Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II is the Queen of Denmark, as well as the supreme authority of the Church of Denmark and Commander-in-Chief of the Danish Defence. Born into the House of Glücksburg, a royal house with origins in Northern Germany, she was the eldest child of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden, she succeeded her father upon his death on 14 January 1972, having become heir presumptive to her father in 1953, when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne. On her accession, Margrethe became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian kingdoms in 1375–1412 during the Kalmar Union. In 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, with whom she has two sons: Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim, she has been on the Danish throne for 47 years, becoming the second-longest-reigning Danish monarch after her ancestor Christian IV. Princess Margrethe was born 16 April 1940 at Amalienborg in Copenhagen as the first child of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
Her father was the eldest son of the then-reigning King Christian X, while her mother was the only daughter of the Crown Prince of Sweden. Her birth took place just one week after Nazi Germany's invasion of Denmark on 9 April 1940, she was baptised on 14 May in the Church of Holmen in Copenhagen. The Princess's godparents were: King Christian X, she was named Margrethe after her late maternal grandmother, Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, Alexandrine after her paternal grandmother, Queen Alexandrine, Ingrid after her mother. Since her paternal grandfather was the King of Iceland, she was given the Icelandic name Þórhildur; when Margrethe was four years old, in 1944, her younger sister Princess Benedikte was born. Princess Benedikte married Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and lives some of the time in Germany, her second sister, Princess Anne-Marie, was born in 1946. Anne-Marie married Constantine II of the Hellenes and lives in Greece. Margrethe and her sisters grew up in apartments at Frederick VIII's Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen and in Fredensborg Palace in North Zealand.
She spent summer holidays with the royal family in her parent's summer residence at Gråsten Palace in Southern Jutland. On 20 April 1947, King Christian X died and Margrethe's father ascended the throne as King Frederick IX. At the time of her birth, only males could ascend the throne of Denmark, owing to the changes in succession laws enacted in the 1850s when the Glücksburg branch was chosen to succeed; as she had no brothers, it was assumed. The process of changing the constitution started in 1947, not long after her father ascended the throne and it became clear that Queen Ingrid would have no more children; the popularity of Frederick and his daughters and the more prominent role of women in Danish life started the complicated process of altering the constitution. The law required that the proposal be passed by two successive Parliaments and by a referendum, which occurred 27 March 1953; the new Act of Succession permitted female succession to the throne of Denmark, according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture, where a female can ascend to the throne only if she does not have a brother.
Princess Margrethe therefore became heir presumptive. On her eighteenth birthday, 16 April 1958, Margrethe was given a seat in the Council of State, she subsequently chaired the meetings of the Council in the absence of the King. In 1960, together with the princesses of Sweden and Norway, she travelled to the United States, which included a visit to Los Angeles, to the Paramount Studios, where they met several celebrities, including Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and Elvis Presley. Margrethe was educated at the private school N. Zahle's School in Copenhagen from which she graduated in 1959, she spent a year at North Foreland Lodge, a boarding school for girls in Hampshire and studied prehistoric archaeology at Girton College, during 1960–1961, political science at Aarhus University between 1961 and 1962, attended the Sorbonne in 1963, was at the London School of Economics in 1965. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Queen Margrethe is fluent in Danish, English and German, has a limited knowledge of Faroese.
Princess Margrethe married a French diplomat, Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, 10 June 1967, at the Church of Holmen in Copenhagen. Laborde de Monpezat received the style and title of "His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark" because of his new position as the spouse of the heir presumptive to the Danish throne, they were married for over fifty years, until his death on 13 February 2018. Margrethe gave birth to her first child 26 May 1968. By tradition, Danish kings were alternately named either Christian, she chose to maintain this by assuming the position of a Christian, thus named her eldest son Frederik. A second child, named Joachim, was born 7 June 1969. Shortly after King Frederick IX delivered his New Year's Address to the Nation at the 1971/72 turn of the year, he fell ill. At his death 14 days 14 January 1972, Margrethe succeeded to the throne at the age of 31, becoming the first female
Clarence House
Clarence House is a British royal residence on The Mall in the City of Westminster, London. It is attached to shares the palace's garden. From 1953 until 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, it has since been the official residence of Charles, Prince of Wales, his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Clarence House was the official residence of Prince William from 2003 until April 2011, of Prince Harry from 2003 until March 2012, it is open to visitors for one month each summer in August. The four storey house is faced in pale stucco. Over the years, it has undergone extensive remodelling and reconstruction, most notably after the Second World War, little remains of the original structure as designed by John Nash. Since 2003, the term "Clarence House" has been used as a metonym for the Prince of Wales's private office, it is Grade I listed on the National Heritage List for England. The house was built between 1827 to a design by John Nash, it was commissioned by the Duke of Clarence, who in 1830 became King William IV of the United Kingdom.
He lived there in preference to the adjacent St James's Palace, an ancient Tudor building which he found too cramped. From William IV, the house passed to his sister Princess Augusta Sophia, following her death in 1840, to Queen Victoria's mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. In 1866, it became the home of Queen Victoria's second son Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, until his death in 1900. Alfred's younger brother Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Queen Victoria's third son, used the house from 1900 until his death in 1942. During his tenure, for a brief period in the 1930s, it was the location of the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies until all universities in London were evacuated in 1939, the school temporarily relocated to Cambridge. During World War II, it suffered damage by enemy bombing during The Blitz. Following the death of the Duke of Connaught in 1942, it was used by the Red Cross and the St John Ambulance Brigade as their headquarters during the rest of World War II.
Following their marriage in 1947, it became the residence of Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Their daughter, Princess Anne, was born there in 1950. In 1953, after the death of her father King George VI, her accession as Queen Elizabeth II, she moved to Buckingham Palace, her mother, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret moved into Clarence House. At the start of her widowhood, the Queen Mother purchased the Castle of Mey in Scotland as a summer residence. Princess Margaret moved into an apartment in Kensington Palace, whilst the Queen Mother remained at Clarence House and at the Castle of Mey, until her death in March 2002. In 2003, the Prince of Wales moved to Clarence House; the house was rewired, most of the major rooms were redecorated by the interior designer Robert Kime, the building was given an external facelift. Birkhall – a house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is notable for its long association with the English and British royal family and for its architecture; the original castle was built in the 11th century after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I, it has been used by the reigning monarch and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe; the castle's lavish early 19th-century State Apartments were described by the art historian Hugh Roberts as "a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms regarded as the finest and most complete expression of Georgian taste". Inside the castle walls is the 15th-century St George's Chapel, considered by the historian John Martin Robinson to be "one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic" design. Designed to protect Norman dominance around the outskirts of London and oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames, Windsor Castle was built as a motte-and-bailey, with three wards surrounding a central mound.
Replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a prolonged siege during the First Barons' War at the start of the 13th century. Henry III built a luxurious royal palace within the castle during the middle of the century, Edward III went further, rebuilding the palace to make an grander set of buildings in what would become "the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England". Edward's core design lasted through the Tudor period, during which Henry VIII and Elizabeth I made increasing use of the castle as a royal court and centre for diplomatic entertainment. Windsor Castle survived the tumultuous period of the English Civil War, when it was used as a military headquarters by Parliamentary forces and a prison for Charles I. At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II rebuilt much of Windsor Castle with the help of the architect Hugh May, creating a set of extravagant Baroque interiors that are still admired. After a period of neglect during the 18th century, George III and George IV renovated and rebuilt Charles II's palace at colossal expense, producing the current design of the State Apartments, full of Rococo and Baroque furnishings.
Queen Victoria made a few minor changes to the castle, which became the centre for royal entertainment for much of her reign. Windsor Castle was used as a refuge by the royal family during the Luftwaffe bombing campaigns of the Second World War and survived a fire in 1992, it is a popular tourist attraction, a venue for hosting state visits, the preferred weekend home of Elizabeth II. Windsor Castle occupies 13 acres, combines the features of a fortification, a palace, a small town; the present-day castle was created during a sequence of phased building projects, culminating in the reconstruction work after a fire in 1992. It is in essence a Georgian and Victorian design based on a medieval structure, with Gothic features reinvented in a modern style. Since the 14th century, architecture at the castle has attempted to produce a contemporary reinterpretation of older fashions and traditions imitating outmoded or antiquated styles; as a result, architect Sir William Whitfield has pointed to Windsor Castle's architecture as having "a certain fictive quality", the Picturesque and Gothic design generating "a sense that a theatrical performance is being put on here", despite late 20th century efforts to expose more of the older structures to increase the sense of authenticity.
Although there has been some criticism, the castle's architecture and history lends it a "place amongst the greatest European palaces". At the heart of Windsor Castle is the Middle Ward, a bailey formed around the motte or artificial hill in the centre of the ward; the motte is 50 feet high and is made from chalk excavated from the surrounding ditch. The keep, called the Round Tower, on the top of the motte is based on an original 12th-century building, extended upwards in the early 19th century under architect Jeffry Wyatville by 30 ft to produce a more imposing height and silhouette; the interior of the Round Tower was further redesigned in 1991–3 to provide additional space for the Royal Archives, an additional room being built in the space left by Wyatville's hollow extension. The Round Tower is in reality far from cylindrical, due to the shape and structure of the motte beneath it; the current height of the tower has been criticised as being disproportionate to its width. The western entrance to the Middle Ward is now open, a gateway leads north from the ward onto the North Terrace.
The eastern exit from the ward is guarded by the Norman Gatehouse. This gatehouse, despite its name, dates from the 14th century, is vaulted and decorated with carvings, including surviving medieval lion masks, traditional symbols of majesty, to form an impressive entrance to the Upper Ward. Wyatville redesigned the exterior of the gatehouse, the interior was heavily converted in the 19th century for residential use; the Upper Ward of Windsor Castle comprises a number of major buildings enclosed by the upper bailey wall, forming a central quadrangle. The State Apartments run along the north of the ward, with a range of buildings along the east wall, the private royal apartments and the King George IV Gate to the south, with the Edward III Tower in the south-west corner; the motte and the Round Tower form the west edge of the ward. A bronze statue of Charles II on horseback sits beneath the Round Tower. Inspired by Hubert Le Sueur's statue of Charles I in London, the statue was cast by Josias Ibach in 1679, with the marble plinth featuring carvings
Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore
The Royal Burial Ground is a cemetery used by the British Royal Family. Consecrated on the 23rd October 1928, it surrounds the Royal Mausoleum, built in 1862 to house the tomb of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; the burial ground lies on the Frogmore Estate, part of Windsor Home Park, in the English county of Berkshire. Many members of the Royal Family except for sovereigns and their consorts, have been interred on the Royal Burial Ground, among them Queen Victoria's children and one sovereign: Edward VIII, 1894–1972. In the adjacent Frogmore Gardens stands the mausoleum of Queen Victoria's mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld; some members of the British Royal family were reburied at this cemetery in 1928, having been interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. 1928 Prince Francis of Teck, brother of Queen Mary. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 5 November 1910 interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. 1928 Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught, wife of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.
Cremated on the evening of 18 March 1917 at Golders Green Crematorium as first member of the Royal Family to be cremated, ashes put in an oak coffin for funeral at St George's Chapel on 19 March 1917 placed in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. 1928 Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, husband of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 1 November 1917 interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. 1928 Lord Leopold Mountbatten, grandson of Queen Victoria through his mother Princess Henry of Battenberg. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 1 May 1922 interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. 1928 Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria, wife of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 15 June 1923 interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. 1928 Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, a former Prince of Teck and brother of Queen Mary and husband of Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge.
Funeral at St George's Chapel on 29 October 1927 interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. His coffin is in the same grave as that of his wife. 1928 Rupert Cambridge, Viscount Trematon, son of Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 19 April 1928 interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. 1929 Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge, wife of the 1st Marquess of Cambridge. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 30 March 1929 interred in the Royal Burial Ground, her coffin is in the same grave as that of her husband. 1935 Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom, daughter of King Edward VII. Interred in the Royal Burial Ground on 9 December 1935. 1938 Prince Arthur of Connaught, son of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 16 September 1938 interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. 1940 Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, daughter of Queen Victoria, wife of the 9th Duke of Argyll. Cremated at Golders Green Crematorium, ashes put in an oak coffin for funeral at St George's Chapel on 12 December 1939 placed in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel.
1942 Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 23 January 1942 interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. 1948 Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 17 March 1948 interred in the Royal Burial Ground. 1956 Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Helena of the United Kingdom and granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 14 December 1956 interred in the Royal Burial Ground. 1957 the Earl of Athlone, brother of Queen Mary and husband of Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone. A former Prince of Teck, former Governor-General of South Africa and a former Governor General of Canada. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 19 January 1957 interred in the Royal Burial Ground, his coffin is in the same grave as that of his wife. 1968 Prince George, Duke of Kent, son of King George V, husband of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.
Funeral at St George's Chapel on 29 August 1942 interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. 1968 Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, wife of Prince George, Duke of Kent. Interred in the Royal Burial Ground on 30 August 1968. 1972 Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, eldest son of King George V and King Edward VIII. Funeral at St George's Chapel on 5 June 1972 interred in the Royal Burial Ground. 1972 Prince William of Gloucester, son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. Interred in the Royal Burial Ground on 2 September 1972. 1972 Sir Alexander Ramsay
Albert, Prince Consort
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the husband of Queen Victoria. He was born in the Saxon duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, to a family connected to many of Europe's ruling monarchs. At the age of 20, he married Queen Victoria, he felt constrained by his role of prince consort, which did not afford him power or responsibilities. He developed a reputation for supporting public causes, such as educational reform and the abolition of slavery worldwide, was entrusted with running the Queen's household and estates, he was involved with the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851, a resounding success. Victoria came to depend more on his support and guidance, he aided the development of Britain's constitutional monarchy by persuading his wife to be less partisan in her dealings with Parliament—although he disagreed with the interventionist foreign policy pursued during Lord Palmerston's tenure as Foreign Secretary. Albert died at the young age of 42. Victoria was so devastated at the loss of her husband that she entered into a deep state of mourning and wore black for the rest of her life.
On her death in 1901, their eldest son succeeded as Edward VII, the first British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, named after the ducal house to which Albert belonged. Albert was born at Schloss Rosenau, near Coburg, the second son of Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, his first wife, Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Albert's future wife, was born earlier in the same year with the assistance of the same midwife, Charlotte von Siebold. Albert was baptised into the Lutheran Evangelical Church on 19 September 1819 in the Marble Hall at Schloss Rosenau with water taken from the local river, the Itz, his godparents were the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. In 1825, Albert's great-uncle, Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, died, his death led to a realignment of Saxon duchies the following year and Albert's father became the first reigning duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Albert and his elder brother, spent their youth in a close companionship marred by their parents' turbulent marriage and eventual separation and divorce.
After their mother was exiled from court in 1824, she married her lover, Alexander von Hanstein, Count of Polzig and Beiersdorf. She never saw her children again, died of cancer at the age of 30 in 1831; the following year, their father married his sons' cousin Princess Marie of Württemberg. The brothers were educated at home by Christoph Florschütz and studied in Brussels, where Adolphe Quetelet was one of their tutors. Like many other German princes, Albert attended the University of Bonn, where he studied law, political economy and the history of art, he played music and excelled at sport fencing and riding. His tutors at Bonn included the poet Schlegel; the idea of marriage between Albert and his cousin, was first documented in an 1821 letter from his paternal grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who said that he was "the pendant to the pretty cousin". By 1836, this idea had arisen in the mind of their ambitious uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians since 1831. At this time, Victoria was the heir presumptive to the British throne.
Her father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III, had died when she was a baby, her elderly uncle, King William IV, had no legitimate children. Her mother, the Duchess of Kent, was the sister of both Albert's father—the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha—and King Leopold. Leopold arranged for his sister, Victoria's mother, to invite the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his two sons to visit her in May 1836, with the purpose of meeting Victoria. William IV, disapproved of any match with the Coburgs, instead favoured the suit of Prince Alexander, second son of the Prince of Orange. Victoria was well aware of the various matrimonial plans and critically appraised a parade of eligible princes, she wrote, " is handsome. Alexander, on the other hand, she described as "very plain". Victoria wrote to her uncle Leopold to thank him "for the prospect of great happiness you have contributed to give me, in the person of dear Albert... He possesses every quality that could be desired to render me happy."
Although the parties did not undertake a formal engagement, both the family and their retainers assumed that the match would take place. Victoria came to the throne aged eighteen on 20 June 1837, her letters of the time show interest in Albert's education for the role he would have to play, although she resisted attempts to rush her into marriage. In the winter of 1838–39, the prince visited Italy, accompanied by the Coburg family's confidential adviser, Baron Stockmar. Albert returned to the United Kingdom with Ernest in October 1839 to visit the Queen, with the objective of settling the marriage. Albert and Victoria felt mutual affection and the Queen proposed to him on 15 October 1839. Victoria's intention to marry was declared formally to the Privy Council on 23 November, the couple married on
Prince Arthur of Connaught
Prince Arthur of Connaught was a British military officer and a grandson of Queen Victoria. He served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 20 November 1920 to 21 January 1924. Prince Arthur was born on 13 January 1883 at Windsor Castle, his father was Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. His mother was the former Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. Arthur was baptised in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on 16 February 1883, his godparents were Queen Victoria, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia, Princess Henry of the Netherlands, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Edinburgh. Arthur was the first British royal prince, he was known to his family as "young Arthur" to distinguish him from his father. After attending finishing school, Prince Arthur was educated at the Royal Military College, from where he was commissioned into the 7th Hussars as a second lieutenant in May 1901.
He saw his first active posting the following year. After the end of the Second Boer War in June 1902, most of the British troops left South Africa, but the 7th Hussars were posted there to keep the peace. Prince Arthur and 230 men of his regiment left Southampton in the SS Ortona in October 1902, arrived at Cape Town the same month, he spent several months stationed at Krugersdorp. In 1907, he was promoted to the rank of captain in the 2nd Dragoons, he became the honorary Colonel-in-Chief of this regiment in 1920. During the First World War, Prince Arthur served as aide-de-camp to Generals Sir John French and Sir Douglas Haig, the successive commanders of the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1919 and became a colonel in the reserves in 1922. In October 1922, Prince Arthur was promoted to the honorary rank of major general and became an aide-de-camp to his first cousin, King George V. Since the king's children were too young to undertake public duties until after the First World War, Prince Arthur carried out a variety of ceremonial duties at home and overseas.
On 15 October 1913, Prince Arthur married his cousin Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, London; the couple were attended by five bridesmaids: The Princess Mary, Princess Maud of Fife, Princesses Mary and May of Teck. Princess Alexandra was the eldest daughter and heir of the 1st Duke of Fife and the Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of King Edward VII; as such, the couple were first cousins once removed. They had Alastair. After the accession of his cousin, King George V, Prince Arthur and his aging father were the most senior male members of the Royal Family over the age of 18 to reside in the United Kingdom; as such, he undertook a wide variety of royal duties on behalf of the King, acted as a Counsellor of State during periods of the King's absence abroad. In 1906, by order of the King, he vested the Meiji Emperor of Japan with the Order of the Garter, as a consequence of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. In 1918, he was a guest aboard the Japanese battlecruiser Kirishima when she voyaged from Japan to Canada.
In 1920, Prince Arthur succeeded Viscount Buxton as governor-general and commander-in-chief in South Africa. The Earl of Athlone succeeded him in these posts in 1924. Upon returning to Britain, Prince Arthur became involved in a number of charitable organizations, including serving as chairman of the board of directors of Middlesex Hospital. Like his father, the Duke of Connaught, he was active in the Freemasons, becoming Provincial Grand Master for Berkshire in 1924. Prince Arthur of Connaught died of stomach cancer at age 55 on 12 September 1938, he is buried in Frogmore. One of his last public appearances was at the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in May 1937, his father, the Duke of Connaught, survived him by four years. Prince Arthur's only son, who used the courtesy title Earl of MacDuff after 1917, succeeded his paternal grandfather as 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Earl of Sussex in 1942. 2Lt: 2nd Lieutenant, 7th Hussars Lt: Lieutenant, 7th Hussars Capt: Captain, 2nd Dragoons Bvt Maj: Brevet Major Maj: Major, 2nd Dragoons Bvt LtCol: Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Retired from active service Hon Maj-Gen: Honorary Major-General Col: Colonel, Reserve of Officers Orders and appointmentsKG: Royal Knight of the Garter KT: Knight of the Thistle PC: Privy Counsellor CB: Companion of the Order of the Bath Royal Victorian Chain - for travelling to Japan and investing Emperor Meiji with the Order of the Garter GCMG: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order GCStJ: Bailiff Grand Cross of St John KJStJ: Knight of Justice of St John Knight of the Order of Saint Hubert Knight Grand Cross with Collar of St Olav Knight of th
Princess Patricia of Connaught
Princess Patricia of Connaught was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay, she relinquished her title of a British princess and the style of Royal Highness. Princess Patricia — "Patsy" to family and friends — was born on 17 March 1886, St Patrick's Day, at Buckingham Palace in London, her father was Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her mother was Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, she had two elder siblings, Prince Arthur of Connaught and Princess Margaret of Connaught Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden. She was baptized Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth at Bagshot Park on 1 May 1886, her godparents were Queen Victoria. She was named Victoria after Queen Victoria, she grew up as a member of the Royal Family. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of York on 6 July 1893. Princess Patricia travelled extensively in her early years, her father, the Duke of Connaught, was posted to India with the army, the young Princess spent two years living there.
Connaught Place, the central business locus of New Delhi, is named for the Duke. In 1911, the Duke was appointed Governor General of Canada. Princess Patricia accompanied her parents to Canada, she became popular there, her portrait appears on the one-dollar note of the Dominion of Canada with the issue date 17 March 1917. She was named Colonel-in-Chief of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry on 22 February 1918 and held that appointment until her death; the regiment named for her was raised by Andrew Hamilton Gault, of Montreal, at his own expense. Princess Patricia designed the badge and colours for the regiment to take overseas to France, at her wedding in 1919, the regiment attended and played their march specially; as the regiment's Colonel-in-Chief, she played an active role until her death. A memorial plaque in St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church in Ottawa is dedicated "To the memory of The Lady Patricia Ramsey, VA, CI, CD late Colonel-in-Chief Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry who as H.
R. H; the Princess Patricia of Connaught worshipped here while resident at Government House 1911-1916."She was succeeded in 1974 by her cousin and goddaughter Patricia, who became the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who asked that the men and women of her regiment discount her titles and refer to her in honour of her predecessor as Lady Patricia. The question of Patricia's marriage was the subject of much speculation in the Edwardian era, as she was considered one of the most beautiful and eligible royal princesses of her generation, she was matched with various foreign royalties, including the King of Spain, the Prince Royal of Portugal, the future Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Grand Duke Michael of Russia, younger brother of Tsar Nicholas II. In the end, Patricia chose a commoner rather than a husband of royal blood, she married naval Commander Alexander Ramsay, one of her father's aides-de-camp and third son of the 13th Earl of Dalhousie, at Westminster Abbey on 27 February 1919. Her bridesmaids and page boys were: Lady Mary Cambridge and Lady Helena Cambridge The Princess Mary Lady Ida Ramsay and Lady Jean Ramsay Princess Maud of Fife Lady May Cambridge Princess Ingrid of Sweden Alastair, Earl of Macduff The Honourable Simon Ramsay.
On the occasion of her marriage, Princess Patricia of Connaught was permitted by Royal Warrant to relinquish the style of Royal Highness and the title of Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. She was granted by Royal Warrant of 25 February 1919 the style of Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay, with special precedence before the Marchionesses of England. Since the Royal Warrant stated that her change in style took effect only upon the solemnization of her marriage, she entered the church as a Princess and Royal Highness and left as a Lady, a daughter of a royal duke. Cdr Alexander Ramsay and Lady Patricia Ramsay had one child: Alexander Ramsay of Mar, married in 1956 to Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun. Despite her relinquishment of her royal title, Lady Patricia remained a member of the British Royal Family, remained in the line of succession, attended all major royal events, including weddings and the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Elizabeth II in 1937 and 1953 respectively.
She rode in the carriage processions with other members of the Royal Family at the funerals of George V in 1936 and of King
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