trenchard

Friday, September 06, 2024

Cousin of the King for Sandhurst

Alexander Ogilvy is the latest descendant of the Royal House of Windsor to enroll at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. 

Ogilvy's sister, Flora Vesterberg, has spoken of her pride that he's joined the Forces. 'We're full of admiration for you,' she writes online. 'Forever thoughtful and inspiring.' Richard Eden, of the Daily Mail, reports that Ogilvy is heading for the RMC next weekend, the start of his military career.

Alexander Charles Ogilvy (born 12 November, 1996), is the only son of James Ronert Bruce Ogilvy (born 29 February, 1964) and his wife the former Julia Rawlinson (born 28 October, 1964), and is a grandson of HRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy (born 25 December, 1936), a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

He was head boy at the £43,500-per-year Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, Alex was an academic high-flyer who achieved A*s and As in his exams. He has a double major in Computer Science and Economics from the Ivy League Brown University in the USA, where he went out with Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo. Her mother, Kerry, is the daughter of assassinated presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy.

They have since split up and Alex has been romantically linked to 'It Girl' Isabella Charlotta Poppius.

Until now, Alex worked in New York at tech firm Prove, which helps businesses enable customers to prove their identity.

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Capt Stephen David Pettifer 1930-2024

 Capt Stephen David Pettifer died 30 August, 2024, aged 94. 

He was born in 1930, son of Richard Jackson Pettifer (1897-1980), and his wife the former Ada Anne Toomer (1898-1946); and married in 1958, Elizabeth Mary Drage (born 1936), daughter of Charles Christie Binyoun Drage (1902-1943), and his wife the former Rowena Mary Hames (1900-1974); by whom he had two sons, (1) Charles (born 1965), who married in Oct, 1999, Alexandra Shân "Tiggy" Legge-Bourke, MVO (born 1 Apr, 1965), scion of the Earls of Darmouth, former nanny and companion to the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex and personal assistant to HM The King (when Prince of Wales), & (2) Henry Pettifer (born 1968), who married 1 June, 1996, Nicola Anne Floyd (born 29 December, 1967), scion of the Floyd baronets.

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Margaret Anne (Mig) Bacon (nee Craig) 1945-2024

 Margaret Anne (Mig) Bacon died 29 August, 2024. She was the widow of Christopher Bacon (1945-2018), scion of the Bacon baronets, premier baronets of England.

She was born in 1945, daughter of John Lawrie Walker Craig, MC (1897-1964), and his wife the former Anne Halifax Western (1910-1987), descended from the Cobbold landed gentry family; and married in 1977, Christopher Nicholas Bacon (born 5 September, 1945), son of Anthony Walter Bacon (1902-1999), and his wife the former Lola Mary Stanley Martin (who died 1998). Her husband died 17 December, 2018.

Mrs Bacon leaves a son, Nathaniel John (born 29 Aug, 1978), and a daughter, Catherine Anne (born 18 Nov, 1979).

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John Kellie Heber-Percy 1935-2024

 John Kellie Heber-Percy, who died in Australia, 3 September, 2024, aged 89, was a sion of the Percy Dukes of Northumberland.

He was born 13 June, 1935, the third son of Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Alan Heber-Percy, OBE (1897-1976), and his wife, the former Monica Violet Erskine (1897-1977), scion of the Earls of Mar & Kellie, & widow of Lt-Col. G.D. Maynard.

He was educated at Hilton College, Natal, South Africa, and was for many years a resident of Victoria, Australia. He married 2 September, 1961, Rosalind Marion Gathercole, daughter of Walter Harvey Gathercole, of Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, South Africa, by whom he had issue, two daughters, Gillian Dorothy (Gill) (born 31 May, 1965), and Helen Marjorie (born 28 March, 1968).

His elder daughter, Gill, married in 1987, Michael Alan Dixon who later assumed the surname of Heber-Percy in lieu of his patronymic.

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Lane Fox/Holden engagement

 The engagement was announced 6 September, 2024, between Frederick Evelyn Lane Fox (born June, 1994), second son of Capt George Charles Nicholas (Nick) Lane Fox (born 25 December, 1963), head of that landed gentry family, of Bramham Park, near Wetherby, by his wife the former Hon Rachel Monica Baring (born 29 June, 1967), and Georgiana Helen Holden (born 1996), daughter of Geoffrey Alexander Holden (born 1957), of Flore, Northamptonshire, and his wife the former Kyriaki Droussiou.

Frederick Lane Fox is a grandson maternally of the 2nd Baron Howick of Glendale (born 30 Dec, 1937), and is a great-great grandson of the 1st and last Baron Bingley (1870-1947).

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Thursday, September 05, 2024

Daughter for Chelsy Davy & Sam Cutmore-Scott

  Chelsy Yvonne Cutmore-Scott (nee Davy, born 13 Oct, 1985), wife of Old Etonian Samuel Mark [Sam] Cutmore-Scott [born 1984], has given birth to a daughter, Chloe (?), a sister for Leo, who was born in January, 2022.

Sam is the son of Robert Mark C. Cutmore-Scott (born 1951), and his wife the former Joanne Joy Cutmore (born 1951).

Chelsy Davy, former girlfriend of the Duke of Sussex, is a daughter of Charles Davy [born 1952], and his wife the former Beverley Donald.

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Wednesday, September 04, 2024

Perumalpillai/Macmillan Douglas engagement

 The engagement was announced 4 September, 2024, between Arjun Nadarajah Perumalpillai (born 1992), son of Ranjit Srignana Perumalpillai (born 1957), & Mrs Vasuhi Nadarajah-Pillai, of London, & Iona Charlotte Mary Macmillan Douglas (born 27 February, 1992), scion of that landed gentry family, younger daughter of Angus William Macmillan Douglas, OBE (born 1946), of Douglastown, Angus, and Mrs Rosemary Jane (Rosie)  Macmillan Douglas (nee Meynell), of Rye, East Sussex.

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Lady Diana Lucy Wolfe Murray (née Douglas-Home) 1940-2024

 The Lady Diana Wolfe Murray, who died 22 August, 2024, aged 83, was the third and youngest daughter of the late former prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home.

She was born Diana Lucy Douglas-Home, 18 December, 1940, scion of the Earls of Home, daughter of the then Alexander Frederick (Alec) Douglas-Home, styled Lord Dunglas, MP (born 2 July, 1903), Conservative MP for Lanarkshire, & his wife the former Elizabeth Hester Alington (1909-1990), scion of that landed gentry family.

Her father was Tory MP for Lanarkshire, and later for Perthshire and Kinross, a government minister in the 1950s and 1960s including holding the office of Foreign Secretary in the Macmillan administration. He succeeded his father, 11 July, 1951, as 14th Earl of Home, and Lord Dunglas, both in the Peerage of Scotland. He was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Thistle in 1962. In October, 1963, Home succeeded Macmillan as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury. He was the last prime minister to be appointed whilst sitting in the House of Lords. Days after his appointment he disclaimed his peerages for life, and was found a safe seat and elected to the Commons, becoming Sir Alec Douglas-Home. He was prime minister 1963-64, and later created a life peer as Baron Home of the Hirsel, and he was Foreign Secretary in the Heath administration. He died 9 Oct, 1995.

Diana was styled Lady Diana, as daughter of an earl, from 1951, and continued to be so styled after her father disclaimed his peerages in 1963. She married 8 June, 1963 (divorced 1976), as his first wife, James Archibald Wolfe Murray (1936-2011), scion of the Murray of Blackbarony baronets, son of Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Victor Alexander Wolfe Murray (1908-1985), and his first wife the former Lady Grizel Mary Boyle (1913-1942), daughter of the 8th Earl of Glasgow (1874-1963), by whom she had a son, Rory (born 28 March, 1965), and two daughters, Fiona (born 12 Mar, 1964), and Clare (born 6 Mar, 1969).

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Tuesday, September 03, 2024

Lady Saltoun 1930-2024

 The Lady Saltoun, who died 3 September, 2024, aged 93, was the twenty first holder of a Scottish peerage, and until her retirement in 2014 she was the only holder of a lordship of Parliament who had a seat in the House of Lords as an elected hereditary peer. 

Lady Saltoun, of Cairnbulg Castle, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, was, as a daughter-in-law of Lady Patricia Ramsay, a member of the Royal Family, and a regular visitor to Balmoral, and frequently seen on the platform of the Highland Games at Braemar as a guest of her husband's cousin, Queen Elizabeth II. The Braemar Gathering attended by the King and Queen is to take place on Saturday 7 September, 2024.

Lady Saltoun (pronounced Salton) was the Chief of the Name and Arms of Clan Fraser since 1 May 1984, by decree of the Court of the Lord Lyon. She was also the head of the Scottish lowland family the Frasers of Philorth.

The Saltoun title was created in 1445 for Sir Lawrence Abernethy, descendant of Hugh, Hereditary Abbot of the Pictish Abbacy of Abernethy on Tay, extant in 1172. The 4th Lord Saltoun fought at Flodden and escaped. On the death in 1669 of Margaret Abernethy, the title went to her cousin Alexander Fraser, a faithful supporter of both Charles I and Charles II, and has remained with the Frasers of Philorth ever since.

Flora Marjory Fraser was born 18 October, 1930, the only daughter of the 20th Lord Saltoun, MC, DL, JP (1886-1979), of Cairnbulg Castle, and his wife the former Dorothy Geraldine Welby (1890-1985), scion of the Welby baronets.

An elder brother, Lt Alexander Fraser, Master of Saltoun, MC, Grenadier Guards, was killed in action in February, 1944, aged 22, leaving Flora as heiress presumptive to her father's peerage.

She married 6 October, 1956, Capt Alexander Arthur Alfonso David Maule Ramsay of Mar, of the Grenadier Guards (born 21 December, 1919), scion of the Earls of Dalhousie, a godson of the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII and Duke of Windsor) and of Alfonso XIII, King of Spain, the only child of Admiral the Hon Sir Alexander Robert Maule Ramsay, GCVO, KCB, DSO (1881-1972), and his wife HRH Princess (Victoria) Patricia Helena Elizabeth of Connaught, CI, GCStJ (1886-1974), who on her marriage was authorised by Royal Licence to relinquish the style of royal highness and title of princess, and by another royal warrant was granted the style of Lady Patricia Ramsay, with precedence immendiately before marchionesses of England.

She succeeded her father in the Scottish peerage, 31 August, 1979.

Flora's husband succeeded his aunt Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife in the Mar Lodge estate, Aberdeenshire, and became the laird of Mar and was authorised by the Lord Lyon to add the designation 'of Mar' to his surname.

Lady Saltoun, as Chief of the Name and Arms of Fraser retained that name on marriage. Her husband died 20 December, 2000, the day before his 81st birthday.

The last major royal event at which Lady Saltoun was present was the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in Westminster Abbey in 2011. The King and Lord Lyon King of Arms had to be informed of her death before it could be made public, but the news was leaked several hours before.

Lady Saltoun leaves three daughters, the Hon Katharine Fraser (who retained that surname on her marriage), the Hon Alice, and the Hon Elizabeth. The eldest daughter, born 11 October, 1957), a goddaughter of Queen Ingrid of Denmark and the late Princess Mary, Princess Royal, succeeds to the Lordship of Saltoun (Peerage of Scotland, created 28 June, 1445)

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Tollast/Parker engagement

The engagement was announced 3 September, 2024, between Archie Crispin Tollast (born 20 August, 1990),  son of Crispin John Ralph Tollast (born 1951), of Steeple Langford, Wiltshire, and his wife the former Ianthe F. Harrison, & Lucy Harriet Parker (born 1997), scion of the Earls of Macclesfield, daughter of Michael Henry Parker (born 6 Oct, 1955), of Corsley, Wiltshire, and his wife the former Julia Jane Craven Humphreys (born 1964).

Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster > Lady Mary Grosvenor = 6th Earl of Macclesfield > Hon Francis Parker > Capt Oliver Parker >Capt Timothy Parker > Michael Parker > Lucy Parker

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Monday, September 02, 2024

Daisy Flora Alison Kaye (born 2024)

The Hon Alice Mary Kaye (nee Hewitt, born 14 September, 1990), wife of Harry Edward F. Kaye [born 1991], and scion of the Viscounts Lifford, gave birth to a daughter, Daisy Flora Alison, 22 August, 2024, a sister for Clementine Emma Mary , who was born 5 March, 2022.

Harry Kaye is a son of Gerald Anthony Kaye [born 1958], of Henham, Hertfordshire, by his wife the former Emma A.J. Ferens [born 1962].

The Hon Alice Kaye is the second daughter of the 9th Viscount Lifford [born 27 January, 1949], of Kings Somborne, Hampshire, by his wife the former Alison Mary Law.

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Hon Robert William Hervey Erskine 1930-2024

The Hon Robert William Hervey Erskine, who died 2 August, 2024, aged 93, was a scion of the Earls of Mar  Kellie, a grandson of the 12th Earl of Mar & (14th) of Kellie, and a grandson maternally of the 4th Marquess of Bristol.

The youngest of four brothers (one of whom was killed in action in 1945), Robert William Hervey Erskine was born 13 October, 1930, at 6 St James’s Square, the London home of his maternal grandfather, the 4th Marquess of Bristol (1863-1951). Robert’s father was the Unionist politician John Francis Ashley Erskine, styled Lord Erskine (1895-1953) (elder son of the 12th Earl of Mar and 14th Earl of Kellie (1865-1955)), who in 1934 was appointed governor of Madras. The family followed him there and for the next six years lived at Government House, where an Indian groom would regale young Robert with stories from the Mahabharata.

Robert's mother was Lady Marjorie Hervey (1898-1967), daughter of the 4th Marquess of Bristol (1863-1951), of Ickworth, Suffolk, and his wife Alice Frances Theodora Wythes (1875-1957).

He was thrice wed, firstly 21 May, 1955 (div 1964), to Jennifer Shirley Wood, daughter of L.J. Cardew Wood, of Kintbury, Berkshire; married 2ndly, Oct 1969 (div 1975), Anne-Marie Lattès, daughter of Jean Lattès, of Paris; married thirdly, 1977, Belinda Mary Rosalind (Lindy) Blackburn, daughter of Raymond Blackburn, of London.

Robert Erskine leaves three sons ~ one from his second marriage, Alistair (born 1970), and two sons from his third marriage, Thomas (born 1978), and Felix (born 1980).

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Beaumont/Wheeker engagement

 The engagement was announced 2 September, 2024, between George Richard Benson Beaumont (born 1987), elder son of the Hon Mark Henry Beaumont (born 21 July, 1950), of Newbrough, Northumberland, and his wife the former Diana Elizabeth Benson (born 1958), & Rebecca Heather Wheeker (born 1990), daughter of Anthony K. Wheeker, of East Hendred, Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Diana Mary Poll.

George's younger brother, John Wentworth Beaumont (born 1989), died 22 May, 2022.

George Beaumont is a grandson of the late 3rd Viscount Allendale (1922-2002).

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Sunday, September 01, 2024

Macpherson/von Seilern und Aspang marriage

 The marriage has taken place between Philip Strone Alexander Stewart Macpherson (born 18 April, 1984), son of Philip Strone Srewart Macpherson (born 21 July, 1948), and his wife the former Hon Alexandra Grace Baring (born 4 February, 1957), & Katharina Gräfin von Seilern und Aspang (born 1984), daughter of Benedikt Graf von Seilern und Aspang (born 1956) and his former wife Claudia Gräfin Batthyány de Németújvár (born 1960).

Philip Macpherson is a grandson maternally of the late 5th Baron Northbrook (1915-1990)

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Sir Ian D'Olier (Jack) Biddulph, 11th Baronet 1940-2024

Sir Ian D'Olier (known as Jack) Biddulph, 11th Baronet, died in Australia, 28 August, 2024. He was 84.

He was born 28 February, 1940, son of Sir Stuart Royden Biddulph, 10th Baronet (1908-1986), and his wife the former Muriel Margaret Harkness, daughter of Angus Harkness, of Hamley Bridge, South Australia; and married in 1967, Margaret Eleanor Gablonski, daughter of the late John Gablonsky, of Oxley, Brisbane, by whom he had issue, a son, Paul, and two daughters, Julie and Roslyn.

The son, Paul William Biddulph (born 30 Oct, 1967), succeeds to the baronetcy, of Westcombe, Greenwich, which was created 2 Nov, 1664 for his ancestor Theophilus Biddulph (1615-83).

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Saturday, August 31, 2024

Malcolm/Onslow engagement

The engagement was announced 31 August, 2024, between Thomas William Malcolm (born 1990), younger son of Sir Alexander James Elton Malcolm, OBE, 13th Baronet (born 30 August, 1957), of Brincecombe, co Somerset, and his wife the former Virginia Elizabeth Coxon, & Alice Louise Daisy Onslow (born 1994), scion of the Earls of Onslow, only daughter of Christopher Denzil Onslow (born 14 March, 1956), of Cromlix, Dunblane, Perthshire, & his 2nd wife the former Paula Louise Howell Jenkins.

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Sophia Florence Elizabeth Bromfield (born 2024)

 Katie Bromfield (nee Daniel, born 31 Dec, 1987), wife of Jamie Bromfield, gave birth to a daughter, Sophia Florence Elizabeth, 21 August, 2024, a sister for Saskia Lily Svanna, who was born 26 April, 2023.

Jamie is a son of Mr & Mrs Charles Bromfield, of Wield, Hampshire.

Katie is a daughter of Dr Christopher Daniel [who died in 2000], and his wife the former Lucy Anne Tudway Quilter [born 6 May, 1961], scion of the Quilter baronets.

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De Rezny Channer/Macnab of Macnab engagement

 The engagement was announced 31 August, 2024, between Charles Benedict De Rezny Channer (born 1996), son of Colonel Nicholas Hugh De Rezny Channer, of Coxwold, North Yorkshire, and his wife the former Catherine L. Whitehead, & Daisy Sophie Macnab of Macnab Yr (born 26 June, 1999), daughter of The Macnab of Macnab (James William Archibald Macnab) (born 22 March, 1963), 24th Chief of the Clan Macnab, of Edinburgh, and his wife the former Dr Jane Louise Mackintosh.

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Soames/Orbea engagement

The engagement was announced 31 August, 2024, between Mark Francis Soames (born 26 October, 1992), scion of that landed gentry family, eldest son of Martin Arthur Soames (born 1954), of London, and his wife the former Velia Bavetta (born circa 1962), Adriana Orbea, only daughter of Sr Ignacio Orbea Muguiro, of Vitoria-Gasteiz, and Sra Adriana Gómez-Arnau Díaz-Cañabate, of Madrid.

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Lord Harlech marries Ida Lai

 The marriage took place 8 August, 2024, at Islington Town Hall, between Jasset David Cody Ormsby-Gore, 7th Baron Harlech (born 1 July, 1986), son of the late 6th Baron Harlech (1954-2016), and his former wife, Amanda Jane Grieve (born 1958), & Ida H.Y. Lai (born 1989), a Canadian.

Jasset Harlech succeeded to the peerage 1 February, 2016. The Peerage of the UK was created in 1876. John, the first Baron (1816-76), was Groom in Waiting to Queen Victoria, MP for Carnarvonshire and later for North Shropshire.  His brother, the 2nd Baron (1819-1904), married Lady Emily Seymour, sister of the 5th Marquess of Hertford; the 3rd Baron, George (1855-1938), married Lady Margaret Gordon, daughter of the 10th Marquis of Huntly. William, the 4th Baron (1885-1964), married Lady Beatrice Gascoyne-Cecil, daughter of the 4th Marquess of Salisbury. David, 5th Baron (1918-85), was British Ambassador to the United States, a lover of Jacqueline Kennedy, and was killed in a car accident in January, 1985. The 6th Baron having inherited estates in Wales and Shropshire worth £2.6m, and been obliged to pay £1.6m in tax, by the year 2000 he was forced to sell his ancestral seat, Brogyntyn Hall in Oswestry, Shropshire. It had been in the family for two centuries, including a period of notoriety during the "Swinging Sixties" when he, his older brother Julian (1940-74) and their three sisters, Jane, Victoria and Alice, had set up a commune in the 200-acre park.

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Susan Evelyn Margaret Cavenagh 1936-2024

  Susan Cavenagh (née Thomson), of Withcote Hall, Oakham, Rutland, who died 18 August, 2024, aged 87, was a scion of the Thomson baronets; born 7 Oct, 1936, the eldest daughter of Sir James Douglas Wishart Thomson, 2nd Baronet (1905-1972), and his wife the former Evelyn Margaret Isabel Douglas (1915-2017); & married 8 July, 1961, Capt John Michael Cavenagh, GM (1925-2013), son of Brigadier Thomas Francis Cavanagh, OBE, MC (1892-1973) and his wife the former Helen Curwen (1895-1964), by whom she had issue, a son Thomas (born 28 July, 1966), and two daughters, Sarah (born 5 Oct, 1964), and Bettina (born in 1971).

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Coppola/Barham engagement

The engagement was announced 31 August, 2024, between  Piergiuseppe Coppola, younger son of Mr and Mrs Giuseppe Coppola, of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and Puglia, Italy, & Helena Jane Barham (born 31 May, 1997), scion of that landed gentry family, younger daughter of Edward George Barham (born 1962), of Hole Park, Kent, and his wife the former Clare Catherine Turnbull (born 27 July, 1966), descended from the Earls of Stamford.

William Grey, 9th Earl of Stamford > Lady Jane Grey > Oliver Turnbull > Clare Turnbull > Helena Barham

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Christine Champion De Crespigny (nee Boltz) 1939-2024

Christine Charlotte (Christa) Champion De Crespigny (nee Boltz), died at Krems, Austria, 27 August, 2024, aged 85.

She was the born in Berlin, 24 August, 1939, daughter of Hans Boltz, and married 19 May, 1959, Richard Rafe Champion De Crespigny (born 1936), scion of that landed gentry family, son of Richard Geoffrey Champion De Crespigny, OBE (1907-1966), and his wife the former Kathleen Cavenagh Cudmore (1908-2013).

Her husband also known by his Chinese name Zhang Leifu (Chinese: 張磊夫), is an Australian sinologist and historian. He was an adjunct professor in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. He specialised in the history, geography, and literature of the Han dynasty, particularly the translation and historiography of material concerning the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period.

Christa Champion De Crespigny leaves a son, Mark, and a daughter, Anne.

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Funeral of Virginia, Countess of Airlie

 The King and Queen were represented by Sir Brian Ivory, CVO, CBE, at the Funeral of the Dowager Countess of Airlie (former Lady of the Bedchamber to The late Queen Elizabeth II) which was held at Cortachy, by Kirriemuir, Angus, 30 August, 2024.

Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy, sister-in-law of the Countess, was represented by her children, Mr James Ogilvy and Miss Marina Ogilvy.

The Dowager Countess of Airlie, who died 17 August, 2024, aged 91, was widow of the 13th Earl of Airlie, and the first American to serve as a lady in waiting to the sovereign.

The King paid tribute to the Countess of Airlie, his mother's close confidant and first American lady in waiting following news of her death.

Virginia 'Ginny' Ryan was the first American to have served as a lady-in-waiting to the late Queen when she was appointed lady of the bedchamber in 1973 – and was with her until Her Majesty's death, 8 September 2022.

Lady Airlie lived at Cortachy Castle, Kirriemuir, Angus, and had a London home in Sloane Court West, SW3.


So close were they that the late Queen made what is believed to have been her only visit to a nightclub when she visited Annabel's in 2003 to celebrate the 70th birthday of Lady Airlie.


A statement released from Buckingham Palace yesterday read: 'His Majesty was deeply saddened to hear the news, having known Lady Airlie for so much of his life and having so greatly appreciated her immense devotion and dedicated service to Her late Majesty over so many years.'


King Charles is on holiday in Scotland but has spoken with the countess's family to express his sympathies. Lady Airlie's husband David – himself a childhood friend of the late Queen – was the 13th Earl of Airlie and Chancellor of the Order of the Thistle until his death last year at the age of 97.

The couple, who married in October 1952, were key figures in the late Queen's royal household – regularly staying at Sandringham and Balmoral. The wedding took place at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster. The late Queen, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret were all in attendance at what the Telegraph called ‘a major society event’ – so much so it featured on the news.

She was born 9 February, 1933, daughter of John Barry Ryan Jr, of Moorland Farm, Newport, Rhode Island, USA, by his wife the former Margaret Dorothy Kahn (1901-1995), daughter of Otto Kahn (1867-1934), the American investment banker and philanthropist; and married 23 Oct, 1952, the then David George Coke Patrick Ogilvy, styled Lord Ogilvy (born 17 May, 1926), son and heir of the 12th Earl of Airlie, KT, GCVO, MC (1893-1968), and his wife the Lady Alexandra Marie Bridget Coke (died 1984), daughter of the 3rd Earl of Leicester, GCVO, CMG (1848-1941). Her husband succeeded his father in the earldom, 28 Dec, 1968.

The countess was a sister-in-law of the Hon Sir Angus Ogilvy, KCVO, PC, who married Princess Alexandra of Kent in 1963.

Her husband  was cr GCVO 1984; Chancellor of the Royal Victorian Order 1984-87; Privy Councillor 1984; Lord Chamberlain of the Household 1984-87; sworn of the Privy Council 1984; Knight of the Thistle 1985; Lord Lieutenant of Angus from 1989; received the Royal Victorian Chain 1997. He died 26 June, 2023.

Virginia Airlie was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II 1973-2022. The office of Lady or Woman of the Bedchamber and is now defunct, and the ladies attending HM Queen Camilla are now styled 'Queen's Companions'. Sje was appointed DCVO in 1995.

She leaves three sons and three daughters. Her eldest son, David (born 9 March, 1958), succeeded his father in the peerages, the second son is the Hon Bruce Ogilvy (born 7 Apr, 1959), and the third son is the Hon Patrick Ogilvy (born 24 Mar 1971), the daughters are Lady Doune (born 13 Aug 1953), Lady Jane (born 24 Jun 1955), and Lady Elizabeth (born 4 June, 1965).

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Sebastian Walter Monckton (born 2024)

Emma Monckton [nee Forsdick], wife of Dominic Walter Monckton [born 1985], scion of the Viscounts Monckton of Brenchley, gave birth to a son, Sebastian Walter, 28 August, 2024, at Sydney, New South Wales, a brother for Evie Millicent, who was born 11 May, 2022.

Dominic is a son of the Hon Timothy David Robert Monckton [born 15 Aug 1955], and his wife the former Jennifer Carmody, and is a grandson paternally of the late Maj-Gen the 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, CB, OBE, MC [1915-2006].

The infant's grandfather is the heir presumptive to the 3rd Viscount Monckton, and Sebastian's father is destined to succeed to the peerage.

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