Lady Sarah Chatto

Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Chatto was born as Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Armstrong-Jones on May 1, 1964, at Kensington Palace, London. Through her mother Princess Margaret, she is a niece of Queen Elizabeth II, and the youngest grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. She has one older brother, David Armstrong-Jones, who, after the death of their father, became the new Earl of Snowdon. She also has three half-siblings through her father. Polly is her older half-sister who was born to her father and a woman named Camilla Fry. Her younger half-sister is Lady Frances von Hofmannsthal, whose mother is Lucy Lindsay-Hogg. She also has a younger half-brother, Jasper Cable-Alexander, born to journalist Melanie Cable-Alexander.

Her christening took place at the private chapel at Buckingham Palace on July 13, 1964. Her parents chose David Fane, 15th Earl of Westmorland and family friend Antony Barton as her godfathers and Prudence, Lady Penn (née Stewart-Wilson), stepsister of Jocelyn Stevens; Jane Stevens, the wife of Jocelyn Stevens and one of Princess Margaret's ladies-in-waiting; and Marigold Bridgeman as her godmothers.

Lady Sarah and her brother David were raised in the nursery of Kensington Palace, Apartment 1a, primarily by their nanny, Verona Sumner. However, that does not mean that their parents were not involved in their upbringing. They were practically hands-on (according to the contemporary standard). Antony took a special interest in developing his children’s artistic sensibilities, by teaching them how to build things and be creative. They would go to either Nymans or Royal Lodge on every weekend, depending on which parent they were with that week. They spent their holidays at royal estates at Sandringham and Balmoral and it was there that Lady Sarah painted many of her landscapes.

She studied at Bedales School in Petersfield, England, and after completing a single A level in Art, moved to the Camberwell School of Art. She graduated from there, took a two-year sabbatical from her studies, and joined her father in a trip to India. Antony had been hired to take photographs for the production of ‘A Passage to India’. John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne, who was producing the film, found her a job as an intern in the wardrobe department.

She has been close to her cousin Prince Charles since they both were children. She was one of Princess Diana’s bridesmaids at their wedding and after Prince Harry was born, Diana and Charles picked Sarah to be one of his godmothers. She is also the godmother to Lady Rose Gilman and Lady Louise Windsor.

Lady Sarah met actor and artist Daniel Chatto during her trip to India in the 1980s. He was in the country as part of the film crew of the romantic drama film ‘Heat and Dust’. Eventually, Chatto asked her to marry him with a "vintage cluster ring”. The wedding took place on July 14, 1994, at St Stephen's, Walbrook, in the City of London. Officiated by Reverend Chad Varah, the ceremony was attended by about 200 guests, including the royal family. The couple has two sons: Arthur and Samuel.

After she returned from India, she still had the inclination to continue her education and started attending Middlesex Polytechnic, which was renamed as Middlesex University in 1992.

As a professional painter, she has been using her maiden name to exhibit her artwork at the Redfern Gallery since 1995. She received The Windsor & Newton Prize in 1988 and The Creswick Landscape Prize in 1990.

Since 2004, Lady Sarah has been serving as the vice president of the Royal Ballet. Her mother, Princess Margaret, was a patron of the Royal Ballet as well.