Rock star's widow leaves huge amount in her will to family and staff

20 December 2023 , 11:18

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Rock star's widow leaves huge amount in her will to family and staff

The widow of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts left more than £18million in her will to her family, it has been revealed.

Shirley Watts passed away last year at the age of 84, just 16 months after the iconic musician. In her will, which was published earlier this week, it has been revealed that she left the staggering fortune to close family. The amount has been left in a trust to her daughter Seraphina, grand-daughter Charlotte and her brother Stephen Shepherd. Seraphina will also inherit her parent's home in the south of France. But it is not just family that has benefited from the £18.3million estate, so too have two members of her staff, Carol Marner and Sharon Bentley.

Shirley Watts left more than £18million in her will to family (AFP via Getty Images)

According to The Sun, both staff members will receive the tax-free payment, which is said to be the equivalent of two years' salary. Shirley first met Charlie in 1961, before he shot to fame with the iconic rock band, at London's Royal College of Art where she was studying sculpture. At the time, Charlie was a graphic design student. The couple were married for 57 years and it's believed that Shirley was the one to keep the rock star grounded.

Shirley went on to become a horse breeder from the couple's manor home in Devon. Following Charlie's death, frontman Mick Jagger said: "It seems like only yesterday that I was in the studio with Charlie, joshing around.It's just so weird and then very sad.And I mean, it's such a long time that you work with someone like that, and you get to know someone so well and their quirks and their idiosyncrasies and they know yours."

He added: "And there's a language in communication with musicians, obviously, or anything else.So, you talk about it. It's difficult talking about music. But so, after all this length of time, you have this ease of communication, so to speak with another musician.That's very rare. I miss that so much."

Drug busts, huge tours, and a litany of lovers - 60 years of the Rolling Stones

Charlie Watts with his Rolling Stones bandmates (Michael Ochs Archives)

During the Stones's 60 year music career, it has not been without its fair share of ups and downs. And this was highlighted in the memoir of guitarist Keith Richards, who candidly revealed that he is not friends with the band's lead singer. In his tell-all book titled Life, he said: "Mick and I may not be friends – too much wear and tear for that."

He went on to say: "We’re the closest of brothers, and that can’t be severed. How can you describe a relationship that goes that far back? Best friends are best friends. But brothers fight." When Mick and Keith first met, they formed an instant connection which saw them equally have a say in the future of the group. But things turned sour between the pair when Keith was arrested in 1977 in Canada for possession of heroin. Keith had been heavily using the drug for almost 10 years and Mick took control and looked after him during that time.

In his memoir, Keith recalled that Mick was on his side to start with: "I have to say that during the bust in Toronto, in fact during all busts, Mick looked after me with great sweetness, never complaining. He ran things; he did the work and marshalled the forces that saved me. Mick looked after me like a brother."

But after swerving prison, Keith was forced to pay a fine, attend rehab and perform two charity concerts for free - something, it has been claimed, Mick was left fuming about. After his release from rehab, Keith noticed that he had lost control in the group. And by 1981, the tension between the pair was going from bad to worse. They managed to release track Tattoo You, but had to record their vocals at separate times of the day as they barely spoke.

And it wasn't until Mick's interview with Rolling Stone Magazine that it became apparent that the relationship between the pair was at breaking point. He told the publication: "We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, and this is one of the low moments. I love the Stones, I think what we’ve done is wonderful, but I also think it’s done. At my age [he was 46 years old] and after all these years I have to do something else in my life. I feel like I have the right to do it."

Lucretia Munro