Moira Salmond has long been one of the most enigmatic figures in Scottish public life. Married to one of the country’s most famous political leaders for nearly 40 years, she has stayed resolutely in the background, and prefers it there. “I’m no Glenys Kinnock,” she said in her first – and only – media interview, with the Sunday Post in 1990. “I married Alex, not politics. That’s his life and I am happy to be in the background. I share his convictions, but one politician in the family is quite enough.” Other than a few brief appearances with Salmond at election counts, there have been no election broadcast cameos or lifestyle features at their detached period home, a converted former mill in Strichen, Aberdeenshire, where she once reared rare Muscovy ducks. She is said to have been defiant about the allegations against her husband, furious that former allies and colleagues turned against him in a case that ultimately resulted in his acquittal on all charges. Yet, now 82, she remained in Strichen during his court appearances, appearing only once by his side on the final day of his trial in Edinburgh. Instead, Salmond’s sisters Gail and Margaret, and his former office manager Isobel Zambonini, accompanied him as he walked into court for hearings. Rumours circulated for years within the Scottish National party and political circles that Salmond had a series of discreet affairs but it never became a public or political issue. At a press conference in August 2018 Salmond admitted he was no saint, and, as part of his defence, claimed to jurors he had a consensual “liaison” with one complainer and a “sleepy cuddle” with another. Consistently shy of making public appearances in the UK, Moira has rarely provoked media interest. But there was one notable occasion. As Andy Murray celebrated winning Wimbledon in 2013, she pulled a large saltire from her handbag as she and her husband sat behind the then prime minister, David Cameron, in the royal box. The couple held it high, reportedly to the tennis player’s irritation. During Salmond’s seven years as first minister, his wife’s official duties in Scotland were rare and off camera. To her apparent delight, she accompanied him on their annual overnight stays with the Queen during her September holidays at Balmoral, but rarely stayed at Bute House, the first minister’s elegant but unhomely official residence in Edinburgh. She was given her own programme of events when she accompanied her husband on his first visit to the US as first minister in 2008, and again on trips in 2011 and 2012 to Dubai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Out of the public gaze, Moira became a significant presence in the SNP in Aberdeenshire, helping at branch events and fundraisers, taking part in Salmond’s private dinners with newspaper editors, friendly business leaders and political allies. She has been his guide, confidante and at times, political strategist. Salmond told one interviewer in 2007 her influence on him was “very substantial. She tells me not to take myself too seriously.” One observer recalls Salmond cadging a cigarette at a party event and pleading like a naughty child: “Don’t tell Moira.”