Virginia Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie, who served Queen Elizabeth II for nearly 50 years as the only American-born member of the sovereign’s inner circle of advisers, aides and close friends, known as “ladies-in-waiting,” died Aug. 16 at her estate in Cortachy, a village in Scotland. She was 91.
His daughter, Lady Elizabeth Baring, confirmed the death.
Ladies-in-waiting, a position dating back to the Middle Ages, performed various tasks under different queens, including planning, correspondence, and household administration.
But in all cases, the most important task was to play the role of official best friend, which required discretion, a keen ear for gossip, and a keen eye for the queen’s needs and desires. By tradition and necessity, this role is usually held by a peer, in part because it is unpaid and uncompensated.
Lady Ogilvy’s husband, David, Earl of Airlie, had been friends with Queen Elizabeth since childhood and the couple had long been part of her social circle. Both joined her household: Lady Ogilvy in 1973 and her husband in 1984, taking up the post of Lord Chamberlain of the Household, overseeing the Queen’s domestic affairs after a long career in banking.
Lady Ogilvy was something of a first among equals in the ranks of ladies-in-waiting, with the official title of Lady of the Bedchamber. She and the Queen were, by all accounts, quite close; the Queen even joined Lady Ogilvy at her 70th birthday party at Annabel’s, a members-only nightclub in London, an event celebrated in the British media as the only time the Queen went clubbing.
Like her husband, Lady Ogilvy was known for her keen sense of style and decorum; in public she wore the pearl- and diamond-encrusted Airlie Tiara, a jewel created for her husband’s grandmother, Mabell, Countess of Airlie, who had served as lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth’s paternal grandmother, Queen Mary.
Lady Ogilvy was regularly at the Queen’s side, and often stood silently to her left when Elizabeth sat down for ceremonies. She was attuned to a subtle sign language when the monarch mingled with her; if Elizabeth twisted her wedding ring, for example, it meant she was tired from a conversation and needed to be pried out.
She travelled frequently with the Queen, including on her state visits to the United States. And she was always present when the Queen received American visitors to Britain, including, in 2018, President Donald J. Trump.
When Mr Trump reached out to greet Lady Ogilvy, the 85-year-old countess squeezed it firmly and pulled him close, apparently catching him off guard. A video of the encounter has gone viral in Britain.
Virginia Fortune Ryan was born on February 9, 1933, in London while her American mother, Margaret (Kahn) Ryan, was visiting the city.
Both of his parents were wealthy: his maternal grandfather was Otto Kahn, the financier who is said to have been the inspiration for Rich Uncle Pennybags, aka Mr. Monopoly, while his father, John Barry Ryan Jr., was a grandson of financier Thomas Fortune Ryan.
Virginia, nicknamed Ginny, spent her childhood between Manhattan and Newport, Rhode Island, and visited Britain frequently. Her parents were good friends with Winston Churchill and once lent their Newport home to British politician Anthony Eden while he was in the United States for surgery.
She met her future husband, David Ogilvy, at a ball at the Savoy Hotel in London when she was 16. Their wedding took place three years later at St Margaret’s Church, on the grounds of Westminster Abbey, in front of 1,000 people.
Mr Ogilvy became the 13th Earl of Airlie in 1968, making his wife Lady Ogilvy. Even before assuming the title, they lived at Cortachy, the historic family estate, where, by all accounts, she developed close ties with the villagers who lived there.
“She has tea with a lot of them and she’s a nice girl,” one local resident told The Associated Press in 1952.
Lord Ogilvy died in 2023. Besides her daughter Lady Baring, Lady Ogilvy is survived by her five other children, Lady Doune Wake; Lady Jane Nairac; Patrick Ogilvy; Bruce Ogilvy; and David Ogilvy, 14th Earl of Airlie; 14 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
After Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022, her son, King Charles, announced that he would retain the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting as ladies of the household. But they will not be replaced: Queen Camilla has said she will instead rely on a less formal group of “companions to the Queen,” who will have fewer responsibilities than her predecessors’ ladies-in-waiting.
nytimes Eur
