Angela Lascelles


Angela Estree Lyssod D'Arcy Lascelles was a British actress, married into the British Royal Family. She was the first wife of The Honourable Gerald Lascelles, the second son of Princess Mary, the Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood.

Birth and career

Angela Dowding was born on 20 April 1919 in Hanwell, London to Charles Stanley Dowding, a second lieutenant of the Somerset Light Infantry from Dulwich, and his wife Lilian Emma Lawler, later Lady Fox originally from St Marylebone. She studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama before starring in Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit in the West End, and the film Miss London Ltd..

Marriage and issue

On 15 July 1952, she married Gerald Lascelles, the second son of Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, at St Margaret's, Westminster. The two had met at a party hosted by the Earl of Kimberley. Lascelles was a grandson of King George V and a cousin of Elizabeth II. At the time of their marriage, Lascelles was twelfth in the line of succession to the British throne. As the son of an earl, he was styled The Honourable, and Mrs Lascelles's style became The Honourable Mrs Gerald Lascelles.
The marriage took place at St. Margaret's, Westminster, with the Royal Family in attendance. However, the Queen did not attend due to a last-minute cold. This was seen in the press to be a snub for the couple. The reception took place at St James's Palace, which Queen Mary, Mr Lascelles's grandmother, attended. Together they had one child:
In 1955, the Lascelleses moved to Fort Belvedere, Surrey, the former country home of Gerald Lascelles's uncle, Edward VIII.

Divorce and later life

Angela and Gerald divorced in 1978, and he later married actress Elizabeth Colvin. Angela Lascelles continued to live in Windsor Great Park, and had good relations with the Royal Family. The Queen continued to invite her to the Royal Enclosure at Ascot. She never remarried and died in Virginia Water, Surrey on 28 February 2007.