Whilst many Brits don’t profess to be ardent royalists, we are all extremely familiar with the senior members of the royal family. If the royals were lumped together in a game of ‘Guess Who,’ for instance, it would be relatively easy for most of us to decipher our Zara Tindallsfrom our Princess Beatrices.
Key royals aside, there are a whole host of lesser-known British royals that you mat not have heard of. Often these are the children of the late Queen’s cousins or even the grandchildren of her sister, Princess Margaret and are typically outside of the spotlight. While many of us will think of Windsor as a surname when we think of the royals, these ones have names ranging from Chatto to Armstrong-Jones to Taylor.
Read on to meet the secret royals…
Samuel Chatto
Samuel Chatto, 27, is the eldest son of Lady Sarah Chatto and David Chatto and his late grandmother was Princess Margaret. He is currently 29th in line to the throne, behind his mother Lady Sarah.
He studied History of Art at Edinburgh University and graduated in 2018. Sam has since discovered a passion for pottery and the budding artist joined the Royal Drawing School in 2019 and continues to make nature-inspired ceramics from his studio in West Sussex.
Speaking to the Mail about his passion, Samuel explained: “I’ve always had a strong affinity with creating objects, having spent much of my childhood crafting imagined landscapes and sculptural models, which naturally led me to clay during my later years at school.“
Arthur Chatto
Arthur, 25, is the younger brother of Samiel Chatto and is 30th in line to the throne following his sibling and mother. Arthur initially studied at the University of Edinburgh before he became a personal trainer for BoundFitness gym and then enlisted in the Royal Marines, reportedly training for the intense regime when visiting the late Queen at Balmoral.
Arthur is known for his fitness having previously undertaken a momentous rowing challenge in 2020. Alongside three others, he rowed around the United Kingdom in order to raise money for The British Red Cross and Just One Ocean.
Charles Armstrong-Jones
Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, is the son of David Armstrong-Jones and a grand-nephew of the late Queen Elizabeth II. The 25-year-old is currently 26th in line to the throne, behind his father, but despite his royal title, Charles maintains a low-profile.
Following in the footsteps of Prince Harry and Prince William, Charles attended Eton College where he was in the same year as his cousin Arthur Chatto. He went on to study product design engineering at Loughborough University, and is now currently carving out a career as a musician. The talented youngster is reportedly self-taught and enjoys using technology to create unique pieces of music.
His sister, Margarita, told Tatler: “He is very into his orchestral music. He is self-taught [and he] can sing, play the piano and the guitar. Somehow he combines it all together – including online choirs – on his laptop into one piece of music.”
Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones
Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, 22, is the daughter of David Armstrong-Jones, the 2nd Earl of Snowdon, and his estranged wife Serena, as well as the only granddaughter of the late Princess Margaret.
She is currently 25th in line to the throne behind her older brother, Charles. Much like her father, Lady Margarita has pursued a creative career crafting stunning silver jewellery inspired by the natural world.
She currently runs her own jewellery brand called Matita whilst also balancing her studies at the prestigious Haute École de Joaillerie in Paris.
Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick
Edward Windsor, 35, is the eldest child of the Earl and Countess of St Andrews. He studied at Eton College and Keble College, Oxford, where he graduated with a degree in Modern Languages (French and German).
He cut his teeth as a financial analyst at JP Morgan before later ditching the corporate world for a career in fashion. Edward started working as a fashion designer in 2016 and went on to launch his own fashion label called FIDIR in 2017. The brand, inspired by the Scottish Highlands, specialises in outdoor menswear, leather bags, sweatshirts, T-shirts and merino wool beanies.
Lady Marina Windsor
Lady Marina Windsor is the eldest daughter of the Earl and Countess of St Andrews – the younger sister of Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick, and the older sister of 28-year-old Lady Amelia.
Until 2008, Lady Marina was 25th in the line to the throne. She forfeited her place in the line of succession, along with her older brother, after being confirmed into the Roman Catholic Church.
Marina studied French and Portuguese at the University of Edinburgh. During her third year abroad, she travelled to Paris and Brazil. Since graduating, she has worked for a number of charities including the likes of Veterans Aid, Beat Routes Charity, Eco-nnect and The Big Give, where she is currently a Philanthropic Executive.
According to her blog page on The Big Give, the 31-year-old is “passionate about film, theatre, dance, food, travel, nature, wellbeing, environmental and social justice issues.”
Lady Amelia Windsor
The younger sister of Lady Marina and Edward Windsor, Amelia, 28, is the only one of her siblings still in line to the throne, due to their conversions to Roman Catholicism. She is currently 43rd in line for the throne.
Amelia has made quite the name for herself as a model and has covered publications like Tatler and Vogue Japan and has even been dubbed as “Britain’s most beautiful royal”. The star has also walked the runway for brands like Dolce & Gabbana and worked for major brands like Chanel and BVLGARI.
Flora Vesterberg
Flora Vesterberg (née Ogilvy) is the granddaughter of the Queen’s cousin, Princess Alexandra, making her a third cousin of King Charles III and a distant cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry.
She is an art historian and broadcaster who specialises in modern and contemporary art. Flora studied Art History at Bristol before later obtaining a master’s degree from The Courtauld Institute of Art.
The 29-year-old married Swedish financier Timothy Vesterberg on 26 September 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their nuptials took place at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace, with Flora walking down the aisle in a breathtaking Emilia Wickstead gown and a glittering tiara.
Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster
Alexanderis the son of the Duke of Gloucester and his wife Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen. The 49-year-old shares two children with his wife Dr. Claire Booth: a son called Xan and a daughter called Cosima.
Alexander, who is currently 32nd in line to the throne, studied War Studies at King’s College London before attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. His military career saw him join the King’s Royal Hussars between 1997 and 2008. He is now working as a director for the Transnational Crisis Project.
Cassius Taylor
Cassius Taylor, 28, is the son of Lady Helen Taylor (née Windsor) and Tim Taylor. Lady Helen is the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent – a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Following in his parents’ footsteps, Cassius studied art management at Goldsmiths University. After graduating, he worked at his father’s art gallery in Mayfair before later joining a PR agency called Purple. Forging his own path, Cassius went on to launch his own events company called Telltale.