Morecambe hotelier who took King Charles on pony rides has died, aged 89

A Morecambe woman who regularly took King Charles pony riding and whose family was renowned in the hotel and restaurant trade during the town's heyday, has died aged 89.

Yolanda Ottonello, nee Prada, worked at the Strathmore Hotel for almost 40 years, including as a director and head housekeeper.

During Morecambe's boom years, the Prada family ran several hospitality businesses in the town, including cafes at the Super Swimming Stadium, the Winter Gardens theatre restaurant, as well as the Strathmore, Commodore and Mayfair hotels on Marine Road.

In a life full of achievements, Yolanda regularly took a young King Charles and his sister Anne, the Princess Royal, on pony rides during her days working at London Zoo in the 1950s.

She also worked with Sir David Attenborough, and met other famous people including Morecambe and Wise, Alan Bennett, Tom Baker, many cast members of Coronation Street, Charlie Chaplin, James Stewart and Princess Margaret.

Yolanda Maria Prada was born on March 27 1933 in Liverpool. She had an older brother Louie and her younger brother Michael was born five years later.

Her mum May was from Liverpool and her father Luigi was from a small village in the Italian Lake district called Cadarago. Luigi worked for the LMS (London Midland Scotland) company in a number of their railway hotels.

At the start of the Second World War Luigi was working at The Adelphi in Liverpool. By the early 1940s May and Luigi decided it would be safer to relocate to Morecambe with their family when the bombing raids on Liverpool intensified. May’s younger sister and her husband offered them a temporary home at their house on Albert Road in Morecambe.

Yolanda initially attended West End Road School but then was sent away to a catholic boarding school in Bradford when she was nine. 

During her school holidays Yolanda helped the family out in their businesses, two cafés within Morecambe’s Super Swimming Stadium, where she was tasked to sell ice creams, and in the thriving Winter Gardens Restaurant.

After leaving school Yolanda’s passion for animals shone out and she began work at a local vet surgery on China Street in Lancaster. She had hoped to take this further and become an equine vet specialist but then an opportunity too good to miss arose when she was offered a job as a hostess working with animals at the Festival of Britain in 1951. Later, she was offered a job with the Zoological Society in the new children's zoo at Regents Park Zoo in London.

During her years at London Zoo Yolanda met many famous people and their families, including the actor James Stewart and Charlie Chaplin. She also was often tasked to provide animals for film and theatre productions and met many big stars included Richard Todd and Eli Wallach. She was even an extra in Richard Todd’s film Rob Roy.

Of all the famous people she met during her zoo career her regular contact with a young King Charles III and his sister would probably be the most memorable occasions for her. Yolanda took both Charles and Anne riding but was told by the future King that she should not refer to the zoo horses as 'horses' as the palace stables had bigger ponies!

Whilst in London Yolanda met her future husband Mario Ottonello who had come over from northern Italy to work at his uncle’s restaurant in central London. Eventually, Yolanda agreed to give up her career and move back up north where they would be married. Luigi offered Mario a job at the Winter Gardens and in November 1956, Mario and Yolanda were married at St Mary’s Church in Morecambe.

Their wedding reception was held at The Winter Gardens. After their marriage they moved into their new home in Morecambe and Yolanda began a new career clipping poodles and Mario became a manager at The Winter Gardens Restaurant.

Just before the marriage of his daughter, Luigi began to look for a hotel business locally. He settled on The Strathmore in Morecambe which had come onto the market in 1955. Although The Winter Gardens Restaurant was a thriving and successful business it was only leasehold and Luigi wanted a more permanent freehold stake in the town.

So in 1955 he purchased The Strathmore followed six years later by the purchase of The Commodore Hotel which was next door. Yolanda's cousin Licio Prada also took over the nearby Mayfair hotel (now the Mayfair care home, run by Licio's son Tony).

With the Prada family’s merger of The Strathmore and Commodore, Yolanda’s career changed yet again and she began to work in the hotel industry alongside her brothers Louie Jnr and Michael, and at the same time also became a mother. She worked at the hotel as well as helping out her husband Mario at his newly acquired Lancaster restaurant The Portofino.

This photograph was taken in the 1960s when Yolanda met her fellow Morecambrian, Eric Morecambe and his comedy partner Ernie Wise while they were filming their movie That Riviera Touch.

Yolanda eventually became a director of The Strathmore Hotel Ltd and even stayed on as head housekeeper after the Prada family sold the business in 1987, finally retiring to spend more time with Mario in 1998.

Yolanda and Mario had a very happy retirement, enjoying many holidays caravanning and motor homing in the UK and Europe. Yolanda enjoyed gardening, reading, spending time with daughter Marisa and her three grandchildren Anthony, Louise and Daniel as well as singing with a local choir weekly. She was a supporter of many charities and often went out collecting for the Derian House Children’s Hospice and Marie Curie. She helped with fundraising for local cancer charity Cancer Care who helped her after Mario’s diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2009.

Sadly, Mario died in May 2012 after 55 years of marriage. Despite her loss and heartbreak Yolanda continued with her many pastimes with the support of her family and close friends. She was helped daily by her daughter and her youngest grandson and was constantly comforted by her four cats being around her. Marisa’s husband Cameron, her other two grandchildren and their partners also supported her.

Yolanda passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on Tuesday September 6 with her daughter Marisa and grandson Daniel by her side.

Her funeral will be on September 30 with a requiem mass at St Mary’s Morecambe at 2pm followed by cremation at Beetham Crematorium.