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Celebrity

21st Oct 2021

Was Cara Delevingne named after the Aer Lingus in-flight magazine?

Ellen Fitzpatrick

Could it be true?

Cara Delevigne’s dad has hinted that her name was inspired by none other than the Aer Lingus in-flight magazine.

Yes, you read that right, speaking to The Irish Times, property developer Charles Hamar Delevingne revealed that he used to frequently fly to and from Ireland before his model daughter was born, and would often read the now discontinued magazine.

“I remember I used to go backwards and forwards to Dublin a lot and the name of the Aer Lingus magazine was Cara. I loved the name,” he said.

Aer Lingus stopped publishing the magazine last November as a result of fewer people travelling due to the pandemic despite having over a million readers for each issue.

With interviews with the stars and travel features galore, the magazine was always a hit onboard any Aer Lingus flight.

While he didn’t say that that is what directly inspired his daughter’s name, Delevingne only mentioned that he like the magazine’s name.

Cara, both the name and the reason behind Aer Lingus naming their magazine this, means “friend” as Gaeilge, something the actress’s father also knew.

Charles’s grandfather, and Cara’s great grandfather, was Sir Hamar Greenwood, the last chief secretary to Ireland and was heavily associated with the Black and Tans.

When asked if Cara was aware of his family’s history, he said: “She wouldn’t be interested.

“Hamar Greenwood was my grandfather. My mother would describe him as immensely kind, but I gather he’s pretty unpopular in Ireland because of his connection with the Black and Tans, which no one can be proud of…”

Speaking about his father’s role in Irish history, he added that it’s all “water under the bridge” and that someday he hopes to see a united Ireland.