Princess Margaret’s grandson was invited to the State Banquet earlier this week, despite Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie’s absence.
The State Banquet was held in Buckingham Palace in honour of Emperor Naruhito and Emperess Masako of Japan on Tuesday.
Both Princess Anne and Princess Kate were inevitably absent due to various health concerns.
However, it was notable that neither Princess Beatrice, 35, nor Princess Eugenie, 34, were present, seeing as they have made more frequent appearances lately, including at Ascot and Buckingham Palace Garden Parties.
Princess Margaret’s grandson was invited to the State Banquet despite Beatrice and Eugenie’s absence
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The four main senior royals in attendance at the State Banquet were therefore King Charles, 75, Queen Camilla, 76, Prince Edward, 60, and the Duchess of Edinburgh, 59.
There was one younger royal in attendance; the 27-year-old grandson of the late Princess Margaret, Samuel Chatto.
Chatto is a ceramicist who last year served an apprenticeship with “porcelain master” Yagi Akira in Japan.
His younger brother, Arthur, 25, is an officer in the Royal Marines, while Samuel has inherited his artistic flair from his father Daniel Chatto and mother Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones.
Arthur Chatto [left] and Samuel Chatto [right] attending the Christmas festivities at Sandringham last year
PA
Lady Sarah trained at the Camberwell School of Art and regularly shares her designs at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition.
Samuel’s talents also resemble those of his uncle David, now Lord Snowdon.
After graduating from Edinburgh with a History of Art degree, Princess Margaret’s grandson spent three months in the commercial art market.
This was an experience which, he said, left him “completely uninspired”, prompting him to become a potter.
Arthur Chatto and Samuel Chatto attending the anniversary service for the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2023
PA
Beatrice and Eugenie were not present at the State Banquet on Tuesday
PA
This led to last year’s apprenticeship in Japan where Samuel learnt traditional Japanese techniques.
Some of Samuel’s porcelain forms part of a current exhibition in Somerset, mounted by Hauser & Wirth.
This is the Swiss art gallery of which Princess Eugenie is an associate director.
