Sam Chatto, the ceramicist grandson of Princess Margaret, has announced his engagement to fellow artist Eleanor Ekserdjian, proposing with a porcelain ring crafted by his own hand. King Charles has been told the news and is said to be delighted for the couple, who met as students at the University of Edinburgh and now plan to marry next spring.
Samuel Chatto, 29, who is 30th in line to the British throne, shared his engagement to Eleanor Ekserdjian, also 29, in an Instagram post. “I’m really delighted to say that Ellie and I are engaged. And we couldn’t be happier. I proposed with a porcelain ring which I made,” he wrote. Buckingham Palace has confirmed King Charles has been informed and is said to be very happy for the pair, who are expected to marry in spring 2027.
A ring reflecting his craft
The engagement ring itself has drawn particular attention, given that Sam made it entirely from porcelain — a fitting touch from a professional ceramicist and potter. Sam is the elder son of Lady Sarah Chatto, Princess Margaret’s only daughter, and her husband, actor-turned-artist Daniel Chatto. He comes from a family steeped in the arts: his mother regularly submits work to the Royal Academy’s summer exhibition, and his grandfather was the celebrated photographer Lord Snowdon. Eton-educated, Sam last year completed an apprenticeship in Japan under master potter Yagi Akira, an experience that has shaped his ceramic work significantly.
Ellie, meanwhile, works as a painter and film artist. According to her own website, her practice involves projecting moving images onto paper or canvas and drawing from and over them, allowing her physical and emotional responses to become visible through rapid mark-making. She is the daughter of Professor David Ekserdjian, a leading art historian specialising in the Italian Renaissance, and Susan Moore, an art critic for the Financial Times. Professor Ekserdjian holds a chair in History of Art and Film at the University of Leicester and serves as a trustee of Art UK and the Sir John Soane’s Museum, having previously been a trustee of both the National Gallery and Tate.
Shared roots and a shared love of art
The couple are thought to have met in 2021 while both studying at the University of Edinburgh, later going on to attend the Royal Drawing School in London together. They have been photographed as a couple since 2022, when they appeared together at The Alchemist’s Feast, the inaugural summer party and fundraiser for the National Gallery’s Bicentenary campaign.
Ellie’s own artistic career has flourished in parallel. She has completed residencies at the Hauser & Wirth Residency in Braemar and the Sokyo Gallery in Kyoto, and her pieces have found their way into several private collections, including at London’s Redfern Gallery. In February 2025, Sam publicly championed her talents once again, posting an Instagram tribute after she brought the Banshee of Savile Row runway show to life by decorating a coat with live brushstrokes during the event.
Growing closer to the Royal Family
Over the past few years, Ellie has become an increasingly familiar face at royal occasions. She joined Sam at the wedding of Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling in June, and at Sandringham for the family’s Christmas celebrations in 2024 — an appearance that fuelled speculation the couple may already have been engaged, given that partners traditionally only attend the Christmas service if married or engaged. Harriet Sperling had attended the same event with Peter Phillips following their own December engagement, just as Meghan Markle joined Prince Harry in 2017 while the two were engaged. Sam and Ellie did not comment on the speculation at the time.
The pair also attended the Mey Highland Games in Caithness, Scotland, together last August, alongside Sam’s mother and her cousin, King Charles. Their shared passion for the arts, paired with their growing presence at royal family gatherings, has made them one of the more creatively minded couples connected to the Firm.
