Royal Harewood: Celebrating the Life of The Yorkshire Princess 31 March to 17 June 2012

HRH Princess Mary with her husband Henry,
6th Earl of Harewood on the Terrace at
Harewood, 1946 © Harewood House Trust

Harewood House in Yorkshire was home to Princess Mary, The Princess Royal, through four decades. Her love of Yorkshire and the affection the people of Yorkshire felt for her in return mean that she will always be remembered as ‘The Yorkshire Princess’. Harewood is proud to celebrate this Jubilee year with a special exhibition remembering her, an exhibition that runs through the House and out into the gardens which she loved so much. We are also commemorating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee with an exhibition of intimate family photographs of The Queen, from childhood to motherhood.

HRH Princess Mary
© Harewood House Trust

Princess Mary married Henry, 6th Earl of Harewood in 1922 and they moved into Harewood House in 1929. They introduced many modern amenities and commissioned architect Sir Herbert Baker to design a suite of rooms for them. They were both keen gardeners and the changes and improvements they made to Harewood’s gardens can still be seen. They were also avid collectors and, with the generous help of the Heritage Lottery Fund, we will be displaying for the first time many of the things that were precious to her: personal items such as exquisite fans, gifts from heads of state, presents from her royal relations by the great designer Fabergé. She loved the countryside and Harewood was her family home, where she brought up her two sons before the war and where she continued to live for nearly twenty years after her husband’s death in 1947. She saw Harewood through times of tremendous change and died here, walking round the lake with her son and two of her grandsons, in 1965. Family photographs, portraits, period footage and precious personal items will allow you to see Harewood as the family home it has always been, especially for the Princess who preferred country life to that of the city, and loved Harewood more than anywhere.

The Queen with Prince Charles and Princess Anne,
6 November 1954, Marcus Adams.
The Royal Collection © 2012,
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Marcus Adams: Royal Photographer
Photographs from the Royal Collection 
Harewood is also pleased to be hosting a special collection of photographs generously lent by The Queen from the Royal Collection. Taken by favourite royal photographer Marcus Adams, they capture with wonderful charm the early life of the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret from Princess Elizabeth’s first sitting when she was just over seven months old in 1926, to life as the new royal family, the pre-war years, their last sitting in 1941 at Windsor Castle, then later a new generation of royals; Prince Charles and Princess Anne were photographed by Adams thirteen times between 1949 – 1956. Some formal, some fun, striking portraits and vibrant photographs with their own distinctive style, the collection provides a unique insight into the life of the child destined to become Queen.  Two vintage prints of Prince Charles and Princess Anne taken in October 1952 when they attended Marcus Adams’s studio together will appear in the exhibition for the first time.  In the Terrace Gallery we will also be screening a short piece of film of a very young Princess Elizabeth, an intimate glimpse into a royal childhood.

The exhibitions open on Saturday 31 March 2012 and run until Sunday 17 June.

Harewood Winter opening 7 Jan – 29 March (Below Stairs open half term only – some parts of the garden may be closed over the Winter Season – please check website) 10am – 4pm, £5 per car

Open for half term week 11 to 19 February 10am-4pm

Members Day 30 March

Harewood Opens for the Full Open season from 31 March 10am – 6pm

Harewood House State Floor opens 12 noon to 3pm Monday to Sunday

Royal Harewood: State Floor, 31 March to 17 June