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Cecil Beaton (British, 1904-1980); The Earl and Countess of Harewood; (2) image 1
Cecil Beaton (British, 1904-1980); The Earl and Countess of Harewood; (2) image 2
An Important Archive of Photographs by Cecil Beaton
Lot 170AR,Ω

Cecil Beaton
(British, 1904-1980)
The Earl and Countess of Harewood 2

28 November – 16 December 2024, 12:00 GMT
Online, London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £51.20 inc. premium

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Cecil Beaton (British, 1904-1980)

The Earl and Countess of Harewood
One portrait of George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, staring at camera, the other a profile portrait of Patricia Lascelles, Countess of Harewood, gelatin silver prints, possibly printed later, with photographer's ink-stamp credit to reverse (2)
23.5 x 19cm (9 1/4 x 7 1/2in)

Footnotes

According to Hugo Vickers, the present pair of photographs of George, Earl of Harewood and his second wife Patricia, 'give no hint to the anguish that couple went through but represents one of the happiest marriages in the Royal Family.' George was the Queen's first cousin, son of Princess Mary (the Princess Royal).

While still married to his first wife Marion Stein, he met Australian violinist, Patricia Tuckwell, at Milan airport in 1959 and offered to carry her violin. She refused, but they started talking and according to Patricia 'they went on talking for the next 52 years.' They took the conscious decision to have a child out of wedlock in 1964 which caused a society scandal when this was revealed in 1967.

George then divorced Marion and married Patricia. As a consequence he was banned from court for several years and not invited to the Duke of Windsor's funeral or to Princess Anne's wedding, but overtime the situation thawed. The Queen lunched at Harewood House during her Golden Jubilee visit to Yorkshire. Alastair Forbes, reviewing Lord Harewood's memoirs, wrote: 'The name Patricia is repeated at every opportunity like a recurring Wagnerian love motif.'

With thanks to Hugo Vickers for the writing of this footnote.

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