Princess Patricia of Connaught
Lady Patricia Ramsay | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Princess Patricia of Connaught 17 March 1886 Buckingham Palace, London | ||||
Died | 12 January 1974 Windlesham, Surrey | (aged 87)||||
Burial | 21 January 1974 | ||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue | Alexander Ramsay of Mar | ||||
| |||||
House | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (until 1917) Windsor (from 1917) | ||||
Father | Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn | ||||
Mother | Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia |
Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay
Early life
Princess Patricia – "Patsy" to family and friends – was born on 17 March 1886,
She was
She grew up as a member of the Royal Family. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her cousins the Duke and Duchess of York (future King George V and Queen Mary) on 6 July 1893.[6]
Canada
Princess Patricia travelled extensively in her early years. Her father, the Duke of Connaught, was posted to India with the army, and the young Princess spent two years living there. Connaught Place, the central business locus of New Delhi, is named for the Duke. In 1911, the Duke was appointed Governor General of Canada. Princess Patricia accompanied her parents to Canada, and she became popular there. Her portrait appears on the one-dollar note of the Dominion of Canada with the issue date 17 March 1917.[4]
She was named
A memorial plaque in St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church in Ottawa is dedicated "To the memory of The Lady Patricia Ramsey, VA, CI, CD late Colonel-in-Chief Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry who as H.R.H. the Princess Patricia of Connaught worshipped here while resident at Government House 1911–1916."[9]
She was succeeded in 1974 by her cousin and goddaughter Patricia (the Rt. Hon. Lady Brabourne), who became the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who asked that the men and women of her regiment discount her titles and refer to her in honour of her predecessor as Lady Patricia.[citation needed]
Marriage
The question of Patricia's marriage was the subject of much speculation in the
In the end, Patricia chose a
Her bridesmaids and page boys were:- Lady Mary Cambridge and Lady Helena Cambridge (daughters of Adolphus, 1st Marquess of Cambridge)
- Princess Mary (daughter of George V)
- Lady Ida Ramsay and Lady Jean Ramsay (daughters of Arthur Ramsay, 14th Earl of Dalhousie, brother of the groom)
- Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife)
- Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone and Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone)
- Princess Ingrid of Sweden (niece of the bride)
- Alastair Windsor, Earl of Macduff(nephew of the bride)
- The Honourable Simon Ramsay (son of Arthur Ramsay, 14th Earl of Dalhousie, brother of the groom).
On the occasion of her marriage, Princess Patricia of Connaught was permitted by Royal Warrant to relinquish the style of Royal Highness and the title of Princess of Great Britain and Ireland.[1] She was granted by Royal Warrant of 25 February 1919 the style of Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay, with special precedence immediately before the Marchionesses of England.[1]
Alexander Ramsay and Patricia had one child:
- Alexander Ramsay of Mar (21 December 1919 – 20 December 2000), married in 1956 to Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun.
Later life
Despite relinquishing her royal title, Lady Patricia remained a member of the
Lady Patricia was an accomplished artist specializing in
Death
Lady Patricia died at Ribsden Holt, Windlesham, Surrey, on 12 January 1974, eight weeks before her 88th birthday and fifteen months after her husband.[2] Probate of her estate was granted in London on 17 April 1974 and it was valued at £917,199 (equivalent to £7 million in 2022).[18]
Lady Patricia and Admiral Alexander Ramsay are buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore,[19] directly behind the Royal Mausoleum of her grandparents Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, in Windsor Great Park.[citation needed]
Legacy
A Canadian Army infantry regiment, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was named in her honour.[4] Patricia Lake in Alberta also carries her name, as does the Patricia Bay Highway in Saanich, British Columbia.[20] There is also a Thamesdown bus named after her in Swindon, Wiltshire.
The second of
The Regina Patricia Hockey Club was named in honour of Princess Patricia, now known as the
The Patricia Theatre in Powell River, British Columbia, was named in honour of Princess Patricia in 1913. It is the oldest operating theatre in Western Canada.[23]
Two hamlets in Alberta, 10 kilometres apart, are named
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 17 March 1886 – 27 February 1919: Her Royal Highness Princess Patricia of Connaught
- 27 February 1919 – 12 January 1974: Lady Patricia Ramsay
Honours
- CI: Companion of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, 19 June 1911[25]
- Venerable Order of Saint John, 1934
- VA: Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
- King George VI Coronation Medal, 1937
- Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, 1953
- CD: Canadian Forces' Decoration with 4 Clasps, 1951
Honorary military appointments
- 22 February 1918 – 12 January 1974: Colonel-in-chief of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.[26]
Arms
Upon her marriage in 1919, Lady Patricia was granted
- 1st and 4th, Gules three Lions passant guardant in pale Or (England). (The first and fourth quarters display the three lions, representing England.)
- 2nd, quarter is Or a lion rampant within a Double Tressure flory counterflory Gules (Scotland). (The second quarter displays a red lion in a yellow field with a double border coloured red with red fleurs-de-lys, representing Scotland.)
- 3rd, Azure a Harp Or stringed Argent (Northern Ireland). (The third quarter shows a golden harp with silver strings against a blue background, representing Northern Ireland.)
The whole differenced by a Label of five points Argent, first and fifth with a cross gules, the others fleurs-de-lys azure.[27]
Ancestry
Ancestors of Princess Patricia of Connaught Princess Frederica of Prussia | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
See also
- Patricia Bay, named after her
References
- ^ a b c "No. 31203". The London Gazette. 26 February 1919. p. 2819.
- ^ New York Times. Associated Press. 14 January 1974.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31581. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b c d e f Treble, Patricia (26 February 2019). "Princess Patricia: The first modern princess". Maclean's. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
- ^ "Yvonne's Royalty Home Page: Royal Christenings". Users.uniserve.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ "The Duke and Duchess of York and bridesmaids". National Portrait Gallery.
- ISBN 0-906456-98-3.
- ^ "Archives Canada". Archived from the original on 16 March 2014.
- ^ "Lady Patricia Ramsey plaque". National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials. Canadian Department of National Defence. 16 April 2008. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- New York Times. 30 June 1913. p. 4.
- New York Times. 28 December 1918.
- ^ "Wedding of Princess Patricia to Sir A. Ramsay, 1919". British Pathe.
- ^ "No. 34279". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 April 1936. p. 2763.
- ^ "No. 39575". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 June 1952. p. 3345.
- ^ "[no title cited]". The Glasgow Herald. 26 October 1955. p. 6.
- ^ Harris, Carolyn. "Princess Patricia of Connaught". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ Exhibition of contemporary British painting. Ottawa: The National Gallery of Canada. 1935. pp. 18.
- ^ Evans, Rob; Pegg, David (18 July 2022). "£187m of Windsor family wealth hidden in secret royal wills". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Royal Burials in the Chapel since 1805". College of St George – Windsor Castle. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ "List of Place Names" (PDF). Saanich.ca. Saanich Archives. 6 November 2015.
- ^ Grace, Michael L. (6 August 2009). "The origin of Princess Cruises and their naming the 'Princess' ships". Cruise Line History. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ "History". Regina Pats. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ Southern, Karen. "The Patricia Theatre". www.patriciatheatre.com. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ISBN 0-919306-67-5.
- ^ "No. 12366". The Edinburgh Gazette. 23 June 1911. p. 625.
- ^ "Princess Patricia « PPCLI".
- ^ Francois R. Velde. "marks of cadency in the British royal family". Heraldica.org. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ISBN 0-220-66222-3.
- ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIV. C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 128, 131, 155. (German).
Further reading
- Koenig, Marlene A. Eilers, Queen Victoria's Descendants, (New York: Atlantic International Publishing, 1987).
- Weir, Alison, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (London: Palmico, 1996).
- "Obituary: Lady Patricia Ramsay, Granddaughter of Queen Victoria," The Times, 14 January 1974, p. 14.