Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy

Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936), is a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of George V. She was married to the late Sir Angus Ogilvy. Prior to her marriage she was known as Princess Alexandra of Kent. She is known in the family as Alex. Princess Alexandra carries out royal duties on behalf of her cousin, The Queen. She is 35th in the line of succession to the British throne and at the time of her birth in 1936 was sixth.

Early life

Princess Alexandra was born, on 25 December 1936, at 3, Belgrave Square, London. Her father was The Prince George, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George V and Queen Mary. Her mother was The Duchess of Kent (née Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark), a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Helen Vladimirovna of Russia. As a male-line granddaughter of the British monarch, she was styled as a British princess with the prefix, Her Royal Highness. At the time of her birth she was sixth in the line of succession to the British throne. The Princess was baptised in the Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace, on 9 February 1937, and her godparents were: George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Nicholas of Greece, Princess Olga of Yugoslavia, Karl Theodor, Count zu Törring-Jettenbach, Queen Maud of Norway, the Earl of Athlone and Princess Henry of Battenberg. Princess Alexandra spent most her childhood at her family's country house, Coppins, in Buckinghamshire. She lived with her grandmother Queen Mary, the widow of George V, during World War II at Badminton. Her father was killed in an aeroplane crash near Caithness, Scotland on 25 August 1942 while serving in the Royal Air Force. She served as bridesmaid at the wedding of her cousins, the then-Princess Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh, on 20 November 1947. Princess Alexandra has the distinction of being the first British Princess to have attended an ordinary school, Heathfield School near Ascot.

Marriage

On 24 April 1963, she married the Hon. Angus James Bruce Ogilvy (1928-2004), the second son of the 12th Earl of Airlie and Lady Alexandra Coke, at Westminster Abbey. The wedding ceremony was attended by all the members of the Royal Family and was broadcast worldwide on television, watched by an estimated 200 million people. Ogilvy declined the Queen's offer of an Earldom upon marriage. This meant that, when they had children, they would carry no title at all. Angus Ogilvy remained in line to the Earldom of Airlie until his death. He received a Knighthood in 1988, and was appointed to the Privy Council in 1997. Princess Alexandra and Sir Angus have two children, James and Marina, and four grandchildren, none of whom carry out Royal duties:

• James Ogilvy, born 29 February 1964; married, 30 July 1988, Julia Rawlinson; had issue
  • Flora Ogilvy, born 1994
  • Alexander Ogilvy, born 1996
• Marina Ogilvy, born 31 July 1966; married, 2 February 1990, Paul Mowatt; divorced 4 December1997; had issue
  • Zenouska Mowatt, born 1990
  • Christian Mowatt, born 1993

Royal duties

British Royal Family
HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH Prince William of Wales HRH Prince Henry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra
•  • e

Since the late 1950s, Princess Alexandra has carried out an extensive programme of royal engagements in support of the Queen, both in the United Kingdom and overseas. In 1959, she carried out an extensive tour of Australia, and attended the Queensland Centenary Celebrations. She returned to the country in 1967 for a private holiday, but also carried out engagements in Canberra and Melbourne. The Princess represented the Queen when Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960, and later opened the first Parliament on 3 October. Later overseas tours included visits to Canada, Italy, Norway, Thailand, Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands. Princess Alexandra served as Chancellor of Lancaster University since its foundation in 1964, a post she relinquished in 2005 (when she also accepted an honorary degree in Music). She is also an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Royal College of Physicians. She is also the President of Alexandra Rose Day, which was founded in honour of her great-grandmother, Alexandra of Denmark. She has recently given up the patronage of The Royal School, Hampstead, which was founded in 1855. The new Patron of the School is The Duchess of Cornwall. Princess Alexandra receives £225,000 per year from the Civil List to cover the cost of official expenses; although like the other members of the Royal Family (except the Duke of Edinburgh) the Queen repays this amount to the Treasury. Alexandra lives at Thatched House Lodge in Richmond, London a crown property acquired by Sir Angus Ogilvy after their wedding. She also has use of an apartment at St James's Palace in London. Her husband supported Alexandra in Royal duties at times, although he also had an independent career. She is a patron of the English National Opera.

Family troubles

Princess Alexandra opens the newly independent Nigerian Federal Parliament in Lagos on 3 October, 1960

Although usually a low-profile member of the Royal Family, Princess Alexandra and her family have come under media scrutiny at various points in her life. Her husband was a director at a mining company, Lonrho when it was involved in a scandal over the breaking of trade sanctions against British-held Rhodesia. The Prime Minister at the time, Edward Heath criticised the company, and Ogilvy resigned his directorships.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Styles of Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy
Reference style	Her Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Ma'am

Titles

• 25 December 1936-24 April 1963: Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent
• 24 April 1963-31 December 1989^[2]: Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Mrs Angus Ogilvy
• 31 December 1989-: Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy

Styles

Her full style is Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel of Kent, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, Royal Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.

Honours

British Honours

• LG: Lady of the Order of the Garter, 2003
• GCVO: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 25 December 1960
• Royal Family Order of King George VI
• Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II

Commonwealth Realms Honours

• Canadian Forces Decoration
• Patron and Air Chief Commandant, of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service
• Royal Colonel, 3rd Battalion The Rifles
• Honorary Air Commodore, of RAF Cottesmore
• Royal Honorary Colonel, of The Royal Yeomanry
• Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, of The Queen's Royal Lancers

Commonwealth Realms

• Colonel-in-Chief, of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
• Colonel-in-Chief, of The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's)

Former Commonwealth British Crown Colony

• Commandant General, of Royal Hong Kong Police Force.

Arms

Princess Alexandra's coat of arms

Princess Alexandra's personal Coat of Arms were granted in 1961. Her Arms are the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom, with a five point label- the standard differentiation for a male-line grandchild of a British Monarch. The first and fifth points bear a red heart, the second and fourth points bear a blue anchor, and the third point bears a red cross.

Ancestry

External links

• Royal.gov.uk- Princess Alexandra
• Royal Insight - Focus - December 2006- Princess Alexandra's 70th birthday
• National Archives of Australia- Princess Alexandra, with details of the 1959 and 1967 Royal visits
• Visit to the Falkland Islands

References