Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy

Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936) is a member of the British royal family.

Queen Elizabeth II and Alexandra were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI and Prince George, Duke of Kent.

Alexandra's mother Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark was also a first cousin of the Queen's husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Princess Alexandra was born on 25 December 1936 at 3 Belgrave Square, London.

Her parents were Prince George, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia.

She was named after her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Alexandra; her grandmother, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia; and both of her maternal aunts, Countess Elizabeth of Törring-Jettenbach and Princess Olga of Yugoslavia.

She received the name Christabel because she was born on Christmas Day, like her aunt Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.

Her birth was the last to have the tradition of having the Home Secretary present to verify the birth of potential heirs to the throne.

John Simon was present and was the last one to do so.

As a male-line granddaughter of the British monarch, she was styled as a British princess with the prefix Her Royal Highness.

At the time of her birth she was sixth in the line of succession to the British throne, behind her cousins Elizabeth and Margaret, her uncle the Duke of Gloucester, her father the Duke of Kent, and her elder brother Prince Edward.

She was born two weeks after the abdication of her uncle King Edward VIII.

Alexandra was baptised in the Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace on 9 February 1937, and her godparents were King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (her paternal uncle and aunt); the Queen of Norway (her great-aunt); Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (her maternal grandmother); Princess Olga of Yugoslavia (her maternal aunt); the Princess Beatrice (her paternal great-great-aunt); the Earl of Athlone (her paternal great-uncle); and Count Karl Theodor of Törring-Jettenbach (her maternal uncle by marriage).

Of her godparents, only the King and Queen and Lord Athlone were present.

Alexandra spent most of her childhood at her family's country house, Coppins, in Buckinghamshire.

During the Second World War she also lived at Badminton with her widowed grandmother Queen Mary.

Her father was killed in an aeroplane crash in Caithness, Scotland, on 25 August 1942, whilst serving in the Royal Air Force.

Alexandra has the distinction of being the first British princess to have attended a boarding school, Heathfield School near Ascot.

She then studied in Paris.

She was also trained at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Beginning in the late 1950s, Princess Alexandra carried out an extensive programme of engagements in support of the Queen, both in the United Kingdom and overseas.

Taking part in roughly 120 engagements each year, Princess Alexandra was one of the most active members of the royal family.

At the time of her birth, she was sixth in the line of succession to the British throne;, she is 57th.

Princess Alexandra was married to businessman Sir Angus Ogilvy from 1963 until his death in 2004.

On 24 April 1963, she married The Hon. Angus James Bruce Ogilvy (1928–2004), second son of David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, and Lady Alexandra Coke, at Westminster Abbey.

Ogilvy presented Alexandra with an engagement ring made of a cabochon sapphire set in gold and surrounded by diamonds on both sides.

The wedding ceremony was attended by the royal family and was broadcast worldwide on television, watched by an estimated 200 million people.

The bride wore a wedding gown of Valenciennes lace, with matching veil and train, designed by John Cavanagh.

She made her way with her brother, the Duke of Kent, from Kensington Palace to the church.

The bridesmaids included Princess Anne and Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, and the best man was Peregrine Fairfax.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, conducted the service.

Angus Ogilvy declined the Queen's offer to be created an earl upon marriage, so their children carry no titles.

Angus Ogilvy was knighted in 1988 (when Princess Alexandra assumed the style of The Hon. Lady Ogilvy), later being sworn of the Privy Council in 1997.

Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy had two children, James and Marina, and four grandchildren:

Marina's first pregnancy, which was announced in late 1989, caused a controversy as the couple were not married.

This resulted in a feud with her parents who suggested she either marry her companion or have an abortion.

In an interview with a tabloid at the time, Marina had claimed that her parents had cut off her trust fund and monthly allowance due to their disapproval of her conduct.

She made 110 engagements in 2012.

However, in late June 2013, she cancelled her engagements due to arthritis.

As of 2022, she is still listed as a working member of the royal family, attending numerous ceremonial and charitable engagements.