Sarah Baring

Sarah Kathleen Elinor Baring, née Norton, was born on 20 January 1920. She was the daughter of Richard Norton, 6th Baron Grantley, a filmmaker, and his wife, Jean Mary (née Kinloch). Baring's early life included education in Munich, where her parents sent her at age 17 to learn fluent German. During her time in Munich, she observed Adolf Hitler and his aides at a tea house, and she and a friend made face gestures toward the group. Despite a period of fear in the city, she noted that the Germans did not disturb them, as they knew they were English and sought to maintain Polish-German relations.

During the Second World War, Baring initially worked in various roles, including positions with Vogue and the Baltimore Sun, as well as serving as a telephonist at an Air Raid Precautions Centre. She later contributed to the war effort by building Hurricane fighter planes at a Hawker Siddeley factory near Slough. She shared a cottage with Osla Benning, with both of them being god-daughters of Lord Louis Mountbatten. Mountbatten suggested to Baring that she might find a romantic connection with his nephew, Prince Philip. Baring facilitated an introduction between Osla Benning and Prince Philip, who became his first girlfriend.

In 1943, Baring and Benning were tested on their German language skills and subsequently posted to Hut 4 at Bletchley Park, the principal site of British code-breaking activities during the war. They were billeted together at the White Horse Inn. Baring occasionally traveled to London on her days off to meet friends at Claridge's. After her work at Bletchley Park, she was transferred to the Admiralty's Operational Intelligence Centre, where she continued her service.

Following her wartime service, Baring authored a memoir titled "The Road To Station X," which recounts her experiences in London society before the war and her time at Bletchley Park.

On VE-Day, Baring attended a cocktail party hosted by her aunt, Lady Brownlow, where she met William Waldorf Astor, the eldest son of the 2nd Viscount Astor and Nancy Astor, Member of Parliament. They became engaged after five days and married on 14 June 1945. Baring supported her husband's political campaigning during their marriage. Their son, William Astor, 4th Viscount Astor, was born in 1951. Her son later became the stepfather of Samantha Cameron.

The marriage between Baring and William Waldorf Astor ended in divorce in 1953. Subsequently, she married Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Michael Baring, a former officer of the 10th Royal Hussars, polo player, and fine art consultant. Baring and Thomas Baring divorced in 1965.

Sarah Kathleen Elinor Baring died on 4 February 2013 at the age of 93.