Serena Armstrong-Jones, Countess of Snowdon explained

Honorific Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Countess of Snowdon
Noble Family:Stanhope (by birth)
Birth Name:Serena Alleyne Stanhope
Birth Date:1 March 1970
Birth Place:Limerick, Ireland
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Education:St Mary's School, Wantage

Serena Alleyne Armstrong-Jones, Countess of Snowdon (Stanhope; born 1 March 1970) is married to David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon.

Early life and education

She was born The Honourable Serena Alleyne Stanhope[1] in Limerick, Ireland, the daughter of the then Viscount Petersham and his wife Virginia Freeman-Jackson, a socialite. Her parents divorced when she was 13 years old. She has one older brother. Through her father, she is a descendant of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England.[2]

She spent most of her childhood between Chelsea with her father and her father's girlfriend (and later wife) Anita Howard, Countess of Suffolk, and Monaco with her mother.[3] She went to St Mary's School, Wantage, where she was described as being "more interested in lacrosse than Latin".[3] After leaving St Mary's School, she went on to study art in Italy. She also attended a finishing school in Switzerland.[4]

Career

In 1989, Armstrong-Jones joined Sotheby's as a trainee. She then worked as a publicist for Giorgio Armani until August 1993, two months before her wedding.[4] She subsequently had her own shop called 'Serena Linley Provence'.[5] The store closed in 2014.

Marriage and children

On 8 October 1993, she married David Armstrong-Jones (then known as Viscount Linley), the only son of Princess Margaret a nephew of Queen Elizabeth II, and first cousin of King Charles III, at St Margaret's Church, Westminster. They had met when her father commissioned Linley to design a walnut dining table for his Chelsea house.[3]

There were 650 guests in attendance at the wedding, including Elton John, Jerry Hall, the Aga Khan, and Constantine II of Greece.[6] In addition, there were an estimated 5,000 spectators in the streets. She wore a $9,000 dress designed by Bruce Robbins, noted for its resemblance to Princess Margaret's 1960 Norman Hartnell wedding dress, and the 'Lotus Tiara', which was on loan from her mother-in-law, Princess Margaret.[7] Her going-away outfit was designed by Robinson Valentine.[8]

They have two children together:

When Viscount Linley became the Earl of Snowdon on the death of his father in 2017, she became the Countess of Snowdon.[10]

In February 2020, she and the Earl of Snowdon separated, and a spokesperson confirmed they will be getting a divorce.[11]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Syal . R. . Children spent much of last years with mother . UK Telegraph . 1 January 2019 . 10 February 2002 . He married the Hon. Serena Stanhope, the daughter of the landowner Viscount Petersham, in 1993.
  2. Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 1796.
  3. Web site: Green . Michelle . Windsor Knot . People Magazine . Time Warner . 6 May 2018.
  4. Web site: Brozan . Nadine . Chronicle . The New York Times . 29 May 2018.
  5. Web site: Serena Linley Provence Chelsea SW3 . Jonathan Clark Architects . 6 June 2018.
  6. News: Serena Stanhope and Viscount Linley's wedding. Tatler. 10 January 1994. 5 June 2018.
  7. Web site: Royal wedding dresses through the years . The Telegraph . 7 August 2015 . 5 September 2015.
  8. News: Rumbold . Judy . The sainted Valentine . https://web.archive.org/web/20141107215004/http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG3360575/The-sainted-Valentine.html . dead . 7 November 2014 . 5 September 2015 . The Telegraph. 8 July 2007.
  9. Web site: The Queen turns a page for Viscount Linley's son . The Daily Telegraph . Tim . Walker . 1 March 2012 . 16 May 2018.
  10. Web site: How the Earl of Snowdon Turned His Heritage into a Lifestyle . Colacello . Bob . 10 March 2017 . vanityfair.com . Vanity Fair . 6 August 2021.
  11. Web site: Princess Margaret's Son, the Earl of Snowdon, Is Getting Divorced . Mackelden . Amy . 17 February 2020 . Harper's BAZAAR . en-US . 17 February 2020.