mind in run-up to Christmas

Poppy Delevingne says she is struggling to come to terms with the death of her grandmother with the Christmas holidays fast approaching.

The model and actress, 36, who is the sister of fellow catwalk star Cara Delevingne, was very close to her maternal grandmother, Jane Stevens, who was the former lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret and died in April aged 85.

Speaking to the Standard at the 2022 Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards at Claridge’s in London on Thursday, she reflected on how “lucky” she had been to have had such a strong female role model in her life for so long.

She said: “She passed away earlier this year and now that it’s coming up to Christmas she has been in my heart and mind a lot.

“I keep thinking back to all of the many ways that she inspired me and how lucky I was to have her in my life and to be her granddaughter. I’m feeling quite nostalgic really,” she added.

The luxury fashion magazine’s annual ceremony celebrates women from across the worlds of film, television, art, culture and literature and sees women celebrating women.

This year saw the likes of Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis, rapper Little Simz recognised, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was honoured with the inspiration award after being imprisoned in Iran for six years before her release earlier this year.

Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards 2022

The Kingsman: The Golden Circle star made sure all eyes were on her as she stepped out in the capital in a plunging long sleeved maxi dress.

She felt like it was tempting fate when asked about what her biggest fashion disaster had been.

“I definitely must have had a few nip slips or underwear mishaps where I’ve chosen the wrong knickers - it’s probably happening right now,” she joked.

Revealing how she deals with things when they go wrong, she took a stiff upper lip approach, saying: “I keep calm, keep going and think of England!”