The only problem was that she also liked dancing and nearly broke her father’s heart by trying to turn professional when she was 17. Lords fail to find house room for Lady Boothroyd's crest". The Daily Telegraph. 28 January 2001. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019 . Retrieved 15 February 2019. Honorary degrees". 21 July 1995. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017 . Retrieved 29 July 2017. From 1992 to 2000, she served as Speaker of the House of Commons. She was the first, and to date only, female Speaker of the House of Commons. [1] She sat, by tradition, as a Crossbench peer in the House of Lords.

Boothroyd neither married nor had children. [34] [35] She took up paragliding while on holiday in Cyprus in her 60s. She described the hobby as both "lovely and peaceful" and "exhilarating". [36] In April 1995, whilst on holiday in Morocco, Boothroyd became trapped in the Atlas Mountains in the country's biggest storm in 20 years. Her vehicle was immobilised by a landslide; she and a group of hikers walked through mud and rubble for nine hours before they were rescued. [37] [38] Langdon, Julia (27 February 2023). "Lady Boothroyd obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 29 March 2023.By this time, Baroness Boothroyd had proven herself to hold great authority and conviction and was persuaded by some Labour colleagues to run to replace him.

Langdon, Julia (27 February 2023). "LadyBoothroydobituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 29 March 2023. Boothroyd was awarded an Honorary DoctorofCivilLaw (Hon DCL) by the CityUniversityLondon in 1993. She was chancellor of the OpenUniversity from 1994 until October 2006 and donated some of her personal papers to the University's archives. In March 1995, she was awarded an honorary degree from the Open University as DoctoroftheUniversity (DUniv). In 1999 she was made an Honorary Fellow of StHugh'sCollege,Oxford. [25] Two portraits of Boothroyd have been part of the parliamentary art collection since 1994 and 1999, respectively. [26] [27] Former prime ministers also shared their tributes, with Sir Tony Blair describing her as a “big-hearted and kind person”, and the ex-Conservative prime minister Sir John Major said she was “easy to like and easier still to admire”. Betty Boothroyd to be awarded honorary degree – University of St Andrews". st-andrews.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015 . Retrieved 29 July 2017. Boothroyd received at least eight honorary degrees in recognition of her political career, [48] including:Betty Boothroyd: Funeral held for first woman Commons Speaker". BBC News. 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 29 March 2023.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (MEMBERSHIP) (Hansard, 1 July 1975)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 1 July 1975. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017 . Retrieved 13 January 2017. House of Commons Speaker's Residence". C-SPAN. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019 . Retrieved 15 February 2019. Betty Boothroyd, in full Baroness Boothroyd, of Sandwell in the County of West Midlands, (born October 8, 1929, Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire, England—died February 26, 2023, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England), British Labour Party politician who was the first female speaker of the House of Commons (1992–2000). Archivedcopy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 February 2017 . Retrieved 27 May 2017. {{ citeweb}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link)

Boothroydpraisedas'nationalinstitution' ". BBC News. 12 July 2000. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014 . Retrieved 19 November 2013.