George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood
AM | |
---|---|
Member of the House of Lords as Earl of Harewood | |
In office 7 February 1956 – 11 November 1999 | |
Preceded by | Henry Lascelles |
Succeeded by | House of Lords Act 1999 |
Personal details | |
Born | George Henry Hubert Lascelles 7 February 1923 Chesterfield House, London, England |
Died | 11 July 2011 Harewood House, Leeds, Yorkshire, England | (aged 88)
Resting place | All Saints Church, Harewood, Yorkshire |
Spouses | |
Children |
|
Parents | |
Education | Ludgrove School Eton College King's College, Cambridge |
George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood (7 February 1923 – 11 July 2011), styled The Honourable George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, was a British classical music administrator and author. He served as director of the Royal Opera House (1951–1953; 1969–1972), chairman of the board of the English National Opera (ENO) (1986–1995); managing director of the ENO (1972–1985), managing director of the English National Opera North (1978–81), governor of the BBC (1985–1987), and president of the British Board of Film Classification (1985–1996).
Harewood was the elder son of the
Early life
George Lascelles was born at his parents' London home of Chesterfield House on 7 February 1923, the first child of Henry, Viscount Lascelles, and Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles, and first grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary, who stood as sponsors at his christening. The christening took place on 25 March 1923 at St Mary's Church in the village of Goldsborough, near Knaresborough adjoining the family home Goldsborough Hall.[1] After his paternal grandfather's death in 1929, he was styled as Viscount Lascelles as his father succeeded to the earldom. He served as a Page of Honour at the coronation of his uncle King George VI in May 1937.
He was raised at
Military service
Lascelles joined the
He was held as a
We thought it was absolutely ridiculous. There were about half a dozen of us with well-known connections and we were of absolutely no importance ourselves. We were all let's call it relatively junior officers from (age) 30-something downwards. Our fear was that someone would rumble that the bargaining power was a great deal less than they'd at first thought it was – they'd calculated one way and then it turned out another, and then we'd become expendable. That was our fear. And once the Wehrmacht, the army, lost interest in us, we were frightened of becoming prisoners of the Gestapo or something like this which would have become very disagreeable. We just avoided it. We spent the last night of our time not at Colditz but actually in Austria by then, where the guns of the guards were pointing outwards at the Gestapo who might come in rather than in at us who might try to get out.
— Lord Harewood, Desert Island Discs, 1982[2]
In March 1945, Adolf Hitler signed his death warrant; the SS general in command of prisoner-of-war camps, Gottlob Berger, realizing the war was lost, refused to carry out the sentence and released Lascelles to the Swiss.[3]
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.
House of Lords
Lascelles succeeded his father in 1947. On 7 February 1956, he took his seat in the
Career
Opera
A music enthusiast, Lord Harewood devoted most of his career to
He was the author or editor of three books,
Football
His other interests included
Public life
Lascelles was the only person to serve as Counsellor of State without being a Prince of the United Kingdom, serving from 1945 to 1951, then from 1952 to 1956. He served as chancellor of the University of York from 1962 to 1967. He was ranked number 1355 in the Sunday Times Rich List 2008 with an estimated wealth of £55 million—his magnificent art treasures, held in trust and valued at more than £50 million, and a 3,000 acres (12 km2) estate outside Leeds. The estate and house, Harewood House, are held by a charity with £9 million of assets, and were not counted as part of his wealth.
Honours
In 1959, Harewood received the
Ribbon | Honour | Date Awarded |
---|---|---|
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal | 6 May 1935 | |
King George VI Coronation Medal | 12 May 1937 | |
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal | 2 June 1953 | |
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal | 6 February 1977 | |
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire | 14 June 1986 | |
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal | 6 February 2002 | |
Member of the Order of Australia | 1 July 2010 |
Marriages and children
On 29 September 1949 at
Lord and Lady Harewood had three sons:
- David Henry George Lascelles, 8th Earl of Harewood, born 21 October 1950. He married Margaret Messenger on 12 February 1979; they were divorced in 1989. They have four children and seven grandchildren. He married Diane Howse on 11 March 1990.
- Hon James Edward Lascelles, born 5 October 1953. He married Fredericka Duhrrson on 4 April 1973; they were divorced in 1985. They have two children and one granddaughter. He married secondly Lori Lee on 4 May 1985; they were divorced in 1996. They have two children and one grandson. He married thirdly Joy Elias-Rilwan on 30 January 1999.
- Hon Robert Jeremy Hugh Lascelles, born 14 February 1955. He married Julie Bayliss on 4 July 1981; they were divorced. They have three children and five grandchildren. He married Catherine Bell on 7 January 1999. They have a daughter.
The earl's marriage to Marion Stein ended in divorce in 1967, after the earl's mistress, Patricia "Bambi" Tuckwell – an Australian violinist and sister of the musician Barry Tuckwell – gave birth to his son. This was considered an enormous scandal at the time, and caused the couple to be ostracised for some years, even after their relationship was made legal.[17] Stein went on to marry politician Jeremy Thorpe.
Lord Harewood married Tuckwell (24 November 1926 – 4 May 2018) on 31 July 1967. The wedding took place at
They had one son:- Mark Hubert Lascelles, born 4 July 1964. He married, first, Andrea Kershaw (born 16 June 1964) on 8 August 1992 and divorced in 2005. They have three daughters. He married Judith Ann Kilburn on 16 July 2011.
Death
Lord Harewood died peacefully at home, on 11 July 2011, aged 88 years.[20] A private, but well-attended stately home funeral was held on 15 July.[21]
Books
The Tongs and the Bones: The Memoirs of Lord Harewood, published by George Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1981),
References
- ^ "The Earl of Harewood". The Daily Telegraph. 11 July 2011. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Earl of Harewood". Desert Island Discs. 1 January 1982. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ "Obituary of George 7th Earl of Harewood KBE AM". The Yorkshire Post. 11 July 2011.
- ^ "Preamble (Hansard, 7 February 1956)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 7 February 1956. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ B., E. (20 February 1950). "Significant Choice for Y.S.O. concert". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
[page 1/front page] - The Earl of Harewood has agreed to be patron of the concert, and he and the Countess have promised to attend.
- ^ "Bradbury". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. Yorkshire, England. 21 March 1949. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
....besides visit Leeds yesterday, the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra's concert at Leeds Town Hall on Saturday night was devoted to the music from the operas of Mozart and Puccini. Among the audience was the Earl of Harewood.
- ^ "From Our London Correspondent". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 10 February 1950. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
Our London Correspondent – The Earl of Harewood entertained last night a large party of music-loving guests to celebrate the publication of (his magazine, "Opera"...)
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/103948. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 9780091870935. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ "Queen's cousin Lord Harewood dies". BBC News. BBC. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ^ Fox, Margalit (26 July 2011). "George Lascelles, Lord Harewood, Dies at 88; Wrote Opera Reference". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ "No. 50551". The London Gazette. 14 June 1986. p. 7.
- ^ "Commonwealth of Australia Special Gazette S102, 1 July 2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ "Reply to a parliamentary question" (PDF) (in German). p. 74. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-4087-0694-7.
- ISBN 978-1-84383-382-6.
- ^ Hauptfuhrer, Fred (8 June 1981). "Publicly Shunned for Years, the Earl and Countess of Harewood Get a Royal Welcome". People. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- Lord Harewood. The Tongs and the Bones. p. 221.
- ^ "A Wedding in New Canaan". Time. 11 August 1967. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
- ^ "Queen's cousin Lord Harewood dies". BBC News. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ "FITTING FINALE: Opera star sings at Lord Harewood's statley home funeral". Yorkshire Post. 16 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011 – via PressReader.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Harewood
- George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood interview by Bruce Duffie
- Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 12 July 2011.
- Appearance on Desert Island Discs 26 December 1981
- Archival Material at Leeds University Library
- Portraits of George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood at the National Portrait Gallery, London