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George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, KBE (born 7 February 1923), styled The Hon. George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, is the elder son of the 6th Earl of Harewood (1882-1947), and Princess Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary. He had a younger brother, The Honourable Gerald Lascelles. Lord Harewood was the eldest nephew of King Edward VIII and of King George VI and is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, he succeeded to his father's earldom on 24 May 1947.

Early life

George Lascelles was born at his parents' London home of Chesterfield House on 7 February 1923, the first child of Henry Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles and Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles, and first grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary, who stood as sponsors at his christening which took place on 25th March 1923 at St Mary's Church in the village of Goldsborough, near Knaresborough and then returned to their adjoining family home Goldsborough Hall. He served as a Page of Honour at the coronation of his uncle, King George VI, in May 1937. He was educated at Ludgrove School, Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, after which he was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards. He rose to the rank of captain. During World War II, he fought in Italy. The Germans captured and held him as a prisoner of war in Oflag IV-C (Colditz) from 1944 to May 1945. In 1945-46, he served as aide-de-camp to his great uncle, Lord Athlone, who was then Governor-General of Canada. Lord Harewood served as a Counsellor of State in 1947, 1953-54, and 1956.

A music enthusiast, Lord Harewood has devoted most of his career to opera. He served as editor of Opera magazine from 1950 to 1953 and served as director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden from 1951 to 1953 and again from 1969 to 1972. He served as chairman of the board of the English National Opera (ENO) from 1986 to 1995; musical director of the ENO from 1972 to 1985; artistic director of the Edinburgh, Leeds, Adelaide Festivals; Managing Director of the ENO offshoot English National Opera North from 1978 to 1981. Lord Harewood served as a governor of the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1985 to 1987 and as the president of the Board of Film Classification from 1985 to 1996. He is the author or editor of three books, Kobbé's Complete Opera Book (ed. 1954, now The New Kobbé's Opera Book, edited with Antony Peattie, latest ed. 1997), The Tongs and the Bones (an autobiography, 1981), and Kobbé's Illustrated Opera Book (ed. 1989). His other interests include football: he served as president of the Football Association from 1963 to 1972 and of Leeds United Football Club since 1961.

Marriage

On 29 September 1949, Lord Harewood married Marion Stein (originally called Maria Donata Stein when she was born 18 October 1926), a concert pianist and a famous operatic singer, and the daughter of the Viennese music publisher Erwin Stein. Their marriage produced three sons:

• David, Viscount Lascelles (born 21 October 1950)
• The Honourable James Lascelles (born 5 October 1953)
• The Honourable Jeremy Lascelles (born 14 February 1955)

This marriage ended in divorce in 1967, considered a scandal at the time. Marion went on to marry politician Jeremy Thorpe.

Lord Harewood was married a second time on 31 July 1967 to Patricia Tuckwell (born 24 November 1926), an Australian violinist and sister of the musician Barry Tuckwell. The wedding took place at Waveny Park in New Canaan, Connecticut. They have one son:

• Mark Lascelles (born 4 July 1964)

A Time magazine article published at the time of the wedding suggested that the choice of a wedding location outside of England was due to the Church of England's views on divorce.^[1]

Further information

• He is 40th in line to the British throne and at the time of his birth was 6th.

• He is the only person to serve as Counsellor of State without being a Prince of the United Kingdom, serving from 1945 to 1951, then 1952 to 1956.

• Lord Harewood served as chancellor of the University of York from 1962 to 1967.

• Lord Harewood was a noted friend and colleague of the late opera diva Maria Callas and is featured in the 1968 EMI documentary The Callas Conversations Vol. I during which he interviewed Callas at length concerning her career and ideas about opera.

• Queen Elizabeth II created him a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1986.

• He was ranked #1355 in the Sunday Times Rich List 2008 with an estimated wealth of £55m. He has magnificent art treasures, held in trust and valued at more than £50m, and a 3,000-acre estate outside Leeds. The estate and house, Harewood House are held by a charity with £9m of assets, and are not counted as part of his wealth.

• He is the oldest living grandchild of George V and Queen Mary.

• He is the first of nine grandchilden of George V and Queen Mary.

• Outlived his two royal cousins Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and Prince William of Gloucester and his brother Gerald.

• Only he and Prince Michael of Kent are not Knights of Garter nor was his brother Gerald and Prince William of Gloucester; also Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was not a Lady of the Garter.

• He is the oldest cousin of Queen Elizabeth II (on George VI's side), but The Hon. John Patrick Bowes-Lyon, Master of Glamis is the Queen's eldest cousin.

• As the oldest grandchild of George V and Queen Mary he is 21 years older than the youngest grandchild Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester

• According to the book, "God Save The Queen," written by Alan Michie in 1952, "with the possible exception of Princess Margaret and the Duke of Edinburgh, he is probably the only member of the present royal family who could have won recognition in a competitive society where brains count more than breeding." (page 297)

References

Titles

• The Hon. George Lascelles (7 February 1923 – 6 October 1929)
• Viscount Lascelles (6 October 1929 – 24 May 1947)
• The Rt Hon. The Earl of Harewood (24 May 1947 – 1986)
• The Rt Hon. The Earl of Harewood, KBE (1986—)

External links

• George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood interview by Bruce Duffie
• Goldsborough Hall was George Lascelles' childhood home

Books

The Tongs And Bones: The Memoires of Lord Harewood, published by George Weidenfeld and Nicholson (1981), ISBN 0 297 77960 5 is George Lascelles' autobiography

Ancestry