Princess Alexandra of Kent

Content

• Who is Princess Alexandra?
• Early life
• Career
• Personal life
• Trivia

Who is Princess Alexandra?

The Queen’s first cousin, Princess Alexandra is a working member of the Royal Family. As the president and patron of over 100 organizations, she manages to reflect her wide-ranging interests, from the arts to health care through her work. Her job is to support the Queen in her duties as Head of State by attending ceremonial occasions alongside other members of the Royal Family.

Early life:

Born on December 25, 1936 at 3 Belgrave Square, London, Princess Alexandra was named after her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Alexandra, her grandmother, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, and both her maternal aunts, Countess Elizabeth of Torring-Jettenbach, and Princess Olga of Yugoslavia.

She received the name Christabel on her christening because she was born on Christmas Day. Her parents were Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark.

She was the last royal whose birth upheld the tradition of having the Home Secretary present to verify the birth of a potential heir to the throne. She was given the title Her Royal Highness, as she was a male-line granddaughter of the British Monarch and was sixth in line for the throne.

The Princess was baptized in Buckingham Palace on February 9, in the Private Chapel. Her godparents were King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Queen of Norway, Princess Nichola of Greece and Denmark, Princess Olga of Yugoslavia, Princess Beatrice, Earl of Athlone, and Count Karl Theodor of Toerring-Jettenbach. Of her godparents, only the Queen, the King, and Lord Athlone were present.

Princess Alexandra mostly grew up in her family’s country house, Coppins, in Buckinghamshire, after which she lived with her grandmother, Queen Mary, during World War II at Badminton. Her father was killed on August 25, 1942, in an airplane crash in Scotland while serving in the Royal Air Force.

The Princess was the first British princess to go to boarding school when she attended Heathfield School near Ascot. She went on to study in Paris as well as Great Ormond Street Hospital.

She was also known for being a bridesmaid in many royal weddings including the 1962 wedding of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and her second cousin, Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark.

Career:

Princess Alexandra has been on a number of engagements in support of the Queen since the late 1950s, both in the United Kingdom and overseas. Known as one of the most active members of the royal family, Princess Alexandra has an estimated 120 engagements a year. On the official website of the British Monarch, Princess Alexandra is a working member and attends ceremonial and charitable commitments.

She had attended many essential events to represent the Queen including the event when Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom on October 1, 1960, and opened the parliament on October 3.

In addition to her royal duties, the Princess also served as Chancellor of Lancaster University in 1964 until 2004 when she relinquished the post. At the time she also accepted an honorary degree in Music.

She was the first Chancellor of the University of Mauritius as well as an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Royal College of Physicians.

She is president of the Alexandra Rose Day, founded in honor of her grandmother, Queen Alexandra, and is also a patron of The Royal School, Hampstead. The princess was also the president of the WWF-UK until 2011.

Princess Alexandra is also a patron to a large number of other organizations and prides herself on her charitable work.

Personal life:

Princess Alexandra married the Honorable Angus James Bruce Ogilvy on April 24, 1963, at Westminster Abbey. The ceremony was a televised affair with the royal family also in attendance. Nearly 200 million people watched the broadcast. The service was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey.

Angus Ogilvy declined the Queen’s offer to be given earldom upon marriage, and thus their children carried no titles. However, in 1988, Ogilvy was knighted resulting in Princess Alexandra adopting the title The Honorable Lady Ogilvy. Princess Alexandra and Ogilvy had two children, James and Marina, and four grandchildren.

Oglivy died at the age of 76 on December 26, 2004.

"You know, I know your country. I gave it independence in 1960." ~ Princess Alexandra

Trivia:

• First Cousin of the Queen
• Her late husband’s brother, David Ogilvy, is the 13th Earl of Airlie