Born Suzanne Marie Adele Fesq, her husband, Colonel Charles Beauclerk, became the 13th Duke of St Albans in 1964, earning him the title of Hereditary Grand Falconer of England, and her the style Suzanne Marie Adele Beauclerk, Duchess St. Albans.
Having worked as a news writer in North Africa and Italy during WWII, she turned to writing again following the collapse of her husband's business ventures, publishing three volumes of memoirs, followed by five other works of non-fiction. Her memoirs were condensed into a single volume in 2000 as Mango and Mimosa, which featured as BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week.