Patricia Lascelles, Countess of Harewood

Patricia Elizabeth Lascelles, Dowager Countess of Harewood (née Tuckwell, born 24 November 1926), is an Australian violinist and former fashion model. She is the widow of George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, eldest paternal first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

Life and career

Patricia Elizabeth Tuckwell was born in Melbourne, the daughter of Charles Tuckwell and his wife Elizabeth, and an older sister of Barry Tuckwell. She was a violinist for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

She was also a fashion model and a favourite model of Athol Shmith, 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 include such notables as Roma Egan. After the opening of Melbourne's first television station, HSV-7, 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. She is patroness of the Huntington's Disease Association. She is also patron of Leeds United.

Marriages and offspring

On 7 July 1948, she married Athol Shmith in Melbourne, and they had one son, Michael (b. 1949), now a senior journalist for The Age. The couple divorced in 1957. She then married George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, on 31 July 1967 at New Canaan, Connecticut (USA). They have one son, Mark, who was born on 5 July 1964, while the Earl was still married to the first Countess, Marion Stein.