Alexander Ramsay of Mar

Captain Alexander Arthur Alfonso David Maule Ramsay of Mar DL (21 December 1919 – 20 December 2000)[2] was the only child of Princess Patricia of Connaught, who renounced her royal title and style when she married then-Captain the Hon. Alexander Ramsay in February 1919. His mother was the youngest child of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, the third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. His father was the third son of John Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie.[3]

Alexander Ramsay of Mar
Capt. Alexander Ramsay of Mar, 1944
Born
Alexander Arthur Alfonso David Maule Ramsay

(1919-12-21)21 December 1919
Clarence House, London, England
Died20 December 2000(2000-12-20) (aged 80)
Mar Lodge Estate, Inverey, Aberdeenshire[1]
Alma materEton College
Trinity College, Oxford
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1956)​
ChildrenKatharine Fraser, Mistress of Saltoun
Hon. Alice Ramsay
Hon. Elizabeth Ramsay
Parent(s)Alexander Ramsay
Princess Patricia of Connaught

Biography

Ramsay was born Alexander Arthur Alfonso David Maule Ramsay on 21 December 1919 in his mother's bathroom at Clarence House, then the London residence of his maternal grandfather, the Duke of Connaught.[2] His baptism was held on 23 February 1920 at the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace and attended by King George V and Queens Mary and Alexandra, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, and Princess Victoria. His godparents were Prince of Wales, King Alfonso XIII of Spain, the Princess Royal, Princess Christian, Princess Helena Victoria, and Commander Bolton Eyres-Monsell.[4][3]

He, along with his cousin Viscount Lascelles, acted as a page of honour during the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. After leaving Eton College the same year, he received commission in the Grenadier Guards. Ramsay saw active service in North Africa during the Second World War. He lost his right leg during a tank battle at Tunisia in 1943. In 1944, he joined the staff of his cousin, the Duke of Gloucester, who was then Governor-General of Australia.[2][1]

Upon returning to Britain in 1947, he was informed that he would inherit Mar Lodge and its estates from his aunt, Princess Arthur of Connaught. In preparation for this role, he read agriculture at Trinity College, Oxford.[3] After graduating in 1952, he worked for three years as assistant factor on the Linlithgow estates at South Queensferry. Ramsay inherited the Mar estate, becoming the new Laird of Mar, in 1959. At that point, Lord Lyon King of Arms allowed him to add the designation "of Mar" to his name. Part of the estate had to be sold to pay inheritance tax and became Mar Lodge Estate.[2][1]

In 1956, Ramsay married Flora Fraser (born 18 October 1930), the only daughter of Alexander Fraser, 20th Lord Saltoun, and chief of the Name of Fraser. His wife succeeded her father as the 21st Lady Saltoun and chief of the Name of Fraser in 1979.[3] Thereafter, they resided at wife's family seat, Cairnbulg Castle at Fraserburgh, in Aberdeenshire. In 1971, he became the deputy lord lieutenant for Aberdeenshire.[2]

Although the Ramsays of Mar had no royal titles and carried out no public duties, they attended most major royal events. Alexander Ramsay of Mar died at his estate after a short illness, on the eve of his 81st birthday.[1]

Family

Captain Alexander Ramsay of Mar and Lady Saltoun had three daughters:[5]

References
  1. "Captain Alexander Ramsay". Herald Scotland. 22 December 2000. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  2. "Captain Alexander Ramsay of Mar". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  3. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 1021. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  4. "The Ramsay Christening – Ceremony at St. James's". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 24 February 1920. p. 19.
  5. Mosley 2003, p. 3510
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