Rolling Stones legend Keith Richards, 82, to become a great-grandfather as his model granddaughter Ella reveals she is pregnant with her first child

Rolling Stones guitar legend Keith Richards is set to become a great-grandfather after his model granddaughter Ella Richards revealed she is expecting her first child with her aristocratic boyfriend Sascha von Bismarck.

Burberry campaign star Ella, 29, shared the joyful news on Instagram on Wednesday in a striking black-and-white photograph showing her cradling her growing baby bump.

Among those who rushed to offer their congratulations were models Stella Maxwell and Jade Parfitt - who left three red heart emojis alongside the word 'Congratulations' - and actresses Lady Clara Paget and Poppy Delevingne.

The baby will make Keith, 82, a great-grandfather for the first time. 

Sir Mick Jagger, 82, is the only other current Stone to have reached great-grandfather status, when his granddaughter Assisi Jackson - daughter of jewellery designer Jade Jagger - welcomed her first child in 2014.

Ella is the daughter of Marlon Richards, Keith's son from his long relationship with the late model and actress Anita Pallenberg, and former model and stylist Lucie de la Falaise, herself a niece of the legendary Yves Saint Laurent muse Loulou de la Falaise.

She has been dating Sascha, 31, for several years - with the couple confirming their romance in early 2023 when Ella appeared on the cover of Tatler and spoke about being photographed by Sascha for the shoot. 

'It was really easy,' she said at the time. 'I feel very comfortable with him taking my photo, which is a very personal thing.'

Sascha - the younger brother of Kate Moss's photographer ex-boyfriend Count Nikolai von Bismarck, 39 - comes from one of Europe's most distinguished aristocratic dynasties.

His father is the colourful businessman Count Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen, and his mother is the glamorous fashion designer Countess Debonnaire von Bismarck, a well-known figure in London society and a close friend of Kate's.

Nikolai and Sascha are also great-great-grandsons of Otto von Bismarck, the towering 19th-century German statesman and chancellor who unified Germany and after whom the city of Bismarck in North Dakota is named.

Ella first burst onto the scene at just 18, making her New York Fashion Week debut and starring in a Burberry campaign, shot by the legendary Mario Testino, alongside Kate, Naomi Campbell, Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn.

She was then snapped up by the Kate Moss Agency - run by the supermodel herself - and has since walked for fashion heavyweights Prada, Calvin Klein, Fendi, Valentino and Sonia Rykiel.

An old friend of Kate's, Ella was one of 15 flower girls at the model's wedding to The Kills musician Jamie Hince in 2011. Kate, 52, split from Jamie, 57, in 2015 before striking up an on-off romance with Nikolai later that year. They called it quits for good in December 2024.

Sascha, who has worked closely alongside his brother in London's fashion and artistic circles, followed the same path into photography.

In the same Tatler interview in which she confirmed her relationship with Sascha, Ella gave a rare and affectionate portrait of her famous grandfather, describing Keith as far removed from his wild-man reputation.

'He is very quiet and sweet and loving,' she said. 'He's a lot more shy than people think.'

She also painted a vivid picture of her famously bohemian upbringing, revealing that Keith and Anita Pallenberg - who died in 2017 - had an endearingly unconventional approach to dressing.

'My grandfather used to wear my grandmother's clothes, and she used to wear his,' she said. 'Most of my family are slightly mad and crazy or weird. My whole family are all crazy creatives. No one is academic. Everyone is wild and free-spirited.'

Speaking about watching Keith and his fellow Stones perform live on stage, she added: 'They're high on adrenaline, and it keeps them young. It's so inspiring that they continue to do what they love, as long as they can.'