Irene Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever

Irene Violet Freesia Janet Augusta Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever ( Haig; 7 October 1919 – 12 August 2001) was an English philanthropist and member of the Astor family. and Dorothy Maud Vivian, a daughter of Hussey Vivian, 3rd Baron Vivian. Her father was created Earl Haig when she was 12 days old entitling her to the prefix Lady. Her elder siblings were Lady Alexandra Henrietta Louisa Haig (wife of Rear-Admiral Clarence Howard-Johnston and Hugh Trevor-Roper), Lady Victoria Doris Rachel Haig (wife of Col. Andrew Montagu Douglas Scott) and George Haig, 2nd Earl Haig.

Personal life She married Gavin Astor, later the 2nd Baron Astor of Hever, the eldest son of John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever, and Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound on 4 October 1945. She became Lady Astor of Hever when her husband succeeded to the barony on the death of his father in 1971. They had five children:

John Astor, 3rd Baron Astor of Hever (born 1946), who married twice, first to Fiona Diana Lennox Harvey in 1970; the couple had three daughters and divorced in 1990. He married, secondly, Elizabeth Constance Mackintosh, daughter of John Mackintosh, 2nd Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax, in 1990; the couple have two children. Bridget Mary Astor (1948–2017), who married twice, first to Count Arthur Tarnowski in 1980; the couple had two sons before divorcing in 1986. Her second marriage was in 1989 to Geofrey Richard Smith; the couple had one daughter. Elizabeth "Louise" Astor (born 1951), who married twice, first to David John Shelton Herring in 1979; they divorced in 1981 and she married, secondly, David Joseph Ward in 1985; the couple have two children. Sarah Violet Astor (born 1953), who married George Edward Lopes, son of Massey Lopes, 2nd Baron Roborough, in 1975 and has three children; their son, Harry Marcus George Lopes, is married to Laura Rose Parker Bowles, daughter of Andrew Parker Bowles and Queen Camilla. Philip Douglas Paul Astor (born 1959), who was married in July 2012 to the writer Justine Picardie.

She died on 12 August 2001.