Rite of passage for Lady Starmer as she mingles with Nato’s leading ladies

At a lavish dinner to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Nato, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg made a point of praising the leaders’ spouses.

“It’s not always easy being married to a politician,” he told the partners of the presidents and prime ministers attending the summit in Washington DC.

Among those who may have agreed was Victoria Starmer, the wife of Britain’s new premier.

For not only was Sir Keir enduring the international spotlight for the first time, so was his wife.

The Prime Minister has been careful to keep his wife away from the public gaze since he became leader of the Labour Party four years ago.

The NHS occupational health worker, to whom he has been married for 17 years, hardly appeared alongside him during the six-week election campaign.

Journalists had been led to expect that this reticence would continue after Labour’s stunning election victory.

But despite being a reluctant first lady, Lady Starmer – as she is known as a result of her husband’s knighthood – accompanied him on his first international trip within days of his appointment.

As the pair departed for Washington DC for the Nato summit, she was pictured alongside the Prime Minister at the top of the aircraft steps wearing a £450 white lace knit dress by British label Needle & Thread.

The label’s founder Hannah Coffin told The Telegraph she was “delighted” and “honoured”.

On Wednesday, the first day of the summit, Sir Keir met Joe Biden for the first time in the White House and held a series of meetings with world leaders including Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president.

At the same time, Lady Starmer and other spouses were hosted by Jill Biden, the US president’s wife, for brunch at the Smithsonian National Museum of America.

That night, she was pictured on the White House balcony as leaders and their wives posed for photographs ahead of a dinner to mark the 75th anniversary of the Western alliance.

She wore a £320 “Labour red” dress by French label The Kooples.

The pair dined on grilled mountain peaches, Alaskan halibut and honey mascarpone ice cream, along with sparkling rose wine.

Guests were serenaded by the US Marine Chamber Orchestra as they ate off the state china used by Harry S. Truman, the US president who signed Nato into being.

Lady Starmer was sat next to Mareva Grabowska, the wife of the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the two appeared to strike up a friendship.

“It’s a good contact to have because Greece is a nice place to go,” joked one Downing Street adviser.

On the last day of the summit, on Thursday, Sir Keir took part in another gruelling round of meetings.

His wife, on the other hand, was taken with other husbands and wives on a tour of the US president’s Camp David retreat.

Lady Starmer also met with Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, opting for a cheetah-print £179 dress by British high street label Whistles.

“In an ever-changing market, being represented by someone with her influence globally is so important for the retail landscape and shines a light on what British brands have to offer the market,” Camille Sullivan, product director at Whistles told The Telegraph.

Sir Keir was definitely glad to have her by his side. 

Speaking to journalists on the flight on the way to the summit, the Prime Minister said: “It’s been a big transition for Vic and even more for the kids. But Vic’s very pleased to be doing it. It’s great to have her here by my side while we go to this summit.”

There was also the need for Sir Keir, the father of two children aged 16 and 13, to work out what to do with them while he was away.

The family had not yet moved into Downing Street, waiting until the end of the summit to do so.

“We will take a bit more time with the kids,” he explained. 

“We haven’t moved in yet because I didn’t want them left on their own while the two of us were away this week, so we’ll just take a bit more time on that.”