Serena Armstrong-Jones, Countess of Snowdon


Serena Alleyne Armstrong-Jones, Countess of Snowdon is a British aristocrat. She is the estranged wife of David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon.

Early life and education

She was born The Honourable Serena Alleyne Stanhope in Limerick, Ireland, the daughter of the then Viscount Petersham and his wife Virginia Freeman-Jackson, a socialite and daughter of Captain Harry Freeman-Jackson and Dorothy Alleyne d'Aubigny d'Engelbronner. Her parents divorced when she was 13 years old. She has one elder brother. Through her father she is a descendant of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England.
She spent most of her childhood between Chelsea and Monaco. She went to St Mary's School, Wantage, where she was described as being "more interested in lacrosse than Latin". After leaving St Mary's School, she went on to study art in Italy. She also attended a finishing school in Switzerland.

Career

In 1989, Armstrong-Jones joined Sotheby's as a trainee. She then worked as a publicist for Giorgio Armani until August 1993, two months before her wedding. She subsequently had her own shop called 'Serena Linley Provence'. The store closed in 2014.

Marriage and children

On 8 October 1993, she married David Armstrong-Jones, – the only son of Princess Margaret, [Countess of Snowdon|Princess Margaret], a nephew of Queen Elizabeth II, and first cousin of King Charles III – at St Margaret's Church, Westminster. They had met when her father commissioned Linley to design a walnut dining table for his Chelsea house.
There were 650 guests in attendance at the wedding, including Elton John, Jerry Hall, the Aga Khan, and Constantine II of Greece. In addition, there were an estimated 5,000 spectators in the streets. She wore a $9,000 dress designed by Bruce Robbins, noted for its resemblance to Princess Margaret's 1960 Norman Hartnell wedding dress, and the 'Lotus Tiara', which was on loan from her mother-in-law, Princess Margaret. Her going-away outfit was designed by Robinson Valentine.
They have two children together:
When Viscount Linley became the Earl of Snowdon on the death of his father in 2017, she became the Countess of Snowdon.
In February 2020, she and the Earl of Snowdon separated.