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Faye Bradley

Contributing Online Editor, Style by SCMP


Love is in the air for one handsome young royal – and it looks like it’s getting serious.
Samuel Chatto, Princess Margaret’s grandson, brought his girlfriend Eleanor Ekserdjian to spend time with the royal family at the St Mary Magdalene church in Sandringham on Christmas Day, reports Elle. The news comes after Chatto, 28, also made a rare public appearance at King Charles’ pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace a few days before.

The festive gathering has led to rumours that Chatto may be preparing to pop the question, according to the Daily Mail. The newspaper compared the move by King Charles to the time Meghan Markle was allowed by the queen to join the royals’ Christmas get-together in 2017, months before she tied the knot with Prince Harry.
Chatto and Ekserdjian have been dating for around three years and share a passion for the creative arts. Here’s what we know about the potential new royal family member.
What is Eleanor Ekserdjian’s background?

Although Eleanor doesn’t appear to have any blue-blooded connections, she was born into a prominent family. Her father, David Ekserdjian, is a professor in the history of art and film at the University of Leicester, and is also a trustee of Art UK and the Sir John Soane’s Museum, according to the Daily Mail. He was previously a trustee of the National Gallery and the Tate too. He’s married to Financial Times art critic Susan Moore.
She studied at the University of Edinburgh

From 2014 to 2019, Ekserdjian did a five-year master’s degree in fine art at the University of Edinburgh. The course is described as an “equal split between art practice and art history”. Notably, Chatto is also a University of Edinburgh graduate, having completed an MA in the history of art in 2018. In 2021, Ekserdjian joined the Royal Drawing School – two years after Chatto studied at the same institution in 2019.
She’s an artist

Ekserdjian, who was born in 1996, is an abstract painter and film artist, per her website. She projects moving images onto paper or canvas and draws from and over them, and describes her works as “lyrical landscapes which explore her evolving emotional response to the film”.












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A post shared by Eleanor Ekserdjian (@e.ekserdjian)



She has had her work featured in exhibitions and residencies around the globe, from London, UK and Yerevan, Armenia to Kyoto, Japan and Braemar, Scotland. And Ekserdjian isn’t the only one whose art career has taken off: Chatto has also found success as a sculptor and ceramicist.
Last July, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice’s mum Sarah Ferguson took to Instagram to praise the loved-up duo and their creative ventures. “My friend Samuel Chatto’s sculptures and the artwork of both Eleanor Ekserdjian and Nouneh Sarkissian are currently showing at The Redfern Gallery, and I’d urge you to go and have a look up close at the skill and craftsmanship that goes into creating such wonderful art,” she wrote.
She’s being compared to Kate Middleton – especially when it comes to fashion

Ever since news around their potential engagement surfaced, netizens have been digging through Ekserdjian’s background and style choices. She seems to have a similar wardrobe to Kate Middleton’s – and with their long, chestnut locks and effortless smile, they even look the same when it comes to facial structure. The similarities don’t end there – William and Kate also met at university in Scotland!
How did Eleanor Ekserdjian meet Samuel Chatto?

The couple met while they were both studying at the University of Edinburgh, according to Hello! Magazine. They’ve been dating since 2021, with Chatto calling Ekserdjian his muse. “We are a couple,” Ekserdjian confirmed to the Daily Mail at the time. Chatto was previously linked to another fellow former Edinburgh student, Sophie Pipe.


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Royalty

Who is Samuel Chatto’s artist girlfriend Eleanor Ekserdjian, and are they getting engaged? She spent Christmas with the royal family in Sandringham – just like Meghan Markle did in 2017

The fact that Eleanor Ekserdjian was seen spending Christmas with her boyfriend Samuel Chatto and the British royal family implies the pair are getting serious. Photos: @3812gallery, @e.ekserdjian/Instagram

Sam Chatto is the grandson of Princess Margaret, the late Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister. Photo: @samchatto/Instagram

Eleanor Ekserdjian is the daughter of an art professor and art critic. Photo: @e.ekserdjian/Instagram 

Eleanor Ekserdjian was born in 1996. Photo: @e.ekserdjian/Instagram 

Eleanor Ekserdjian is an artist. Photo: @e.ekserdjian/Instagram 

Kate Middleton’s effortless style is thought to have inspired many of Eleanor Ekserdjian’s looks. Photo: AP Photo

Eleanor Ekserdjian and Samuel Chatto at the opening night of her exhibition “Imagined Landscapes” in February 2023. Photo: @e.ekserdjian/Instagram 

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Lady Venetia Baring is involved in films and modelling. Photo: @____unladylike____/Instagram

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In a notable move, Samuel Chatto – Princess Margaret’s grandson – brought his girlfriend Eleanor Ekserdjian to spend time with the royal family on Christmas Day – here’s what we know about her


In a notable move, Samuel Chatto – Princess Margaret’s grandson – brought his girlfriend Eleanor Ekserdjian to spend time with the royal family on Christmas Day – here’s what we know about her.
