Angus Ogilvy

Infobox British Royalty|none
name =Angus Ogilvy
title =The Right Hon. Sir Angus Ogilvy
spouse =Princess Alexandra of Kent
issue =James Ogilvy
Marina Ogilvy
full name =Angus James Bruce Ogilvy
father =David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie
mother =Lady Alexandra Coke
date of birth =Birth date|1928|9|14|
place of birth =London
date of death =death date and age|2004|12|26|1928|9|14|df=y|

Sir Angus James Bruce Ogilvy, KCVO (14 September 1928 – 26 December 2004) was a British businessman best known as the husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Angus Ogilvy, 76, Banker With Ties to British Royalty, Dies |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/28/international/europe/28ogilvy.html |quote=He and Princess Alexandra had a son, James Robert Bruce Ogilvy, and a daughter, Marina Victoria Alexandra. Once estranged from their parents, they had reconciled and, according to The Times of London, were with them at the time of Sir Angus's death. |publisher=New York Times |date=December 28, 2004 |accessdate=2008-03-11 ]

Sir Angus also is remembered for his role in a scandal involving the breaking of sanctions against the illegal regime in Rhodesia in the 1970s in the Lonrho affair. In later years he was heavily involved in charity work.

Early life

Ogilvy was born in London, the son of the 12th Earl of Airlie and Lady Alexandra Coke, the daughter of the 3rd Earl of Leicester. Many of his relatives had close links with the British Royal Family. His grandmother, Mabell Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie, was a close friend and Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Mary. His father was a Lord-in-Waiting to King George V and Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Education and career

Ogilvy was educated at Heatherdown Preparatory School, Ascot; and later at Eton College. Between 1946 and 1948, while on National service, he was commissioned as an officer in the Scots Guards. In 1947 he attended Trinity College, Oxford, graduating in 1950 with a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

After university, Ogilvy worked at the Drayton company, later working with the tycoon Tiny Rowland in Drayton's subsidiary, London and Rhodesia Mining and Land Company (Lonrho). The Prime Minister, Edward Heath, criticised the company and described it in the House of Commons as "an unpleasant and unacceptable face of capitalism" on a 1973 court case over the company's management style. His career ended in 1976 after he was criticized in a Department of Trade report into the company's activities. [cite news
title=Mr Ogilvy to resign directorships after Lonrho report criticizes him
author=Andrew Goodrick-Clarke
date=July 7th, 1976
work=The Times]

Marriage

On 24 April 1963, Ogilvy married Princess Alexandra of Kent at Westminster Abbey in London. Princess Alexandra is a granddaughter of King George V and a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Her parents were The Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark.

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.

The Queen had offered Ogilvy an earldom on his wedding, which he declined. He also rejected a grace-and-favour apartment at one of the Royal Palaces. Instead he leased Thatched House Lodge in Richmond, London from the Crown Estate for him and Princess Alexandra to live in, and where the Princess still lives today. However Princess Alexandra retained an apartment at St James's Palace which is customary for the royal family.

Together the couple had two children:

* James Ogilvy (born 29 February 1964) cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Royal baby for leap year day |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/29/newsid_2758000/2758983.stm |quote=The Ogilvy baby was one of several royal babies due within months of each other. The 9lb 6oz boy will be unique among them in having no title. Master Ogilvy is currently 13th in line to the throne but will soon be displaced to 16th. |publisher=BBC |date=1964 |accessdate=2008-03-08 ]
* Marina Ogilvy (born 31 July 1966)

Charity and royal duties

After his business career was blighted, Ogilvy worked with charity and supported his wife in her Royal duties. He sometimes accompanied Princess Alexandra on her Royal tours abroad. He also attended major Royal occasions with his wife.

Ogilvy was created a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order on 31 December 1988 [http://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/history/hist_chivalry.asp St George's Chapel - Orders of Chivalry] ] by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1997 he was made a Privy Counsellor.

Later years

Sir Angus served as president of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, and as chairman of Youth Clubs UK, the biggest non-uniformed youth organisation in Britain. He was patron of Arthritis Care; vice-patron of the National Children's Homes; chairman of the advisory council of The Prince's Trust; a trustee of the Leeds Castle Foundation, as well as being a member of the governing council of Business in the Community, and of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. He was also a member of the Royal Company of Archers, the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland, in which his father served as one of its four lieutenants.

Suffering from throat cancer in later years, he was too ill to attend many major Royal events. His last public appearance with his wife was when he accompanied the Princess to Thailand for an official tour.

Sir Angus died on 26 December 2004 the day after his wife's 68th birthday. His funeral took place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor in Windsor Castle on 5 January 2005. He was buried at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, Windsor.

tyles and honours

* The Honourable Angus Ogilvy (1928-1989)
* The Honourable Sir Angus Ogilvy, KCVO (1989-1997)
* The Right Honourable Sir Angus Ogilvy, KCVO (1997-2004)

Ancestry

ahnentafel-compact5
style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
border=1
boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
1= 1. Angus Ogilvy
2= 2. David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie
3= 3. Lady Alexandra Coke
4= 4. David Ogilvy, 11th Earl of Airlie
5= 5. Lady Mabell Gore
6= 6. Thomas Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester
7= 7. The Hon. Alice Emily White
8= 8. David Ogilvy, 10th Earl of Airlie
9= 9. The Hon. Henrietta Blanche Stanley
10= 10. Arthur Gore, 5th Earl of Arran
11= 11. Lady Edith Jocelyn
12= 12. Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester
13= 13. Juliana Whitbread
14= 14. Luke White, 2nd Baron Annaly
15= 15. Emily Stuart
16= 16. David Ogilvy, 9th Earl of Airlie
17= 17. Clementina Drummond
18= 18. Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley
19= 19. The Hon. Henrietta Maria Dillon
20= 20. Philip Gore, 4th Earl of Arran
21= 21. Elizabeth Marianne Napier
22= 22. Robert Jocelyn, Viscount Jocelyn
23= 23. Lady Frances Elizabeth Clavering-Cowper
24= 24. Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester
25= 25. Lady Anne Amelia Keppel
26= 26. Samuel Charles Whitbread
27= 27. Hon. Juliana Brand-Trevor
28= 28. Henry White, 1st Baron Annaly
29= 29. Ellen Dempster
30= 30. James Stuart
31= 31. Unknown

External links

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/monarchy/story/0,2763,1380048,00.html "Guardian" obituary]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4147903.stm BBC News- Royals attend Sir Angus's funeral]

References