January 4, 1967
Buckingham Palace acknowledged tonight that Queen Elizabeth II knew "was aware of the adultery of her cousin, the Earl of Harewood with the former model Patricia Tuckwell," reports the Washington Post.
Palace sources also confirm that the Queen knew two years ago that Lord Harewood had fathered a child by the Australian-born Miss Tuckwell, and that the Countess of Harewood "had brought the matter to the Queen's attention formally last May."
On Monday, the Countess of Harewood filed for divorce. Lord Harewood will not contest his wife's suit. He also stated that he would like to marry Miss Tuckwell, but cannot do so without the Queen's permission because of the Royal Marriages Act.
The Queen will find it "hard to approve" because of the Church of England's stance toward divorced persons.
Three newspapers today "urged for a repeal" of the Royal Marriages Act. One Labour MP, Marcus Lipton, will urge Prime Minister Wilson to have the law "repealed, calling the law "quite ridiculous."
The Earl of Harewood is the Queen's first cousin. He is the elder son of the late Princess Mary, Princess Royal, who died in 1965.
I think it means "Australian-born" - Miss Tuckwell was not Austrian!
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