Lady Sarah Chatto

Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Chatto (née Armstrong-Jones; born 1 May 1964) is a member of the British royal family. She is the only daughter of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon. She and her brother, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, are the only maternal first cousins of King Charles III. At her birth, she was 7th in line to the British throne; as of 2025, she is 29th. Though she does not undertake public duties, she frequently attends events and ceremonies with the wider royal family.

Early life and education

Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Armstrong-Jones was born on 1 May 1964<ref name="Thompson2016">Template:Cite book</ref> at Kensington Palace in London. She is the second child and only daughter of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon. She was baptised in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace on 13 July 1964.

Sarah is a godmother to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lady Rose Gilman, and Lady Louise Windsor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also has half-siblings on her father's side: Polly Fry (born 1960),<ref name="Bloxham">Bloxham, Andy (31 May 2008). "Lord Snowdon fathered a secret love child just months before marrying Princess Margaret". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 28 June 2008.</ref> Lady Frances Armstrong-Jones (born 1979), and Jasper Cable-Alexander (born 1998).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Owens, Mitchell (27 July 1999). "Noticed: Blood Tells. So Does Burke's". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2017.</ref>

Sarah and her brother, David, then Viscount Linley, grew up in the nursery of Kensington Palace, Apartment 10.<ref name="theoaronson" />Template:Efn They were raised with a nanny called Verona Sumner, although their parents, especially their father, were comparatively hands-on (for the time), with their father teaching them to build things and be creative.<ref name="theoaronson" />

Their parents' marriage was fractious; the couple formally separated when Sarah was 12 and divorced when she was 14. She and her brother spent weekends, depending on with which parent, at either Nymans or Royal Lodge.<ref name="theoaronson" /> Holidays were given to the royal estates at Sandringham and Balmoral, where Sarah did landscape painting.<ref name="theoaronson" />

Sarah was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her cousin Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer. She accompanied her mother and brother on an official visit to China and Hong Kong in May 1987.<ref name="theoaronson" />

She attended Bedales School, which she left with a single A level in Art.<ref name="theoaronson">Template:Cite book</ref> She enrolled at the Camberwell School of Art.<ref name="debretts">Template:Cite web</ref> She also studied art at the Royal Academy Schools.<ref name="debretts" /> She then spent two years in India with her father, where he was employed to photograph the production of A Passage to India.<ref name="theoaronson" /> The film's producer, her relative John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne (son-in-law of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma), gave her a job as an intern assisting the wardrobe department and studying wood gilding under her father's cousin Thomas Messel.<ref name="theoaronson" /> Returning to England, she enrolled in a two-year course in textile and fabric design at Middlesex Polytechnic (later renamed as Middlesex University).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Professional life

Chatto has been exhibiting her work, always under the name Sarah Armstrong-Jones, at The Redfern Gallery since 1995.<ref name="officialbiogallery">Template:Cite web</ref> Her work has won awards: the Winsor & Newton Prize in 1988 and the Creswick Landscape Prize in 1990.<ref name="officialbiogallery" />

In 2004, she became vice president of the Royal Ballet, of which her mother had been president.<ref name="theoaronson" /><ref name="brb">Template:Cite web</ref> She was named president in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Chatto does not undertake public duties and is not considered a "working royal". However, it has been reported that she was close to her aunt Queen Elizabeth II, being the queen's niece. Chatto is frequently seen attending public events such as jubilees and funerals, as well as semi-private royal family events, such as the Sandringham Christmas service, with her sons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Marriage and children

Sarah met Daniel Chatto during her years in India with her father in the 1980s. Chatto was working on another British film, Heat and Dust.<ref name="greenforpeople">Template:Cite web</ref> He is from a theatrical family, the son of actor Tom Chatto (1920–1982) and the theatrical agent Ros Chatto (born Rosalind Joan Thompson; died 2012).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He proposed to her with a "vintage cluster ring."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The couple married on 14 July 1994;<ref name="Thompson2016"/> the Reverend Chad Varah, founder of the Samaritans, officiated at the wedding, held at St Stephen's, Walbrook in the City of London. The bride's wedding gown was designed by Jasper Conran.<ref name="greenforpeople" /> Her bridesmaids were half-sister Lady Frances, Zara Phillips (daughter of her first cousin Princess Anne), and Tara Noble-Singh, a family friend.<ref name="greenforpeople" />

The couple have two sons:<ref name="Tatler">Template:Cite news</ref>

• Samuel David Benedict Chatto (born 28 July 1996), 30th in the line of succession Template:As of. He studied at Eton, and went on to study history of art at the University of Edinburgh, and works as a sculptor, based in West Sussex.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also completed yoga teacher training in India.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Arthur Robert Nathaniel Chatto (born 5 February 1999), 31st in the line of succession, and a former page of honour to Queen Elizabeth II, his great-aunt, from 2009 to 2015. He initially attended Westminster Cathedral Choir School before going to Eton College. He then studied geography at the University of Edinburgh, and at the same time worked as a personal trainer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Tatler"/> As of June 2022, he was serving with the Royal Marines.<ref>The Queen's Platinum Jubilee: A Service of Thanksgiving: 1:44:00</ref>

External links

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