Captain 'Alexander Arthur Alfonso David Maule Ramsay of Mar' (
21 December 1919–
20 December 2000) was the only child of HRH
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
HRH The Duke of Connaught, the third son of
Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert. His father was the third son of the
Earl of Dalhouise.
Born at
Clarence House, then the London residence of his maternal grandfather, the Duke of Connaught. He (along with his cousin Viscount Lascelles, later
7th Earl of Harewood) acted as a page of honour during the coronation of King
George VI. After leaving
Eton College the same year, he received commission in the
Grenadier Guards. Ramsay saw active service in
North Africa during
World War II. He lost his right leg during a
tank battle at
Tunisia in
1943. In
1944, he joined the staff of his cousin,
HRH the Duke of Gloucester, who was then
governor general of
Australia.
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, Cambridge. After graduating in
1952, he worked for three years as assistant
factor on the
Linlithgow estates at
South Queensferry. Ramsay inherited the Mar estate 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.
In
1956, Ramsay married
Flora Fraser (
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 her own right in
1979. Thereafter, they resided at wife's family seat,
Cairnbulg Castle at
Fraserburgh, in
Aberdeenshire. In
1971, he became the deputy lord lieutenant for Aberdeenshire.
Captain Alexander Ramsay of Mar and Lady Saltoun had three daughters, three granddaughters and four grandsons:
★ Hon.
Katharine Ingrid Mary Isabel Fraser,
Deputy Lieutenant of
Aberdeenshire since
2005, (
11 October 1957-) m. Mark Nicolson (
29 September 1954-).
★
★ Louise Alexandra Patricia Nicolson, formerly Fraser (
2 September 1984-)
★
★ Juliet Victoria Katharine Nicolson (
3 March 1988-)
★
★ Alexander William Malise Fraser (
5 July 1990-)
★ Hon.
Alice Elizabeth Margaret Ramsay of Mar (
8 July 1961-) m. David Alan Ramsey (
17 September 1960-).
★
★ Alexander David Ramsey (
17 December 1991-)
★
★ Victoria Alice Ramsey (
7 April 1994-)
★
★ George Arthur Ramsey (
28 September 1995-)
★
★ Oliver Henry Ramsey (
28 September 1995-)
★ Hon.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Ramsay of Mar (
15 April 1963-)
Elizabeth Ramsay is the youngest great-great-grandchild of
Queen Victoria.
Although the Ramsays of Mar had no royal titles and carried out no public duties, they were regarded as members of the extended
British Royal Family, attending most major royal events. Alexander Ramsay of Mar died on the eve of his eighty-first birthday. At the time of his death, he was one of five surviving great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria.
'Foonote'
1 Katherine is heir presumptive to her mother's
peerage and the headship of Fraser clan. Lord Lyon King Arms officially recognized her use of the surname Fraser in 1973. Her elder daughter Louise also used this surname until Alexander was born, when she ceased to use the surname and her brother used it.