Patricia Lascelles, Countess of Harewood
Patricia Elizabeth Lascelles, Countess of Harewood (née Tuckwell, formerly Shmith; 24 November 1926 – 4 May 2018) was an Australian-British violinist and fashion model. She was the wife of George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, eldest paternal first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Countess of Harewood | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Patricia Elizabeth Tuckwell 24 November 1926 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 4 May 2018 (aged 91) Harewood House, Leeds, England |
| Spouses | |
| Children | |
| Relatives | Barry Tuckwell (brother) |
| Occupation | Violinist, former fashion model |
Early life and career
Lascelles was born in Melbourne, the daughter of Charles Tuckwell, an organist,[1] and his wife Elizabeth, and an older sister of Barry Tuckwell.
After being educated privately, she pursued a career in music as a violinist for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
She was also a fashion model and a favourite model of Athol Shmith, who became her first husband. While they were married, Patricia often modeled for him, under the name Bambi Smith. In 1951, she was one of the founders of the Mannequins' Association of Victoria.[2][3] She ran the Bambi Smith Modelling College in Melbourne. Her alumnae include such notables as Roma Egan. After the opening of Melbourne's first television station, HSV-7, on 4 November 1956, she appeared on a number of early programs, including Beauty is My Business, in which her co-host was Mary Parker.
Personal life
On 7 July 1948, Patricia married Athol Shmith in Melbourne, and they had one son, Michael (b. 1949), formerly a senior journalist for The Age 1981–2017. The couple divorced in 1957.
She later married George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, on 31 July 1967 at New Canaan, Connecticut (USA), having been forced to marry outside the UK by the Royal Marriages Act 1772, then still in force.[4] The couple had met in Italy in 1959.[5] They had one son, Mark, who was born on 5 July 1964, while the Earl was still married to his first wife, Marion Stein.[6][7] This event was a society scandal, and resulted in the earl and his second wife being ostracised by the royal family for some years,[8] although the Queen had given her consent to the marriage.[9]
Countess of Harewood
As Countess of Harewood, Lascelles helped manage the family seat Harewood House in Yorkshire, developing it as a centre for bird conservation and expanding it as a visitor attraction.
She was patroness of the Huntington's Disease Association.[10] She was club patron of Leeds United from 2011 until 2017 when she was named honorary president of the club; her late husband had been president of Leeds United from 1961 until his death.[11]
The Countess died at Harewood House on 4 May 2018.[12]
References
- Tuckwell, Charles. When Wattles Bloom.
- "Patricia Tuckwell 1947". The Good, The Great & The Gifted. National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
- "Bambi comes home with her Earl". The Age. 3 February 1970. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
- James Panton (24 February 2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. Scarecrow Press. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-8108-7497-8.
- "The countess who tried to teach cockatoos to speak Australian". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 May 2018.
- Hauptfuhrer, Fred (8 June 1981). "Publicly Shunned for Years, the Earl and Countess of Harewood Get a Royal Welcome". People. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
- "Wife Divorces Queen's Cousin". Montreal Gazette. 7 April 1967. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
- "The Dowager Countess of Harewood – obituary". The Telegraph. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- "No. 44375". The London Gazette. 28 July 1967. p. 8327.
- "HDA Homepage". Huntington's Disease Association. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- "THE DOWAGER COUNTESS OF HAREWOOD NAMED HONORARY PRESIDENT – Leeds United". Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- "Dowager Countess of Harewood Patricia Lascelles dies". BBC News. 6 May 2018.