Virginia, Countess of Airlie
Born: February 9, 1933;
Died: August 16, 2024
Lady Airlie, who has died aged 91, was the first American Lady of the Bedchamber when she was appointed to the role in 1973. It was a post she despatched with meticulous care and attention, supporting the Queen in her public duties with diligence while remaining discretely in the background. She remained a prominent member of the household until the Queen’s death in 2022.
The King paid a personal tribute to Lady Airlie in a statement from Buckingham Palace: “His Majesty was deeply saddened to hear the news, having known Lady Airlie for so much of his life and having so greatly appreciated her immense devotion and dedicated service to Her late Majesty over so many years.”
Virginia Fortune Ryan, known to her many friends as Ginnie, was born in London, the daughter of John Ryan, an American journalist-turned-industrialist who inherited a fortune. Her mother Margaret (née Kahn), also an heiress, came of a Jewish-American financier who gave St Dunstan’s Lodge, his Regent’s Park mansion, as a home for blind former servicemen.
She was brought up in Newport, Rhode Island, and attended schools in Manhattan. Every summer her mother brought her daughter to London for the season. She had met David Ogilvy (Lord Ogilvy) at a party for the young in New York but on one of her London visits the 16-year-old Ginnie danced with David Ogilvy, by then an investment banker in the City who had served in the Scots Guards during the Second World War. His family had an estate (Cortachy) near Balmoral and he and the young Princess Elizabeth had been childhood friends.
Ginnie and David were engaged in 1952; the emerald stone in her engagement ring was changed to a sapphire as a family superstition stated that “an Ogilvy and green should never be seen”. It dated back to when the Ogilvys wore green kilts in a disastrous battle against the Lindsays. The couple were married in St Margaret’s, Westminster and emerged from the church to be greeted by the skirl of the pipes.
Amongst the royals and establishment figures who attended was Lord Ogilvy’s younger brother and best man, Angus, who in 1963 married Princess Alexandra.
In 1968 Lord Ogilvy succeeded his father as 13th Earl of Airlie and they divided their life between London and Cortachy Castle near Kirriemuir in Angus which had been the centre of the clan since the 15th century. They also lived at nearby Airlie Castle which dates from the 15th century.
As she was to do throughout her life Lady Airlie committed much time to supporting good causes. On her mother’s side of her family many had died in the Holocaust and in 1955 she was involved in a scheme to sponsor refugees recovering from the horrors of the concentration camps, many of whom were still homeless in camps in Germany.
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In 1973 the Queen appointed her a Lady of the Bedchamber. She invariably attended the Queen at Balmoral and at Holyrood House and was present at the ceremony of the Order of the Thistle, of which Lord Airlie was Chancellor.
She was also in attendance when the Queen dropped in for tea with Mrs Susan McCarron in 1999 at 6 Dougrie Gardens on Glasgow’s Craigdale estate. Mrs McCarron told Lady Airlie she had got out her best china for the occasion.
Lady Airlie devoted much of her time to supporting the Red Cross of which she was president of the Angus branch.
Liz Padmore, Chair of the Board at the British Red Cross, told The Herald, “Lady Airlie has had a long and wonderful connection to the British Red Cross for 67 years and during this time her dedication, compassion and commitment helped many people in crisis. Lady Airlie’s delightful and encouraging nature left a lasting impression on those who worked with her, and we are immensely proud to have had her involvement and support.
“Her legacy of voluntary service and kindness will always be remembered by those who had the privilege of working with her.”
In Angus she is remembered as a woman of immense charm and blessed with a natural courtesy. Her son Lord Ogilvy told The Herald, “My mother enjoyed all sorts of social occasions and was a natural at enlivening an event. It must have been quite a surprise to her coming from Manhattan to a rather conservative and quiet part of the world. But she had great energy and liked everything just so.”
Lady Airlie was appointed DCVO in 1994. She is survived by her three sons and three daughters.
Alasdair Steven
At The Herald, we carry obituaries of notable people from the worlds of business, politics, arts and sport but sometimes we miss people who have led extraordinary lives. That's where you come in. If you know someone who deserves an obituary, please consider telling us about their lives. Contact garry.scott@heraldandtimes.co.uk
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