Name Roddy Llewellyn Role Journalist | Education Merrist Wood College | |
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Books Beautiful Backyards, Grow It Yourself Nieces Olivia Llewellyn, Arabella Llewellyn Similar Dai Llewellyn, Harry Llewellyn, Peter Townsend (RAF officer) | ||
Interview sir roddy llewellyn southport flower show 2009
Sir Roderic Victor "Roddy" Llewellyn, 5th Baronet (born 9 October 1947) is a British baronet and gardening expert. Despite his lengthy career as a landscape gardener, gardening journalist, author, and television presenter, he is generally best known for his eight-year relationship with Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II.
Contents
- Interview sir roddy llewellyn southport flower show 2009
- Roddy llewellyn missing her again
- Early life and education
- Personal life
- Gardening
- Journalism and broadcasting
- Music
- References
Roddy llewellyn missing her again
Early life and education
Llewellyn was born in Crickhowell, Brecknockshire, the younger son of Sir Harry Llewellyn, 3rd Bt. (d. 1999), an Olympic gold medalist in show jumping, and his wife, the Hon. Christine Saumarez (d. 1998). He succeeded his elder brother, Dai, to the Llewellyn baronetcy in January 2009.
He was educated at Hawtreys and Shrewsbury School.
Personal life
Starting in 1973, Llewellyn, then 25, began an affair with Princess Margaret, then 43. The highly publicized eight-year relationship was a factor in the dissolution of the Princess's marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon.
On 11 July 1981, Llewellyn married Tatiana Soskin, a daughter of the film producer Paul Soskin. The couple have three daughters, Alexandra, Natasha, and Rosie. Alexandra, the eldest, is a designer and artist.
Gardening
Llewellyn has said, "I have always been fascinated by plants...They give me an enormous amount of solace."
It was apparently his nanny, Rebecca Jenkins, who introduced him to gardening in loco parentis. When the family removed to Llanfair Grange "we had huge lawns and wonderful views. It was pretty country...it had a big vegetable garden and fabulous trees." Throughout Sir Roddy always regarded himself as part of that rich Welsh heritage beneath the Sugar Loaf Mountain. In his twenties, Llewellyn studied horticulture at Merrist Wood Agricultural College in Surrey. Today, Llewellyn runs his own garden design company, Roddy Llewellyn's Garden Design.
He regularly lectures, appearing at venues including the Retirement Show at Olympia, Glasgow and Manchester (chairing question and answer sessions), Dobbies Garden Centre ("Inspirational Ideas for the Garden"), Hereford Cathedral ("Interesting Ideas for the Garden"), Malvern Spring Gardening Show ("Who are better Gardeners - Men or Women?"), Cotswold Wildlife Park (series, "An Evening with the Gardening Experts 2005-2006"), Cholmondeley Castle ("Amusing Ideas for the Garden"), and the ship the Crystal Symphony (on a Garden Design Theme Cruise giving "themed lectures").
Llewellyn was a patron at the Southport Flower Show in 2006.
Journalism and broadcasting
Llewellyn has written various books, magazine articles, and newspaper columns on the subject of gardening. The magazines he has written for have included Heritage Homes in 2006, Country Life in 2005 and 2006, Country Illustrated in 2004 and 2006, Oxfordshire Limited Edition in 2006, The Lady in 2005, Eden Project Friends in 2004, and the Sunday Times in 2004. He wrote columns for the Daily Star from 1981 to 1985, and The Mail on Sunday from 1987 to 1999.
He presented The Home Show in 1990 and The Gardening Roadshow in 1992-1993 for Thames Television, amongst several other programmes. He appeared on Gardeners' World in 2007.
Music
In the late 1970s, Llewellyn recorded an LP called Roddy. This was an album of standards.