She was born on 20 April 1919 in Hanwell, London, to Charles Stanley Dowding (1887–1969), a second lieutenant of the Somerset Light Infantry from Dulwich, and his wife Lilian Emma Lawler (1887–1959), later Lady Fox[1] and originally from St Marylebone.
[2] She studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama before starring in Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit in the West End, and the film Miss London Ltd.[3] On 15 July 1952, she married Gerald David Lascelles, the second son of Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood.
[3] The reception took place at St James's Palace and was attended by Queen Mary, the groom's maternal grandmother.
In 1955, the family moved to Fort Belvedere, Surrey, the former country home of Gerald Lascelles's uncle, Edward VIII (the Duke of Windsor).
[3] Angela Lascelles continued to live in Windsor Great Park, and she maintained good relations with the royal family.