Chair of Council pays tribute to Dame Shân Legge-Bourke

16 December 2025

Paying tribute to The Honourable Dame Shân Legge-Bourke, who has passed away at the age of 82, Chair of Powys County Council, Cllr William Powell, said: "The passing of the Hon Dame Shân Legge-Bourke - Mrs LB or just plain Shân as she was affectionately known to thousands - marks, in a very real sense, the end of an era.

"The legions of organisations that she served, as Patron, President or Sponsor, will miss her, as will their members. She was as popular with - and respected by - local shopkeepers in her beloved Crickhowell, tradesmen, and estate workers on the Glanusk Estate and pupils in local schools as she was amongst the aristocracy and in Royal circles.

"She was a fearlessly independent voice and a defender of the rural way of life, which she felt was under threat. She was truly irreplaceable - it is no surprise, therefore, that PAVO, the Powys voluntary sector body that she served so diligently as President until 2021, chose not to appoint a successor on her retirement.

"However, the overriding quality that I will always associate with Shân - even more than her work rate and her love of her native Breconshire - was her overwhelming sense of duty. 

"The last time that I saw Shân - at the President's Lunch at the Royal Welsh Show in July - she was visibly frail. However, with her son Harry at her side, she had an absolute determination to do her duty and to welcome her friend, the Princess Royal, to Llanelwedd.

"More important than the rich tapestry of her public life, however, Shân was a loyal, devoted wife to the late Bill Legge-Bourke and a proud mother and grandmother. Whilst saluting Shân, we must also express our sincere condolences to Tiggy, Zara, and Harry and their respective families, who mourn her loss the most acutely.

"The Hon Dame Shân Legge Bourke 1943 - 2025 Rest in Peace - we will not see your like again."