Sir Angus Ogilvy, husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Sir Angus Ogilvy; Credit – Wikipedia

Sir Angus Ogilvy was the husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent, and an active member of the British Royal Family for many years. He was born The Honourable Angus James Bruce Ogilvy in London, England on September 14, 1928, the fourth child and second son of David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, and Lady Alexandra Coke, daughter of Thomas Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester.

Angus had five siblings:

  • Lady Victoria Ogilvy (1918 – 2004) – married Alexander Lloyd, 2nd Baron Lloyd, had issue
  • Lady Margaret Ogilvy (1920 – 2014) – married Sir Iain Tennant, had issue
  • Lady Griselda Ogilvy (1924 – 1977) – married Major Peter Balfour, had issue
  • David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie (1926 – 2023) – married Virginia Ryan, had issue
  • The Hon. James Ogilvy (1934 – 2024) – married (1) Magdalen Ducas, had issue, divorced; (2) Lady Caroline Child-Villiers, no issue

The Ogilvy family had close ties with the British Royal Family. Angus’s grandmother Mabell Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie was a close lifelong friend of Queen Mary and served as one of her ladies-in-waiting for over 50 years.  His father served as a Lord-in-Waiting to King George V and then as Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1937-1965. An uncle served as an equerry to the future King Edward VIII while he was Prince of Wales. His elder brother served as Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth II from 1984-1997 and his sister-in-law, Virginia, has been a lady-in-waiting to The Queen since 1973.

Angus attended the Heatherdown School near Ascot, and then Eton College. He was commissioned as an officer in the Scots Guards, and in 1950 and graduated from Trinity College, Oxford, with a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Following his education, he began working with the Drayton Group, a large group of trusts headed by financier Harold Drayton. In 1956, he became a Director of the Drayton Group and served as director for over fifty other companies. One of the Drayton Group’s organizations was the London and Rhodesia Mining and Land Company (Lonrho). Ogilvy brought in RW “Tiny” Rowland to run Lonhro, and over the next few years, Rowland expanded the organization into a large conglomerate of businesses, including newspapers and hotels.

In 1955, at a ball at Luton Hoo, Angus met Princess Alexandra of Kent and was instantly smitten. She was the daughter of the late Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark. Eight years later, on April 24, 1963, the couple married at Westminster Abbey in London, England. Angus was offered an Earldom by The Queen but he graciously declined. He also refused a grace-and-favor residence, instead taking the lease on Thatched House Lodge in Richmond Park, owned by the Crown Estate. After Sir Angus’ death, Princess Alexandra continued to live there today and also had apartments at St. James’s Palace in London.

Sir Angus and Princess Alexandra had two children:

  • James Robert Bruce Ogilvy (1964), married Julia Rawlinson, had two children
    • Flora Alexandra Ogilvy (born 1994)
    • Alexander Charles Ogilvy (born 1996)
  • Marina Victoria Alexandra Ogilvy (1966), married and divorced Paul Mowatt, had two children
    • Zenouska May Mowatt (born 1990)
    • Christian Alexander Mowatt (born 1993)

By 1973, Rowland’s management style, and accusations of concealed financial records led to several of Lonrho’s directors calling for his dismissal (which Rowland managed to avoid). After public criticism from the Prime Minister that year, and further criticism in a report from the Department of Trade in 1976, Angus resigned his directorship of Lonrho as well as his other directorships with businesses in London.

Although Angus had been cleared of all wrongdoing, the damage to his reputation had been done. By that time, he had increased his focus on charity work, which he would continue for the remainder of his life. Among his many charities, he served in leading roles with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Youth Clubs UK, Arthritis Care, National Children’s Homes, and the Leeds Castle Foundation. He also served as Chairman of the Advisory Council for The Prince’s Trust. For his charity work, and continued support of the monarchy, he was created a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 1988, and in 1997 was made a member of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council.

In 2002 he was diagnosed with throat cancer and canceled all of his public engagements. Despite his failing health, he did take part in The Queen’s Golden Jubilee festivities in June 2002 and accompanied his wife on an official visit to Thailand in February 2003. His final public appearances were at the Garter Service (pictured above) and Royal Ascot in June 2004. Sir Angus Ogilvy died on December 26, 2004, at the Kingston Hospital in Kingston upon Thames, London. Following a private funeral held at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, on January 5, 2005, he was buried at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore in Windsor, England.

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