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 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 ...

, eldest paternal first cousin of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Early life and career

Lascelles was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, the daughter of Charles Tuckwell, an organist, and his wife Elizabeth, and an older sister of

Barry Tuckwell Barry Emmanuel Tuckwell, (5 March 1931 – 16 January 2020) was an Australian French horn player who spent most of his professional life in the UK and the United States. He is generally considered to have been one of the world's leading horn p ...

. After being educated privately, she pursued a career in music as a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist for the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

. She was also a

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

and a favourite model of

Athol Shmith Louis Athol Shmith (19 August 1914 – 21 October 1990) was an Australian studio portrait and fashion photographer and photography educator in his home city of Melbourne, Australia. He contributed to the promotion of international photograph ...

, 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. She ran the Bambi Smith Modelling College in Melbourne. Her

alumnae Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

include such notables as

Roma Egan Roma Jean Egan (born 1948) was a child actress on Australian television, and an Australian ballet dancer and teacher. She was notably a senior soloist for The Australian Ballet, and variously performed for the Queensland Ballet, Basel Ballet, ...

. After the opening of Melbourne's first television station,

HSV-7 HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melb ...

, 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

in Melbourne, and they had one son,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

(b. 1949), formerly a senior journalist for ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' 1981-2017. The couple divorced in 1957. She later married

, on 31 July 1967 at

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...

(USA), having been forced to marry outside the UK by the

Royal Marriages Act 1772 The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (12 Geo 3 c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribed the conditions under which members of the British royal family could contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages t ...

, then still in force. The couple had met in Italy in 1959. They had one son,

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, who was born on 5 July 1964, while the Earl was still married to his first wife,

Marion Stein Maria Donata Nanetta Paulina Gustava Erwina Wilhelmine Stein, CBE (18 October 19266 March 2014), known as Marion Stein, and subsequently by marriage as Marion Lascelles, Countess of Harewood, and later Marion Thorpe, was an Austrian-born British ...

. This event was a society scandal, and resulted in the earl and his second wife being ostracised by the royal family for some years, although the Queen had given her consent to the marriage.

Countess of Harewood

As Countess of Harewood, Lascelles helped manage the family seat

Harewood House Harewood House ( , ) is a country house in Harewood, West Yorkshire, England. Designed by architects John Carr and Robert Adam, it was built, between 1759 and 1771, for Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy West Indian plantation a ...

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 The Huntington's Disease Association (HDA) is a charity that supports people in England and Wales affected by the genetic neurodegenerative brain condition Huntington's disease (HD). The HDA was founded in 1986 and is based in Liverpool. It sup ...

. She was club patron of

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

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. The Countess died at Harewood House on 4 May 2018.

References

External links

Scottish Royalty entry

Death announcement by 8th Earl of Harewood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harewood, Patricia Lascelles, Countess of 1926 births 2018 deaths Australian female models Australian classical violinists British countesses

Patricia Patricia is a female given name of Latin language, Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick (given name), Patrick. The name Patr ...

Australian emigrants to England People from Melbourne