Sir Angus James Bruce Ogilvy (14 September 1928 – 26 December 2004) was a British businessman. He is best known as the husband of

Princess Alexandra of Kent Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Alexandra were first cousins through their fathers, King George V ...

, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Ogilvy is also remembered for his role in a business scandal, known as the Lonrho affair, involving the breaking of sanctions against Rhodesia during the 1970s. In later years, he was very involved in charity work.

Early life

He was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as the second son of the 12th Earl of Airlie and Lady Alexandra Coke, 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

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

and

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main c ...

to Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother). He was a second cousin of

Diana Mitford Diana, Lady Mosley (''née'' Freeman-Mitford; 17 June 191011 August 2003) was one of the Mitford sisters. In 1929 she married Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, with whom she was part of the Bright Young Things social group o ...

, a second cousin of

Lavinia Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk Lavinia Mary Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (''née'' Strutt; 22 March 1916 – 10 December 1995) was a British noblewoman. Life Born Lavinia Mary Strutt, she was the only daughter of Algernon Strutt, 3rd Baron Belper, and his wife, Eva. ...

, and a second cousin once removed of

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury, (27 August 1893 – 23 February 1972), known as Viscount Cranborne from 1903 to 1947, was a British Conservative politician. Background Nicknamed "Bobbety", Salisbury was the eldes ...

Education and career

Ogilvy was educated at

Heatherdown School Heatherdown School, formally called Heatherdown Preparatory School, was an independent preparatory school for boys, near Ascot, in the English county of Berkshire. Set in of grounds, it typically taught between eighty and ninety boys between t ...

, near Ascot in Berkshire, and later at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

(also in Berkshire). Between 1946 and 1948, while on

National service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, he was commissioned as an officer in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the E ...

. In 1947, he attended

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, graduating in 1950 with a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). After university, Ogilvy worked at the Drayton company and later worked with the tycoon

Tiny Rowland Roland Walter "Tiny" Rowland (; 27 November 1917 – 25 July 1998) was a British businessman, corporate raider and the chief executive of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1993. He gained fame from a number of high-profile takeover bids, in ...

at Drayton's subsidiary, London and Rhodesia Mining and Land Company (

Lonrho Lonrho is a London-based conglomerate that was established in 1998 as Lonrho Africa plc. It is engaged in multiple business sectors in Africa, mainly agribusiness, infrastructure, transport, hospitality and support services. History Lonrho ...

). The then-

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, Sir Edward Heath, criticised the company and described it in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

as "an unpleasant and unacceptable face of capitalism" on a 1973 court case over the company's management style. Ogilvy's business 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

, a granddaughter of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

and Queen Mary and a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

. 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 () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

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 is a Grade II-listed building, dating from the 17th century, in Richmond Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in London, England. It was the home of British prime minister Sir Robert Walpole and, since 1963 ...

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

from the Crown Estate for him and Princess Alexandra to live in, and where she still lives today. However, she retained an apartment at St James's Palace, which is customary for the royal family. The couple had two children,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

(born in 1964) and Marina (born in 1966).

Issue

Marina's first pregnancy, which was announced in late 1989, caused a controversy as the couple were not married. This resulted in a feud with her parents who suggested she either marry her companion or have an abortion. In an interview with a tabloid at the time, Marina had claimed that her parents had cut off her trust fund and monthly allowance due to their disapproval of her conduct.

Later years

After his business career was blighted, Ogilvy was involved with charity work. He served as president of the

Imperial Cancer Research Fund Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

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 The Prince's Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth y Tywysog) is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are u ...

, a trustee of the Leeds Castle Foundation, as well as being a member of the governing council of

Business in the Community Business in the Community (BITC) is a British business-community outreach charity promoting responsible business, CSR, corporate responsibility, and is one of the Prince's Charities of King Charles III (formerly the Prince of Wales). BITC work ...

and of the

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is t ...

. He was also a member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...

, the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland, in which his father had served as one of its four lieutenants. He suffered from

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

in later years, and his last public appearance with his wife was when he accompanied her to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

for an official tour. Ogilvy died in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...

, London, on 26 December 2004 after spending three months in hospital with cancer-related illnesses, including acute

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. His funeral took place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor in

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

on 5 January 2005. He was buried in the

Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore The Royal Burial Ground is a cemetery used by the British royal family. Consecrated on 23 October 1928 by the Bishop of Oxford, it is adjacent to the Royal Mausoleum, which was built in 1862 to house the tomb of Queen Victoria and Prince Alb ...

, at Windsor.

Legacy

Ogilvy and his wife attended a special service at

St Anne's Church, Kew St Anne's Church, Kew, is a parish church in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The building, which dates from 1714, and is Grade II* listed, forms the central focus of Kew Green. The raised churchyard, which is on three side ...

, on Sunday 10 May 1964, to mark the church's 250th anniversary. Two pew cushions in the church are embroidered with their names and coats of arms.

Honours and arms

* KCVO: Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, 31 December 1988St George's Chapel - Orders of Chivalry
* PC:

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

, 31 December 1996

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogilvy, Angus James Bruce 1928 births 2004 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Burials at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from esophageal cancer Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Royal Company of Archers People educated at Eton College People educated at Heatherdown School Residents of Thatched House Lodge Scots Guards officers Younger sons of earls House of Windsor