Princess Margaret’s grandson made a rare public appearance at Peter Phillips’ wedding to Harriet Sperling.
Samuel Chatto, 29, was pictured with his girlfriend Eleanor Ekserdjian, 29, outside All Saints’ Church in Kemble, Cirencester, on Saturday.
The pair are thought to have met in 2021 while both attending the University of Edinburgh and have been pictured together since 2022.
Eleanor’s invite suggests she has truly been welcomed into the firm, appearing relaxed around several levels of British Royalty at the high-profile wedding.
She wore a simple yet elegant navy blue dress, paired with a sleek black feather fascinator and a stylish check handbag from A.W.A.K.E Mode which retails for £419.
Sam opted for a quintessential morning suit consisting of a black blazer, grey waistcoat and a black and white pinstriped trouser.
He paired the dapper look with a crisp white shirt and a red tie featuring a jewel tone paisley print.
Eleanor previously joined the Royal Family for Christmas at Sandringham in 2024, sparking rumours Samuel had proposed to her because partners traditionally do not attend the service unless they are married or engaged.
Harriet attended with Peter after their engagement in December and Meghan Markle had joined Prince Harry in 2017 while the pair were engaged.
Samuel Chatto, 29, was pictured with his girlfriend Eleanor Ekserdjian, 29, outside All Saints’ Church in Kemble, Cirencester, on Saturday
She wore a simple yet elegant navy blue dress, paired with a sleek black feather fascinator and a stylish check handbag from A.W.A.K.E Mode which retails for £419
Peter Phillips, 48, and Harriet Sperling, 45, who looked resplendent in a white Emilia Wickstead gown and the Pragnell family tiara, were the picture of wedded bliss outside All Saints Church
However, the couple have never confirmed the rumours.
She also joined Sam at the Mey Highland Games in Caithness, Scotland, in August last year, alongside his mother and her cousin King Charles.
In 2021, Eleanor confirmed her relationship with Sam to the Diary Editor of the Daily Mail, Richard Eden, simply stating, ‘We are a couple.’
Inspired by her new love, the arts professor’s daughter had started depicting Sam in her work.
Sam and Eleanor posed for photos together at ‘The Alchemist’s Feast’, the inaugural summer party and fundraiser for the National Gallery’s Bicentenary campaign in 2022.
After Christmas 2024, Sam and Eleanor were seen together again in February 2025 at London Fashion Week.
Sam showed support for his girlfriend, whose creative mind brought to life the Banshee of Savile Row runway show.
During the show, she decorated a coat with brushstrokes live on the runway.
Sam later took to Instagram to gush and pay tribute to his artistic girlfriend, posting a video of her in action at the show.
Both Eleanor, a ‘painter and film artist’ and Sam, a ceramicist, are graduates of the University of Edinburgh and studied at the Royal Drawing School in London.
Eleanor revealed to Eden that Sam had become her artistic muse, and included a sketch of him, entitled ‘SAM’, in a small collection of her works – once displayed at an exhibition at London’s Gallery at Green & Stone.
The pair are both passionate about their creative ventures. Sam completed an apprenticeship in Japan under professional potter Yagi Akira just last year – and his partner is just as ardent about her work.
She has had her pieces held in several private collections, including the Redfern Gallery in London.
Her parents are also in the field, with her father being renowned art historian Professor David Ekserdjian, who is married to Financial Times Art critic Susan Moore.
David is Professor of History of Art and Film at the University of Leicester, focusing particularly on the art of the Italian Renaissance.
In 2024, Eleanor was at Sandringham Castle alongside Sam’s royal relatives for Christmas. The event is not traditionally attended by partners of royal family members who are not yet married or engaged
Lady Sarah Chatto and Daniel Chatto pictured with Sam and Eleanor at an event in London in 2022
Both Eleanor, a ‘painter and film artist’ and Sam, a ceramicist, are graduates of the University of Edinburgh and studied at the Royal Drawing School in London
He is a Trustee of Art UK as well as the Sir John Soane’s Museum. The academic was also once a Trustee of the National Gallery and of Tate.
Eleanor herself has also completed residencies at the Hauser & Wirth Residency in Braemar and the Sokyo Gallery in Kyoto, Japan.
According to her website, Eleanor is ‘an abstract painter and film artist’ whose practice ‘involves projecting the moving image onto paper or canvas and drawing from and over it, her physical and emotional responses being made visible through rapid mark-making’.
Eton-educated ceramicist Sam comes from an arty family himself: his mother, the King’s cousin Lady Sarah Chatto (nee Armstrong-Jones), often submits her artworks for the Royal Academy’s summer exhibition, and his father is the actor-turned-artist Daniel Chatto. His grandfather was renowned photographer Lord Snowdon.
