Lord Airlie of Cortachy, Kirriemuir, former Lord Chamberlain to the late Queen, has died aged 97.
He was the same age and a close friend of the former monarch and ran the royal household from 1984 until 1997.
On August 31, 1997, in his final year in the role, Lord Airlie was required to officiate at RAF Northolt to receive the aircraft carrying the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales, who has died in a car crash in Paris earlier in the day.
The photographs of Lord Airlie that day show a reassuring figuring providing support to Prince Charles and the family of Diana.
The Right Honourable David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie, remained active until recent weeks, his son, Lord David Ogilvy said.
He attended the service of thanksgiving for the late Queen at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, in September last year.
He was one of the key mourners at the funeral of the Queen at Westminster Abbey and, accompanied by his son, attended the coronation of King Charles in May.
For decades, Lord Airlie, his wife Lady Virginia, and their six children called Cortachy Castle, near Kirriemuir, their home.
They only moved to a smaller property nearby in 2014 when Lord Airlie was 88 and his wife 82. Airlie estates, which also includes Airlie Castle, had been in the family’s hands for at least 700 years.
In recent months, Lord Airlie, whose younger brother, the late Sir Angus Ogilvy was married to Princess Alexandra, had been living at his London home.
Lord Airlie, KT, GC,VO, PC, was born in London in 1926, the eldest son of David Ogilvy, Earl of Airlie and Lady Alexandra Coke.
He was educated at Eton and served as an officer in the Scots Guards during the Second World War. He remained in the army until 1950 when he began studying estate management at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester.
Business career
In 1953 he joined merchant bankers, J Henry Schroder, was appointed a director in 1961 and then chairman in 1973.
He left the firm in 1984 to become Lord Chamberlain. Lady Ogilvy was a Lady of the Bedchamber from 1973 until the death of the Queen in September 2022.
Lord Airlie had served as Lord Lieutenant of Angus and was founding chancellor of Abertay University, Dundee, in 1994, serving until 2009.
He played an active role in the community in Angus and was a particular supporter of the Glenisla Games to which he welcomed Prince Charles as a guest in 2019 to mark the games’ 150th anniversary.
Lord Airlie and Lady Virginia married at St Margaret’s, Westminister, in a ceremony attended by the late Queen and the Queen Mother. The couple went on to have six children; Doune, Jane, David, Bruce, Elizabeth and Patrick and, in time, 14 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
A proud and private man, Lord Airlie was resolutely loyal to the late Queen and the wider household and never discussed the role he played on behalf of the royal family and the 700 staff for whom he was responsible.
However, when the Queen died last year, he did pay warm tribute to the “truly remarkable lady (who) devoted her whole life to the welfare of her people and her country.”
Angus Provost Brian Boyd said: “I am very sorry to hear this sad news and send my condolences to Lord Airlie’s family. it is right that we recognise and appreciate his years of service to Angus and beyond.”