Her father was a British lawyer and politician, and became chief legal adviser to Edward VIII during the Abdication Crisis in 1936.
She acted as her father's secretary and courier during the crisis, carrying letters between the King and the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin.
In Dublin for a race meeting in 1939, she met and soon married Irish fertiliser manufacturer and art collector Sir Basil Goulding and moved to Ireland.
However, her husband moved to England to join the RAF, ending the war as a Wing commander; meanwhile, she served as a second lieutenant in the British Army.
On account of her widespread popularity, she was nominated by the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, to Seanad Éireann, where she worked to raise awareness of disability issues in 1977.