A great first … Ellen Lascelles, a cousin of Charles III, announced his engagement to his companion Channtel McPherson. This marriage will be the first lesbian union within the British royal family.
A great first for the British royal family … Ellen Lascelles, a cousin of Charles III, will marry his companion Channtel McPherson, a.k.a Chan. The great-great-granddaughter of King George V announced the news on social media. “On New Year’s Day, Chan asked me to marry her. [She] turned what was an incredible 2022 into an even more incredible 2023,” she gushed on Instagram. Since that proposal, the couple has been “floating on a cloud of love.”
Ellen Lascelles, 38, is the niece of David Lascelles, the eighth Earl of Harewood. She is also the great-granddaughter of Princess Mary, the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. She is currently ranked 74th in the order of succession. The mother of two children from a previous relationship, she describes herself as a “free spirit” and “dreamer”. She has also given herself the title of “queen of the vegan snack”.
An evolution of morals
While this is the first lesbian wedding, it is not the first same-sex union within the royal family. Indeed, in 2018, Lord Ivar Mountbatten, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, had married James Coyle, a Scottish cabin leader. In 2016, Lord “Dickie” Mountbatten’s grandnephew had become the first member of the British monarchy to come out. Both examples are markers of changing mores.
Photo credits : Julien Burton / Bestimage