Gerald David Lascelles

Gerald David Lascelles (/ˈlæsəls/ LASS-əlss; 21 August 1924 – 27 February 1998) was the younger son of Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood, and Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He was styled The Honourable Gerald Lascelles.

Gerald Lascelles
Personal details
Born(1924-08-21)21 August 1924
Goldsborough Hall, Yorkshire, England
Died27 February 1998(1998-02-27) (aged 73)
Bergerac, France
Spouses
  • (m. 1952; div. 1978)
  • Elizabeth Collingwood
    (m. 1978)
Children2
Parents

Life

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Lascelles was born at Goldsborough Hall, near Knaresborough, West Riding of Yorkshire, and was baptised in October 1924 with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of York (later King Edward VIII and Queen Elizabeth) as his godparents represented there by proxies.[1] The baptism was held in private at St. Mary's Church in the village of Goldsborough.[1] At his birth, he was 7th in the line of succession. He was educated at Eton College.[2]

Marriages and family

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On 15 July 1952, he married Angela Dowding (20 April 1919 – 28 February 2007) at St. Margaret's, Westminster. They then moved into a house in Albion Mews, W2.[3] In 1955, the family moved to Fort Belvedere, Surrey, the former country home of Gerald Lascelles's uncle, Edward VIII (the Duke of Windsor). Before divorcing in July 1978, they had one son:

  • Henry Ulick Lascelles (born 19 May 1953), who married firstly Alexandra Morton (15 April 1953) on 25 August 1979 (divorced 20 October 1999) and secondly Fiona Wilmott on 2 June 2006. He has one son by his first marriage, Maximilian John Gerald, born 19 December 1991.

On 17 November 1978, Lascelles married his second wife, actress Elizabeth Colvin[4] (née Elizabeth Evelyn Collingwood, 23 April 1924 – 14 January 2006), in Vienna, Austria. They had a son:

  • Martin David Lascelles (born 9 February 1962, London). Martin married Charmaine Eccleston (b. 24 Dec 1962, Kingston, Jamaica) on 23 April 1999, and they have a son, Alexander Joshua, born on 20 September 2002. Martin also has an illegitimate daughter with singer Carol Anne Douet (b. 4 May 1962, London)[5] named Georgina Elizabeth, born on 22 December 1988.[5]

Interests and positions

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Lascelles was the president of the British Racing Drivers' Club from 1964[2] to 1991, after the 5th Earl Howe died. Lord Howe had asked Lascelles to replace him, who was briefly a driver before this. In his role as BRDC president, Lascelles was invited by the Australian Racing Drivers Club, promoters of the Bathurst 1000 Touring car race, to be the Grand Marshal for the 1985 race. He served as president of the Institute of the Motor Industry in 1969-73 and 1975–77, and company director of Silverstone Circuits Ltd and Silverstone Leisure Ltd, Smith & Grace (Sales) Ltd, and Green Crop Conservation Ltd.[2]

He was also a passionate jazz enthusiast, and he collaborated with journalist and magazine editor Sinclair Traill in compiling the popular Just Jazz yearbooks in the 1950s.

Death

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Lascelles died in Bergerac, France, in 1998.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Princess Mary's Baby Christened Secretly: Exclusion of Public from Ceremony Causes Complaint of Lascelles in Parish". The New York Times. 5 October 1924. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Mosley, Charles (ed.). Debrett's Handbook, 1982. Distinguished People in British Life. Debrett's Peerage Limited. p. 899. ISBN 0-905649-38-9.
  3. ^ Mews News Archived 10 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Lurot Brand. Published winter 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  4. ^ Angela Lascelles - Obituaries, The Telegraph, 12 March 2007.
  5. ^ a b Panton, Kenneth J. (2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5779-7. He has one child (Alexandre, born in 2002) by Charmaine Eccleston, whom he married in 1999, and another (Georgina, born in 1988) as a result of a relationship with singer Carol Douet (Lascelles, Henry, Earl of Harewood, page 298).
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Sporting positions
Preceded by BRDC President
1964–1991
Succeeded by