by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2014
Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood; Credit – Wikipedia
Henry George Charles Lascelles was born on September 9, 1882, in London, England. He was the elder son and the eldest of the three children of Henry Ulrick Lascelles, 5th Earl of Harewood and Lady Florence Bridgeman, daughter of Orlando Bridgeman, 3rd Earl of Bradford. At the time of his birth, Henry was styled The Honourable Henry Lascelles. When his grandfather died in 1892 and his father became the 5th Earl of Harewood, Henry was able to use one of his father’s subsidiary titles and be styled Viscount Lascelles. He became 6th Earl of Harewood upon the death of his father in 1929.
The Earl of Harewood is a Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1812 for Edward Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood (2nd creation), a wealthy sugar plantation owner and former Member of Parliament. The family seat is Harewood House, near Leeds in Yorkshire, England, which was built 1759 – 1771 for wealthy trader Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood (first creation). The Earl of Harewood also holds the subsidiary titles Viscount Lascelles and Baron Harewood.
Henry had a sister and a brother:
- Lady Margaret Selina Lascelles (1883–1978), married Gustavus Hamilton-Russell, 9th Viscount Boyne, had issue
- Major Hon. Edward Cecil Lascelles (1887–1935), married Joan Balfour, a granddaughter of George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll
Henry attended the Royal Military College Sandhurst and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Grenadier Guards on February 12, 1902. He gained the rank of Captain in the service of the Grenadier Guards and fought in World War I where he commanded the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards. He was mentioned in dispatches and wounded twice. He also served with the Yorkshire Hussars Yeomanry and attained the rank of Major.
Henry married Princess Mary, the only daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey in London, England on February 28, 1922. Despite their fifteen-year age difference and rumors that the marriage was not happy, their elder son George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood said the marriage was a happy one. He wrote in his memoirs that they “got on well together and had a lot of friends and interests in common.”
Photo Credit – Wikipedia, US Library of Congress Prints and Photos
Mary and Henry had two sons:
- George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood (1923 – 2011), married 1949 Marion Stein, had issue, divorced 1967; married 1967 Patricia Tuckwell, had issue
- The Honourable Gerald Lascelles (1924 – 1998), married 1952 Angela Dowding, had issue, divorced 1978; married Elizabeth Collingwood; had issue
Henry and his wife enjoyed country pursuits. They both regularly rode with the Bramham Moor Hunt where Henry was Master of the Hunt. Henry was a Freemason and served as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England from 1942-47. Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood died on May 23, 1947, at Harewood House at the age of 67, and was buried at All Saints Church in Harewood, West Yorkshire, England. Princess Mary survived him for 18 years and was buried with her husband.
Grave of Mary, Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood and her husband, George Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood. photo: www.findagrave.com
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