'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
Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of
King George V of the United Kingdom and
Queen Mary. A first cousin of
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, he succeeded to his father's earldom on
24 May 1947. He is 40th in line to the British throne. He is the only person to serve as
Counsellor of State without being a Prince, Princess, or Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, serving from
1945 to
1951, then
1952 to
1956.
He was born at
Harewood House, the Lascelles family's
stately home in Yorkshire. His grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, stood as sponsors at his christening. 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 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 1983.
On
29 September 1949, Lord Harewood married
Marion Stein (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. They have one son:
★
Mark Lascelles (born
4 July 1964)
Since Mark Lascelles was born out of wedlock, he and his descendants are not in the
line of succession to the British Throne or in remainder to the
earldom of Harewood.
Lord Harewood served as
chancellor of the
University of York from 1962 to 1967.
Queen Elizabeth II created him a Knight Commander of the
Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1986.
He was ranked 270th in the
Sunday Times Rich List 2005 with an estimated wealth of £148m.
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—)