Given the countless columns dedicated to the British royal family, it would seem strange for any Windsor to have ever escaped public scrutiny. Her Royal Highness Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (1897–1965), however, the only daughter of King George V and an aunt of the present queen, led a tabloid-free existence—marrying the heir to an earldom and largely dropping out of sight to raise their children, breed cattle, and serve as chatelaine of Yorkshire’s legendary 18th-century Harewood House, which had been designed by architect John Carr of York, decorated by Robert Adam, and landscaped by Capability Brown. But that respectable obscurity is over for the countess, at least on the auction front.
On December 5, in “Harewood: Collecting in the Royal Tradition,” Christie’s London will be selling hundreds of the Princess Royal’s personal belongings, among them Chippendale armchairs, Chinese jades, and Fabergé objects. Four days later, on December 9, the auction house stages “Harewood: The Attic Sale,” another dispersal of Mariana, such as George IV curtain tiebacks and a lady’s riding habit.
Included in both sales are items from the estate of the princess’s elder son, George Lascelles, seventh Earl of Harewood, who died in July 2011 after a distinguished career as managing director and, later, chairman of the English National Opera. (He also served for 30-plus years as editor of Kobbé’s Complete Opera Book.) It was a professional path that dumbfounded Lord Harewood’s royal relations. “It’s very odd about George and music,” his uncle the Duke of Windsor, once observed. “You know, his parents were quite normal—liked horses and dogs and the country.”
Click here to see highlights from the Harewood House sales at Christie’s London.
