What Prince Charles said when Holby City actress and artist Rebecca Grant told him her own fascinating royal secret

At just 16, Holby City actress Rebecca Grant had the opportunity of a lifetime, to showcase her artwork at Hampton Court Palace to mark Prince Charles’ 50th birthday. 

Representing her hometown of Nottingham, she joined 49 other aspiring artists in unveiling their paintings capturing the essence of 21st-century Britain. 

However, Rebecca carried her own royal secret: her great-grandmother was Ernestine Bowes-Lyon, first cousin of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. 

This lineage makes Rebecca the fourth cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry. 

Though aware of her royal heritage, she hesitated to share this connection with Charles during their initial encounter. 

It wasn’t until after they met in person that she finally gathered the courage to reveal their familial ties.

Rebecca penned a letter to the future monarch and received a sincere response, which read: ‘It was very good to hear from you after the great pleasure of meeting you at Hampton court in November and I was particularly fascinated to hear about your Bowes-Lyon ancestry! What a small world it is!’

Rebecca played Daisha Anderson in the BBC’s medical drama Holby City

Rebecca’s love of art blossomed during a challenging recovery from a medical emergency. 

‘I nearly died when I was 16 from a severe asthma attack and I was in a coma,’ she explains, in an exclusive interview with MailOnline. 

‘You see so much from the spiritual world when you’re under and I came out with the Yellow Brick Road series, which I’m still continuing to paint. It’s a collision between the material world and the spiritual world.’

She generously donated her winning acrylic painting to Nottingham University Hospital, which she credits for saving her life. 

Rebecca’s story is full of unexpected turns. She is the granddaughter of Raymond Grant, 11th Baron de Longueuil, a nobleman who held the only French colonial title officially recognised by the British Crown. 

Raymond, the son of Baron Ronald Grant and Ernestine Bowes-Lyon, was a professional artist who resided in the quaint village of Navarrenx in the South of France.

Having trained under her grandfather, Rebecca often painted with him in the majestic foothills of the Pyrenees. 

‘I’m very humbled and grateful to have a role model like Raymond de Longueuil,’ she proudly says.

‘My grandfather was very eccentric and an obsessive writer too. He wrote as many letters as he did paintings, so he was constantly outflowing his thoughts and creativity. He really did inspire me.

‘I think that’s really important in this day and age, to keep drawing and to keep writing, because there’s so much coming from our phones that we need to push out.’

Rebecca’s artistic journey has been shaped by a blend of influences, from Raymond’s cubist and impressionist styles to the charm of Disney, which dominated her childhood. 

Specialising in pre-1950s luxury yachts, she infuses her work with vibrant swirls of paint and gold leaf accents, skillfully blending elements of cubism, impressionism, abstract and illustration.

Rebecca’s passion for art blossomed during a challenging period while recovering from a severe asthma attack aged 16

 Rebecca trained under her grandfather, Raymond de Longueuil, who was the son of Baron Ronald Grant and Ernestine Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother’s cousin

Specialising in pre-1950s luxury yachts, she infuses her work with vibrant swirls of paint and gold leaf accents

Rebecca’s artistic journey has been shaped by a blend of influences, from Raymond’s cubist and impressionist styles to the charm of Disney, which dominated her childhood

‘I use pouring paint and allow the paint to flow and sit where it wants to sit, but overlay it with impressionism with the boats using palette knives. Then, I hone into the detail and bring the drama out of that.

‘Like actors layer up a play or a character, I’m layering up the paint on the canvas with those four techniques – it’s fun.’ 

Artistry clearly runs in Rebecca’s family. Her great-grandmother, Ernestine Bowes-Lyon, was also a gifted artist who sketched and painted in watercolours. 

Growing up with the Queen Mother at Glamis Castle in Scotland, Ernestine chose love over royal life when she fell for Ronald de Longueuil, portraying a spirit of independence that seems to resonate through the generations. 

‘Me and my sisters are all very fiercely independent, very family orientated, very creative,’ the actress explains.

‘No matter where we are or what standards we’re in, what’s important to us is following our self-determined path – just like Ernestine did.’

Rebecca recently ventured into fashion, enabling her buyers to engage with her art on a new level

She presented her debut collection of silk scarves printed with her bestselling paintings

The show was sponsored by Latris Latrelle, the owner of Shuba magazine, and set against the stunning backdrop of the French Riviera

In addition to painting, Rebecca was passionate about performing arts from a young age. She began drama school in Nottingham at 16, quickly making her mark in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bombay Dreams two years later.

A twist of fate brought her back to Hampton Court in her early 20s, where she danced in The Other Boleyn Girl, sharing the screen with Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman. 

She has since enjoyed a successful acting career, appearing in a number of television programmes, such as Holby City, Doctors, Prisoners’ Wives, Midsomer Murders and Emmerdale.

Today, Rebecca lives in Norfolk with her husband, Ivan Pierson, a property developer and businessman, and their two children in a historic home from the 1700s, where she continues to nurture her creative legacy.

Her bestselling collections, Set Sail and Koi Fish, were born out of the pandemic. Both represent resilience, strength and inner power.

‘We’ve been through so many years lost at sea from the pandemic,’ she explains. ‘We’re all on the same page not knowing what to do and we’ve only got our inner spirit, inner resilience, inner peace to find stability within that. But we are powerful, we are causative and we are at the helm of our lives taking control of steering that ship.’

She recently ventured into fashion, enabling her buyers to engage with her art on a new level.

‘Fashion has become so disposable – we just take things on and off and don’t think about it.

‘I thought wouldn’t it be dreamy to transfer these ships and koi fish on to silk scarves and wear something that has been born out of an artist’s work.’

Her childhood memories of creating costumes with her mother for ballet performances made this transition feel like a natural progression. 

‘My sisters and I would sit around the fire with my mum sewing our dance costumes, glue gunning margarine pots together and covering them with gold lace.  

‘It was quite a magical childhood through the ballet school, making all these costumes.

‘And being Filipino, [her mother Isabel Padua-Grant was born and raised in Manila] I know how to tie sarongs. I know how to tie scarves in a way that you can wear them as boleros.

‘It’s just one tie, flip it over your head, put your arm through and there you have it – creative fashion in it’s totality.’

Rebecca’s friend Hailey Jane (right) introduced her to Latris Latrelle (left) who helped set up her own show 

This experience was particularly nostalgic as it brought the artist back to the coastline where she had shared precious memories with her beloved grandfather

While discussing the concept of wearable art with her friend Hailey Jane, a creative director for fashion shows, Rebecca was introduced to Latris Latrelle, the owner of Shuba magazine. 

The New York-based publication, known for showcasing emerging designers, photographers, make-up artists and models, was eager to collaborate with her. 

With just one month to find a company to print her distinctive designs on to luxurious mulberry scarves, the actress rose to the challenge. 

She enlisted her mother’s help in crafting two tailor-made skirts featuring the signature paintings, Lullaby of Koi and Set Sail.

Latris sponsored the debut catwalk show, set against the stunning backdrop of the French Riviera. 

While dressing one of the models backstage, Rebecca tied a scarf upside down around her waist and flipped it over her shoulder. 

The model exclaimed, ‘This is art!’ – a moment that assured Rebecca that she was on the right path. 

This experience was particularly nostalgic as it brought her back to the coastline where she had created fond memories with her beloved grandfather.

In that instant, she realised that dressing a model was no different to painting a blank canvas – and the show was a resounding success.