Angus Ogilvy
Encyclopedia
Sir Angus James Bruce Ogilvy, (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.
Ogilvy is also remembered for his role in a scandal involving the breaking of sanctions
against the regime in Rhodesia
in the 1970s in the Lonrho affair. In later years he was heavily involved in charity work.
, the second 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 (later the Queen Mother).
, 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 criticised in a Department of Trade report into the company's activities.
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 earl
dom 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:
Ogilvy was created a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
on 31 December 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1997 he was made a Privy Counsellor
.
, 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.
Ogilvy died in Kingston upon Thames
, London, on 26 December 2004. 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, Frogmore at Windsor.
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy is the youngest granddaughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck. She is the widow of Sir Angus Ogilvy...
, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.
Ogilvy is also remembered for his role in a scandal involving the breaking of sanctions
International sanctions
International sanctions are actions taken by countries against others for political reasons, either unilaterally or multilaterally.There are several types of sanctions....
against the regime in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
in the 1970s in the Lonrho affair. In later years he was heavily involved in charity work.
Early life
The Hon Angus Ogilvy was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the second son of the 12th Earl of Airlie
David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie
Colonel David Lyulph Gore Wolseley Ogilvy, 12th and 7th Earl of Airlie, KT, GCVO, MC was a Scottish peer, soldier and courtier....
and Lady Alexandra Coke, the daughter of the 3rd Earl of Leicester
Thomas Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester
Thomas William Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester GCVO, CMG, TD , known as Viscount Coke until 1909, was a British peer and soldier....
. Many of his relatives had close links with the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
. His grandmother, Mabell Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie
Mabell Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie
Mabell Frances Elizabeth Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie, GCVO, GBE was a British courtier and author.-Early life:...
, was a close friend and Lady-in-Waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
. His father was a Lord-in-Waiting
Lord-in-Waiting
Most Lords in Waiting are Government whips in the House of Lords who are members of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. As members of the Royal Household their duties are nominal, though they are occasionally required to meet visiting political and state leaders on visits...
to King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
to Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother).
Education and career
Ogilvy was educated at Heatherdown Preparatory SchoolHeatherdown Preparatory School
Heatherdown Preparatory School was an independent junior school for boys in the civil parish of Winkfield, near Ascot, in the English county of Berkshire. It closed in 1982...
, Ascot
Ascot, Berkshire
Ascot is a village within the civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting...
; and later at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
. Between 1946 and 1948, while on National service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
, he was commissioned as an officer in the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
. In 1947 he attended Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, graduating in 1950 with a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Philosophy, politics, and economics is a popular interdisciplinary undergraduate/graduate degree which combines study from the three disciplines...
.
After university, Ogilvy worked at the Drayton company, later working with the tycoon Tiny Rowland
Tiny Rowland
Roland "Tiny" Rowland was a British businessman and chairman of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1994...
in Drayton's subsidiary, London and Rhodesia Mining and Land Company (Lonrho). The Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
, criticised the company and described it in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
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 criticised in a Department of Trade report into the company's activities.
Marriage
On 24 April 1963, Ogilvy married Princess Alexandra of KentPrincess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy is the youngest granddaughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck. She is the widow of Sir Angus Ogilvy...
at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Princess Alexandra is a granddaughter of King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Her parents were The Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI...
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 earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
dom 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
Thatched House Lodge
Thatched House Lodge is a royal residence in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in London, England.The main house has six reception rooms and six bedrooms, and it stands in four acres of grounds. The gardens include an eighteenth-century two-room thatched summer house which gave the main...
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 Robert Bruce OgilvyJames OgilvyJames Robert Bruce Ogilvy is the elder child and only son of the late Sir Angus Ogilvy and Princess Alexandra of Kent. He was born in Thatched House Lodge, Richmond Park, Surrey and was the first of four babies born to royals in 1964. When he was born he was 13th in the line of succession to the...
(born 29 February 1964) - Marina Victoria Alexandra Ogilvy (born 31 July 1966), married and has issue
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
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
on 31 December 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1997 he was made a Privy Counsellor
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
.
Later years
Ogilvy 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 CommunityBusiness in the Community
Business in the Community is a British business-community outreach charity promoting responsible business, CSR, corporate responsibility, and is one of the Prince's Charities of Charles, Prince of Wales....
, and of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. He was also a member of the Royal Company of Archers
Royal Company of Archers
The Royal Company of Archers is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland, a role it has performed since 1822 and the reign of King George IV, when the company provided a personal bodyguard to the King on his visit to Scotland. It is currently known as the Queen's...
, 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
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
for an official tour.
Ogilvy died in Kingston upon Thames
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London, England. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the three Royal Boroughs in England, the others are Kensington and Chelsea, also in London,...
, London, on 26 December 2004. His funeral took place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor in Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
on 5 January 2005. He was buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore at Windsor.
Styles, honours and arms
- The Hon.The HonourableThe prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
Angus Ogilvy (1928–1989) - The Hon. Sir Angus Ogilvy, KCVO (1989–1997)
- The Rt Hon.The Right HonourableThe Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
Sir Angus Ogilvy, KCVO (1997–2004)