Annabel Croft, 59, thrilled to become a grandmother for the second time in less than a year as son Charlie and wife reveal baby joy from honeymoon – three years after tragic death of husband

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Annabel Croft shared her excitement about expecting her second grandchild in under a year.

Charlie Coleman and his wife, Honour Wainwright, who comes from the Boodles jewellery family, have announced they are expecting a baby.

The couple, married last August in a grand wedding in Hampshire, announced they are expecting a baby. They shared the news while on their honeymoon in South Africa last weekend.

Oh my gosh, you guys, I’ve been stalking Honour’s Instagram, and she posted the cutest pictures! She’s, like, seriously glowing – you can totally see her baby bump! It’s amazing – she’s 30 and works at her family’s jewellery business, which is, like, super fancy, and she’s just showing off how far along she is! I’m obsessed!

‘Honeymooning with a third wheel,’ she wrote alongside a pregnant woman emoji.

Annabel, a former tennis star, is happily sharing some good news almost three years after the sad passing of her husband, Mel Coleman, who was the father of her three children. He died in May 2023.

At age 60, the former investment banker and sailing enthusiast passed away from sepsis while fighting stage four colon cancer. He received the diagnosis just eight weeks prior, and his death came two months before he and his wife would have celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary.

Annabel, a former tennis player who made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon in 1984 before retiring at just 21 years old, responded to Honour’s post with a simple ‘Absolutely wonderful’ and a heart emoji.

She has often talked about how deeply saddened she was by her husband’s death, calling him her greatest support and the person who gave her strength and a sense of humour.

Participating in Strictly Come Dancing in 2023, where she made it to the semi-finals shortly after the loss of her husband Mel, helped her cope with a very difficult time. She explained that the show gave her a reason to face each day and find purpose, instead of staying home and grieving.

Honour and Charlie, both 29, celebrated their honeymoon at the Shumbalala Game Lodge, a luxurious safari retreat in South Africa’s Thornybush Game Reserve. Charlie works in finance.

The couple documented their trip with photos showing them relaxing in luxury – posing with their personalized buggy, enjoying breakfast served in the pool, and sipping drinks while on safari. They were able to observe lions, elephants, and gazelles roaming freely in their natural environment.

Charlie shared photos from the trip on Instagram, and Annabel commented, ‘Absolutely stunning,’ adding emojis of animals and a pregnant woman.

Annabel became a grandmother last October when her daughter, Amber, and Amber’s husband, Hector, welcomed their son. They named him Arlo William Melvyn Llewellyn, in memory of Amber’s father.

The new grandmother, who called herself ‘Grannabel’, was overjoyed with her first grandchild, describing him as ‘completely adorable’.

She had once called the upcoming birth something to be excited about, and explained that she loves babies because their fresh perspective and unique personalities remind you to appreciate the simple things in life.

When Honour announced she was pregnant, she received lots of congratulatory messages from friends and family, except for Annabel. Charlie’s sister, Lily Saffron Coleman, who works as a TV presenter, simply wrote ‘Stunning!’ and added several heart and pregnancy emojis.

Nell Hudson, 35, known for her role in Call the Midwife, recently had a baby and responded to something with three red heart emojis.

Before her wedding last year, Charlie told people she and her mother envisioned a celebration with a relaxed, bohemian vibe – more like Kate Moss’s wedding than the formal affair of Kate Middleton’s. And the wedding truly lived up to that vision.

Annabel looked stunning in a floral dress and feathered hat as the families came together for the wedding ceremony. The newlyweds then drove away in a classic Land Rover decorated with a ‘just married’ sign, and playfully acknowledging the groom’s mother, a pair of tennis rackets were attached to the back.

The wedding reception at Honour’s family home in Hampshire included dinner in a beautiful pavilion covered in ivy. Guests reported that Charlie danced to “You’re the One that I Want” from the movie Grease, and Annabel was seen playfully crowd surfing with her new daughter-in-law.

Honour’s engagement ring was stunning, reflecting her family’s legacy. It featured a rare ashoka-cut diamond, available only from Boodles, the famous British jewelry company her family owns.

This joyful news follows another recent happy event for the Croft-Coleman family. Last September, Annabel’s younger daughter, Lily, 27, announced she’s engaged to Felix McCorquodale, an investment director. Felix comes from a well-known aristocratic British family and is related to Princess Diana’s former stepmother, Raine Spencer.

Annabel was thrilled about Lily’s engagement, calling it ‘fantastic news.’ She also expressed her happiness that both Lily and her other children had found wonderful partners.

The tennis star has shared that she often feels her late husband, Mel, is near, especially during important times. She explained to Hello! magazine that she frequently discovers white feathers around her home and sees them as messages from him.

Since experiencing loss, she’s become more daring and open to new opportunities. She explains that she’s no longer afraid of failure, especially given everything she’s been through and her current stage in life, and encourages herself to seize every chance that comes her way.

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2026-02-17 11:34