Tributes were paid to Lady Howe, who has died aged 90.
Baroness Elspeth Howe of Idicote, wife of Sir Geoffrey, died at her home in Warwickshire on March 22 after a “valiant battle with cancer”, according to her family.
Said to have inspired her husband’s resignation speech from the Thatcher government, she was also a crossbench peer and sat in the House of Lords.
She was a relative of the Duchess of Cornwall who said it was “a sad time for the whole family”.
“She will be greatly missed,” the family added in a statement.
Playwright and broadcaster Jonathan Maitland, who wrote the play Dead Sheep, which focused on Geoffrey Howe’s 1990 speech, said she was an “amazing and impressive woman”.
Mr Maitland said that although she gave her husband the “civil courage” to deliver his resignation speech, she should not be seen only in her husband’s shadow as she has a career of her own.
From 1975 to 1979 she served as Vice Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission and later became Chair of the Broadcasting Standards Commission.
Lady Howe retired from politics in 2020 after serving as a life peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords.
In 1993, The Independent newspaper profiled her, branding her a “Tory feminist”.
At the time, her friend Alistair Sampson told the newspaper: “She’s not easily shocked, but she insists on standards. She’s not a Mary Whitehouse character. And she’s a feminist – but not a tiresome feminist.”
Later in life, she questioned the government about protecting children from issues such as internet pornography, gambling, and inappropriate content on television and radio.
Her family’s statement added that they were “immensely proud of her many accomplishments, particularly her advocacy for causes close to her heart and which she has supported so effectively throughout her remarkable life.”
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