Who is Sir Bobby Charlton’s wife Norma Ball and do they have children together?
FANS of Sir Bobby Charlton were invited to celebrate the iconic footballer at his funeral on November 13, 2023.
The Manchester United legend passed away in October 2023, with his family, including wife Norma, confirming the sad news of his death.
Who is Sir Bobby Charlton’s wife Norma Ball?
Before his death aged 86, Sir Bobby Charlton shared his life with his beloved wife Lady Norma Charlton.
The couple kept much of their relationship private but did make several public appearances together throughout the years.
It has been reported that Bobby and Norma, née Ball, met in 1959 at an ice skating rink in Manchester.
The lovebirds dated for two years before deciding to officially tie the knot.
The wedding took place in Middleton Junction near Manchester on July 28, 1961.
Lady Norma was by Sir Bobby’s side for the many highlights of his career, such as winning the World Cup in 1966 and accompanying him to Buckingham Palace in July 1994 when he received his knighthood.
She was also his rock through the tragic times – most notably the horrific Munich Air Disaster in 1958.
In the 1990s Norma was at the centre of a falling out between Bobby and his older brother Jack.
The feud is said to have started after Norma fell out with the boys’ mother, Elizabeth “Cissie” Charlton, leading Jack to accuse Bobby of not visiting their mum before her death in 1996.
Sir Bobby also accused his sibling of making “absolutely disgraceful” statements about Norma.
The pair appeared to make amends in the years that followed and were spotted in public together several times.
Shortly after the death of Jack, who was also in the 1966 World Cup squad, it was revealed that, like his brother, Sir Bobby was suffering from dementia.
The news was confirmed in 2020, with Norma expressing her hope that the diagnosis “could help others”.
Jack had been battling dementia before his passing and his son, John, revealed in January 2023 that Jack and Bobby’s brother Gordon also had dementia before his own death in December 2022.
Sadly, only one of the four Charlton brothers, Tommy, is still alive as of November 2023.
Do they have children together?
Sir Bobby Charlton and his wife Norma welcomed two daughters together.
They named their girls Suzanne and Andrea.
Andrea, the eldest, was born in 1965 and has stayed out of the spotlight despite her father’s fame and popularity.
Suzanne, meanwhile, was born in 1968 and worked a weather forecaster for the BBC after graduating from the University of Reading in 1985 with a degree in Physics and Meteorology.
Suzanne married tennis coach Nick Brown in 1994 in Macclesfield.
The couple went on to welcome a son, Robert (named after his grandfather) in November 1998.