Prudence Glynn

Prudence Glynn
Prudence Glynn, portrait by Deirdre Daines
Born	(1935-01-22)22 January 1935 Kensington, London
Died	24 September 1986(1986-09-24) (aged 51) Kensington, London
Other names	Lady Windlesham; Prudence Hennessy
Occupation	Fashion editor; author
Notable credit(s)	Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (1974)

Prudence Glynn (1935–1986) was a British fashion journalist and author, best known for her long-running role as the first fashion editor of The Times.

During her 15 years presiding over the fashion pages of one of the UK's leading national newspapers, she charted huge changes in the fashion scene as it moved from couture formality to young Swinging London designers and the rise of high-street brands. She championed new designers and was an influential commentator about the way the industry operated, also holding a number of advisory roles outside journalism.

Glynn – known as Lady Windlesham in private life – was a formidable character. Her obituary in The Times described her as a figure who was "feared and respected rather than loved". A response a few days later in The Times, from her former secretary and assistant Sandra Barwick presented a different perspective. Barwick described Glynn as unfailingly kind and generous and added: "She was profoundly bored by the pompous and splendidly contemptuous of received opinion – an unusual characteristic in a fashion editor."

Prudence Loveday Glynn was the youngest of four children born to retired army officer Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert Trevor Wallace Glynn and Evelyn Margaret Glynn (née Vernet). She grew up in Tetsworth, Oxfordshire and was educated at Downe House School in Berkshire.

Glynn left school and went straight into a job in advertising. Her first foray into the world of fashion was working for the eveningwear house of Frank Usher. From there, she moved into journalism, writing for women's magazines and then becoming fashion editor of Woman's Mirror. This was part of a new crop of magazines featuring fashion targeting a younger audience. At Woman's Mirror, Glynn was one of the first to feature Twiggy (Queen had turned the aspiring model down). Although Glynn considered Twiggy too small for regular fashion features, she did use her for head shots.

In 1965, Glynn married the Conservative Party politician and Anglo-Irish peer David Hennessy (the 3rd Baron Windlesham), who would later become managing director of the ATV television broadcaster.