No, not really.”“We use this space more than people think,” says Diane who, to give her official title, is now Diane Lascelles, Countess of Harewood. Genealogy for Margaret Rosalind Lascelles (Messenger), Viscountess Lascelles family tree on Geni, with over 200 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. You’d never catch me in here in my pyjamas, but you may find one of us wandering around with a mug of tea or something.”• In Cloud Country runs from March 29 to June 30. At one time, she was employed as a laboratory assistant at the University of Bristol.. “Harewood was built by fabulously rich people but it was also where people were invited in to enjoy it. But has something radically changed for me in the last two years? Article excerpt. At the age of 56, she has to be both Diane Lascelles, countess, and Diane Howse, artist-in-residence.As a keen supporter of all forms of culture, be it highbrow or popular, football or opera, he left behind a legacy and, to some degree, a raised bar for the next earl and countess.“We don’t just say: ‘Well, you can either afford it or not.’ We do actually attend to communities who might not be able to afford it or know what we do. From his birth in 1950 until he succeeded his father in July 2011, he was known by the courtesy title Viscount Lascelles. Margaret, Viscountess Lascelles (born 15 April 1948) is the former wife of David Lascelles, 8th Earl of Harewood.. She was born at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England as Margaret Rosalind Messenger to Edgar Frank Messenger and Margaret Alice Black.
“The role of countess is really a historic title and position and one which, of course, a number of extraordinary women have occupied over all time.“It’s always a good idea to build on positive things,” she says.
“Shall we sit here?” she says, rhetorically.In Cloud Country sees works by the aforementioned Turner and Constable placed alongside unmistakably modern artists such as Bridget Riley and Gary Hume, not to mention those who could be seen as bridging the gap, like Matisse and Julian Opie.“You have to acknowledge the history of the house,” says Diane. THE owner of an apartment in an exclusive block and her tenants havebeen barred from entering hr property by the estate managers. But, if you think about it, in most places you have to pay for a car park, or you get inside and find that the main collection might be free, but the special collection you have to pay to see.There’s a genuine sense that, although she intends to continue with tradition at Harewood, Diane won’t suddenly morph into an aloof countess. Please click the button below to reload the page. 'My health has suffered and I lost [pounds sterling]50,000 in legal fees for nothing'An unknown error has occurred. After meeting her, you suspect she’ll leave more of a mark on the house than the house will leave on her.That saw Diane (as she prefers to be known) move from being a conventional middle-class artist from a farming background in Oxfordshire, to being the latest in a line of aristocrats dating back more than 200 years.“Within that we have a lot of schemes and, at different times, we’ve found funding to bus people in from different places.We start chatting in front of a vast fireplace surrounded by walls of centuries-old books, Chinese pottery and Chippendale furniture. “But that’s like everybody, it’s as much about generations – when your parents are there you have a different relationship with the world but that changes sooner or later.”“So, we operate in a self- sufficient way and a component of that, though sadly not the whole solution, is charging people to come in to Harewood.But there’s still a circle to square in terms of accessing Harewood – that of money.The “we” and “us” she refers to is the rest of the Lascelles family, which she officially joined 23 years ago upon marrying husband David.