CHRISTINE HAMILTON
Christine Hamilton acquired celebrity status overnight for the forceful support she gave her husband during his high profile 1997 General Election campaign.
Descriptions ranged from the downright insulting to the genuinely flattering - "The Wife from Hell" to "The Battling Lioness".
Lampooned in countless articles and cartoons as a ferocious Battleaxe, Christine also aroused great admiration as she took on the world with her feisty spirit and ferocious loyalty.
Rarely out of the news, she was in the headlines recently as she and Neil were arrested and accused of a vile sexual crime - they fought back very publicly forcing the police to back down and admit it was all untrue.
Christine
appears regularly on TV and radio, on entertainment shows and on news and
current affairs programmes. Her repertoire includes everything from "Have I
Got News for You" and "Big Brother" to "I'm a Celebrity, Get
Me Out of Here", "Any Questions"
and "Newsnight".
Not forgetting the Hamilton's memorable encounter with Louis Theroux.
"The Christine Hamilton Show" was shown weekly on BBC Choice where she interviews household names who have been through stormy waters and survived. She also presented and for "Simply Money" on Sky Digital.
She is in demand to speak at luncheons, dinners and gatherings of all kinds and has filled both Oxford and Cambridge Unions. She also speaks in tandem with her husband, Neil. She is equally at home with either male, female or mixed audiences, and has enlivened many a conference dinner with her charm and humour.
She is an entertaining and witty speaker, lifting the veil on the discreet yet not-so-discreet World of Westminster, her troubles and media experiences and talking about her "Great British Battleaxes".
The Battle of Knutsford Heath was one of the high spots of the 1997 campaign. Descriptions of her ranged from the insultingly unflattering to the admiringly adulatory.
She was described by Lynda Lee Potter as having "the valour of the early Christian martyrs. With more women like her Britain would never have lost the Empire."
Inspired by her own caricature, her first book "Christine Hamilton's Bumper Book of British Battleaxes" was published in October 1997 and is now out in paperback. Lighthearted and entertaining, it is a colourful cornucopia of 33 Belligerent British Belles who have enlivened the pages of history and, more recently, the headlines of the popular press. The Battleaxes range from Queens Boadicea to Victoria, from Nancy Astor to Margaret Thatcher; from Fanny Cradock to Bessie Braddock; from Joan Collins to Ena Sharples; from Cynthia Payne to Edwina Currie and from Barbara Cartland to Barbara Woodhouse.
Christine spent her childhood in the New Forest area where her father was a GP in Ringwood.
After graduating from the University of York she worked at the House of Commons for 26 years as research assistant and secretary to MPs, starting with the flamboyant Sir Gerald Nabarro (MP for South Worcestershire until he died in 1973). She worked for her husband from his election in 1983 until he lost his seat in 1997.
Christine and Neil live in Cheshire and London where they enjoy music, gardening, cooking and entertaining - which encompasses their overriding passion; the company of good friends.
Sample Quotes following Speaking Engagements
"You were wonderful - I just wish I could have given you more time to speak."
Yorkshire Post Literary Luncheon
"the best Presidential debate for years - you made it for everyone!"
Cambridge Union Society
"You were wonderful!" Watford Observer Literary Luncheon
"A rip roaring start to the winter programme." Grantham Luncheon Club
"We are absolutely delighted with the response we have had. You were just brilliant - they just loved you!!" Ribble Valley Ladies Luncheon Club
"...such a great success. Your talk, wonderfully delivered, so full of wit and wisdom, was greatly enjoyed by everybody there."
National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children
"I can truthfully say that your speech ranked amongst the best I have heard."
Abbeydale Sports Club
"..we thoroughly enjoyed your excellent witty talk. Everyone loved you!"
Business & Professional Women's Assoc.
"...fascinating, amusing and informative...captivated us."
The Lord Woolton Luncheon Club
"..your talk was superb and you patently had the audience eating out of your hand. Brilliant. It was by far and away the best speech I have heard in the 15 years I have been going to these dinners." Association of Valuers of Licensed Property
"Your talk was brilliant...I haven't heard a single grumble which is a miracle!"
Mansfield Luncheon Club
"You received the biggest turn out I've ever known for a society at Eton, even though many other lectures were taking place simultaneously.... you managed to make most of the audience cry with laughter." Eton College Cosmopolitan Society
Christine Hamilton's Bumper Book of British Battleaxes.
A look at some of Britain's most formidable women from one of Britain's most formidable women!
Please click here to order this formidable book!