There was sad news today, with the death of Leeds United’s President the Earl of Harewood at the age of 88.

George Henry Hubert Lascelles, the 7th Earl of Harewood, will be fondly remembered as the President of Leeds United during the most successful period in our history. He was appointed to the post in December 1961, just a few months after Don Revie had taken over as manager, and the two men became great friends as The Don guided Leeds to six major trophies.

The Earl’s other great passion was opera, (he was also chairman of English National Opera) and he later wrote that “Revie welded together an ensemble – that is what a team is – which was the envy of others. He and I used sometimes to talk into the night about how you build football teams and operatic ensembles and then inspire them so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts".

And he was also a man with the Midas touch at international level, being president of the FA when England won the World Cup in 1966. He was a cousin of the queen, and served his country with distinction in his younger days. He was a Grenadier Guardsman during the second world war, and ended up as prisoner in Colditz!

As the Guardian has said in it’s obituary “he was unusual for a member of the royal family in deserving a substantial obituary on account of what he did rather than who he was”.

RIP, George

Photo: Action Images

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