David Ogilvy: The Life and Legacy of Queen Elizabeth II’s Close Friend and Lord Chamberlain

2023-07-10 02:30:00

David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie, died on June 26 at the age of 97. A close friend of Queen Elizabeth II, he was her Lord Chamberlain for more than ten years. He was the same age as the Queen (they were born less than a month apart) and he and young Princess Elizabeth are said to have played together as children.

Born May 17, 1926 in Westminster, Oglivy was the eldest son of the 12th Earl of Airlie and his wife Lady Alexandra Marie Bridget Coke. His godfather was King George V, and he served as his father’s page at the coronation of King George VI in Westminster Abbey in 1937. He was educated at Eton, before serving in the Scots Guards during the Second World War. In 1950, he left the army to study at the Royal Agricultural College.

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The Earl of Airlie, then Lord-Chamberlain, at the Order of the Thistle ceremony at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.

It was around this time that he met his wife, Virginia (Ginny) Fortune Ryan, a 19-year-old heiress from Newport, Rhode Island. His great-grandfather had founded the New York Public Railroad and the Union Tobacco Company. The two young people married in October 1952 at St Margaret’s Church in Westminster. The Queen, Queen Mother and Princess Margaret are all present when the Telegraph qualified at the time as a “major social event” in England – even the news opened on marriage.

In 1953 Ogilvy joined Schroders Bank. He became director in 1961 and president in 1973, but in 1984 he resigned from his position to take up that of Lord Chamberlain within the royal house. It’s no small feat: Ogilvy is given increased powers, which allows him to move from a purely ceremonial role to one similar to that of a general manager. During the 1990s, he brought regarding major changes at the head of an organization which had not seen any change since the time of the Queen’s father. Ogilvy drives down costs, completely restructures the royal house, and secures resources from the Civil List.

A key role following the death of Diana

Ogilvy was also in charge of the Royal Household during the Queen’s ‘annus horribilis’ in 1992. It was in this year that the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales went down the drain. and Windsor Castle burns down. “It was terrible for her, terrible, terrible, terrible,” Ogilvy reportedly told the Telegraph. “One dark, miserable, drizzly day, and now the fire ravaged his childhood home. Ogilvy helped Queen Elizabeth boost her popularity by paying taxes in subsequent years and helping her defray most of the cost of restoring Windsor Castle.

In 1997, Airlie played a key role following the tragic death of Lady Diana. He officiates at RAF Northolt, receives the plane carrying the coffin of the princess, and chairs the funeral organization committee, trying to combine the wishes of the royal family with those of Diana’s family. In 2002, according to the Times, he admits the royal family initially misjudged public sentiment following Diana’s death. “In hindsight, it might have been handled a little differently,” he reportedly said, before adding: “No one is perfect. You can’t do everything right all the time. »

Tim Graham/Getty Images

The Earl of Airlie during the Commonwealth Day celebrations at Westminster Abbey, London.

As well as his work for the palace, Ogilvy also became chairman of the National Trust for Scotland and chancellor of the University of Abertay in Dundee. He was decorated with the Order of Physicians in 1984 and received the title of Chevalier du Chardon the following year. He was also Chancellor of the Royal Victorian Order. In 1997, he retired from the post of Lord Chamberlain and became one of the few to receive the Victorian royal chain without being part of the royal family: it was the Queen herself who gave it to him. After retiring, he became Lord Permanent pending, and in 2007 he was appointed Chancellor of the Order of the Thistle.

Ogilvy remained an active member of society until his death, attending the Queen’s funeral in September and the coronation of King Charles III in May. Died on June 26, 2023, he is the last survivor to have attended three coronations: that of 1937, that of 1953 and the last, this year, in May.

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