Jadranka, Lady Beresford-Peirse, who passed away at the age of 88, was a prominent advocate for the preservation of Croatian cultural heritage. She founded the International Trust for Croatian Monuments in 1991, an organisation dedicated to supporting the restoration and protection of significant historical sites across Croatia. The trust’s initiatives have included aid for the 18th-century Baroque Eltz Manor in Vukovar, the Church of St Blaise and the adjacent Franciscan monastery in Dubrovnik, and the 15th-century St James Cathedral in Šibenik, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site.
During the violent conflict that accompanied the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, Lady Beresford-Peirse took swift action to protect endangered heritage sites. She described how her local 16th-century Gothic church and monastery were targeted repeatedly, with firemen attempting to extinguish a fire being fired upon by military forces. The church housed an 18th-century Viennese organ, a loss that deeply affected her. Apart from the physical destruction, she faced personal anguish, struggling to keep communication with relatives trapped in the war zones. In an account from that period, she recounted her family’s last contact with relatives in Osijek, who feared imminent bombardment.
Early backing for the trust came from the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund. Prince Charles initially questioned the focus on buildings amid widespread human suffering but was persuaded by Lady Beresford-Peirse’s argument that cultural heritage embodies the spirit of a nation. In December 1991, she organised an exhibition in London showcasing evocative images of war-damaged Croatian monuments and led various fundraising efforts, including art exhibitions featuring works by her sister Ljerka Njers and musical performances by the Croatian pianist Ivo Pogorelić.
Lady Beresford-Peirse made recurring visits to Croatia to assess restoration needs firsthand. In 1994, the trust facilitated a trip for several Royal Academicians to Dubrovnik, whose commissioned paintings were later exhibited at the Royal Academy to help finance repairs, such as the restoration of the allegorical figure of Faith atop St Blaise’s Church. Beyond rebuilding, the trust supported the education and professional development of Croatian conservationists, sponsoring students to study in Britain, creating a stained-glass workshop in Osijek, and enabling Croatian scholars to attend international courses and conferences. She also provided more modest but meaningful aid, such as sponsoring art magazine subscriptions for Croatian artists.
The trust further promoted Croatian culture on an international level, publishing in 2009 a collection of academic essays titled *Croatia: Aspects of Art, Architecture and Cultural Heritage*, introduced by Viscount Norwich. Throughout her life, Lady Beresford-Peirse remained a passionate and determined advocate for her homeland, noted for her engaging personality and personal touches, including once pinning a brooch crafted by her sister onto Margaret Thatcher despite objections from the former prime minister’s aides.
Born Jadranka Njers on August 20, 1938, in Đurđenovac, then part of Yugoslavia, she was the second of three children. Her family relocated to Zagreb during her childhood. She spoke sparingly of the hardships experienced under the Communist regime established after World War II but remembered the destruction of the Trsteno arboretum in 1991 with sadness. After completing studies in English and Italian in Zagreb, she moved to London, working initially as an au pair and later for the Yugoslav tourist board. She married Henry Beresford-Peirse, an investment manager and heir to the Beresford-Peirse baronetcy, in 1966. Her husband, who supported her work for Croatia, died in 2013. Lady Beresford-Peirse was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2024. She is survived by their two sons, Henry and John.