Love is in the air for the Windsors and the Spencers this summer, with two of Prince Harry and Prince William’s cousins getting engaged in August. Both Peter Phillips and Lady Eliza Spencer announced their engagements on Friday, August 1, with Princess Anne’s son proposing to girlfriend Harriet Sperling and Princess Diana’s niece accepting a ring from longtime boyfriend Channing Millerd. But fans are looking to another royal love match for the next big wedding: Princess Margaret’s 28-year-old grandson, Samuel Chatto, and his girlfriend, Eleanor Ekserdjian.
Engagement rumors began in December 2024 when Ekserdjian walked with Chatto and the rest of the Royal Family to church on Christmas Day at Sandringham—an unusual move for a royal girlfriend. While Meghan Markle joined the family for church just after her 2017 engagement to Prince Harry, Princess Kate and Duchess Sophie didn’t get to attend the Christmas service until they were married.
And Ekserdjian attended another Royal Family outing over the weekend, joining Sam, his mother, Sarah Chatto, and The King at the Mey Highland Games in Scotland. In a photo published in Hello!, the couple is pictured wearing coordinating brown tweed blazers while Sam sports a red and green kilt.
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Ekserdjian is pictured on Christmas Day 2024.
(Image credit: Alamy)
Princess Margaret’s daughter, Sarah Chatto, is Sam’s mother.
(Image credit: Alamy)
The couple—who are said to have been dating since 2021—both attended the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Drawing School. Samuel and Eleanor share a mutual passion for the arts, with Ekserdjian’s website bio describing her as “a painter and film artist whose practice blends moving images with rapid mark-making.”
Per Tatler, Samuel’s girlfriend was “born to an illustrious artistic pedigree,” as her father, David Ekserdjian, is a well-known art historian and professor, and her mother, Susan Moore, is an art critic for the Financial Times.
As for Samuel, he comes from an equally creative background. His mother, Sarah, is a trained artist and regularly exhibits her paintings and sketches at London’s Redfern Gallery, while dad Daniel is also a painter. And of course, Princess Margaret’s ex-husband, Lord Snowdon—Sam’s grandfather—was a renowned photographer.
Samuel has carried on the family tradition by specializing in ceramics, often sharing pieces from his West Sussex studio on Instagram. And although he keeps his relationship with Ekserdjian private, her appearance at another royal event shows this relationship is certainly going strong.
