Late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts’ widow Shirley left £18million to her family in her will following her death last year – just 16 months after her rocker husband died

The widow of the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts left more than £18million to her family in her will.

Shirley died at the age of 82 in December last year from a brief illness just 16 months after musician Charlie died aged 80 last August following complications from emergency heart surgery.

She left an estate valued at £18.3million with her daughter Seraphina, grand-daughter Charlotte and brother Stephen Shepherd named as the beneficiaries.

Seraphina will also get her parents’ luxury property in France, while two of Shirley’s staff, Carol Marner and Sharon Bentley, will be given a tax-free payment which totals the same as two years of each of their salaries, according to The Sun.

Charlie’s wife Shirley died last December aged 82 following a short illness – 16 months after the Rolling Stones drummer lost his battle with cancer.

The widow of the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts left more than £18million to her family in her will (Charlie and his wife Shirley pictured in 2012)

Shirley died at the age of 82 in December last year from a brief illness just 16 months after musician Charlie died aged 80 (Charlie pictured in 2019)

In a statement released at the time, Shirley’s family announced that she had been ‘reunited with her beloved Charlie’.

They added: ‘It is with great sadness that Seraphina, Charlotte and Barry announce the death of their much-loved mother, grandmother and mother-in-law Shirley Watts.

‘Shirley died peacefully on Friday 16th December in Devon after a short illness surrounded by her family.

‘She will be also sadly missed by her sisters Jackie and Jill, and her brother Stephen. Reunited now forever with her beloved Charlie.’

Born Shirley Ann Shepherd in September 1938, she was studying sculpture at the Royal College of Art in 1961 when she met Charlie, then a graphic designer with an advertising agency and jazz musician in his spare time.

The pair met during his first rehearsal with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated and married in 1964, a year after Charlie joined the Stones.

Four years later Shirley – who became a renowned horse breeder while married to Charlie – gave birth to their daughter Seraphina.

Charlie said of his long-time love: ‘She is an incredible woman. The one regret I have of this life is that I was never home enough. But she always says when I come off tour that I am a nightmare and tells me to go back out.’

Shirley left an estate valued at £18.3million with her daughter Seraphina, grand-daughter Charlotte and brother Stephen Shepherd named as the beneficiaries (Charlie and Shirley pictured in 1992)

He also credited Shirley for saving him from the ‘illness’ of getting into speed and heroin after the Stones shot to fame, saying he almost ‘lost’ his wife and family, while his daughter told him his drug use left him looking like Dracula.

Charlie was treated for throat cancer in 2004 and given the all-clear after a four-month fight with the disease before his death on August 4 2021.

It comes after Sir Mick Jagger admitted he thinks about his late bandmate Charlie ‘a lot’, admitting he misses his friend’s ‘laconic humour’.

‘It’s a couple of years now, and I still think about Charlie a lot,’ he told The Guardian in October.

‘I miss his laconic humour, his taste in music, his elegance, his don’t-care attitude – he didn’t get intense. Keith and I get a bit intense.’

He said even when he and Keith would be sniping at each other, Charlie would never get involved, with Sir Mick admitting his friend’s attitude has rubbed off on him.

The singer said he often thinks about which songs Charlie would have liked and what he would have played when he is on stage without his beloved bandmate.

Sir Mick also insisted that loss doesn’t get any easier as you get older as he spoke about coming to terms with Charlie’s death.

‘No, [loss] doesn’t get easier at all, there’s a lot of people around your age, they’re dying all the time,’ he said.

It comes after Sir Mick Jagger admitted he thinks about his late bandmate Charlie ‘a lot’, admitting he misses his friend’s ‘laconic humour’ (The Rolling Stones members Charlie, Sir Mick, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood pictured in 2012)

‘I don’t have any friends older than me, only one, apart from the band, all my friends are much younger.’

Guitarist Keith has also spoken about how Charlie’s death prompted him and Sir Mick to get back in the studio, leading to the release of Hackney Diamonds – their first studio album of original music in 18 years.

‘[Charlie’s death] jolted us into thinking we’ve got to make a record,’ Keith told The Sun.

‘Mick agreed with me about the record, we said, “Let’s get this thing in the studio. Let’s make this a project — go from A to B and actually finish it”.’ 

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