Mary Rose Mac-Gill, the last Chilean socialite, died at the age of 90

Mary Rose had been in serious condition since Saturday following surgery.

Evelyn Matthei, mayor of the Santiago commune of Providencia, confirmed on Monday morning the death of the well-known cultural manager Mary Rose Mac-Gill, considered the last Chilean socialite, who had been in serious condition since last Saturday after surgery at the Chilean Air Force Clinical Hospital.

Through her social networks, the councilor indicated that “there are no words for these moments, only to thank her for her collaboration and commitment to culture and the arts, her joy and dedication in everything she did. We will miss her immensely.”

The Providencia Cultural Foundation, an organization of which she was an active member of the board until her last days, also expressed their sorrow at her passing. “During the last eight years she filled us with enthusiasm and vitality with her immense love for beauty, art and culture from our board of directors. Thank you and farewell, dear Mary Rose Mac-Gill.”

The family, who had already given signs of his poor health, said: “We appreciate the concern of the medical team and the affection of the people. We ask the media and fans for respect and privacy in these sad hours.”

Mac-Gill would occasionally appear on television and give interviews in magazines. Cheerful and talkative, she had many stories, claimed to be a woman “close to the public” and never boasted of living a luxurious life.

“I am neither rich nor powerful, I am charming, which is very different. I am simply Mary Rose, period,” was her declaration of principles years ago on the state channel.

Her father was a Scottish lieutenant and as a child she played in Winston Churchill’s garden.

The daughter of a Scottish lieutenant, Mary Rose was born into the Chilean upper class on October 10, 1933. She married twice, had four children, and as a child, played in the garden of Winston Churchill, who was a friend of her father. She was also part of the entourage that welcomed Prince Philip in 1968, during the visit of Elizabeth II of England to the country, whom she did not hesitate to describe as “handsome.”

In the 1980s she was president of the Corporation of Friends of the Municipal Theatre of Santiago and in the last eight years she served as vice president of the Corporation of Religious and Cultural Heritage of Chile, dependent on the Cultural Foundation of Providencia. In addition, she was the first president of the Equestrian Federation of Chile.

Despite being a Republican, in her last interview she said that she would vote for Evelyn Matthei in the next presidential elections.

Less than a month ago, Mary Rose was interviewed on the program “Todo va a estar bien” (Everything will be fine) on the Vía X channel, where she expressed her admiration for Javier Milei. “He is saving Argentina, which is a very important country,” she said categorically.

She also acknowledged that, despite being a Republican and being on the far right of the political spectrum, in the next presidential elections in 2025 her vote would not go to José Antonio Kast – leader of that party – but to the current mayor of Providencia, Evelyn Matthei.

“There are many people who don’t dare to speak up, but I openly say that if I had to vote, I would vote for Evelyn,” Mac-Gill said.

In one of her last written interviews, in July 2023 on MegaPlus, the last Chilean socialite also recalled how “a lot” she went to Augusto Pinochet’s house, since “she helped the lady, Doña Lucía (Iriart). She did very good things, I was involved in the good part, going to visit people.”

McGill said she regretted the “atrocities” committed during the military regime, and clarified that she “never knew about” the torture and disappearances, since she worked on the “good side.”

“There were many things I didn’t know. I felt angry and sad, because for me one human being is worth as much as another,” she said at the time.