25 December 1936 - Princess Alexandra of Kent

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

Childhood

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.

The Princess 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 grand-aunt); 

Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (her maternal grandmother); 

Princess Olga of Yugoslavia (her maternal aunt); 

the Princess Beatrice (her paternal great-grand-aunt); 

the Earl of Athlone (her paternal grand-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.

Princess Alexandra spent most of her childhood at her family's country house,
Coppins, in Buckinghamshire. She lived with her grandmother, Queen Mary,
the widow of George V, during World War II at Badminton. 

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

Love and marriage

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 Sir Angus had two children, James and Marina, and 

four grandchildren.

Duties

Since the late 1950s, Princess Alexandra has 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.

She made 110 engagements in 2012. However, in late June 2013 she cancelled
her engagements due to arthritis. As of 2017, she is still listed on the official
website of the British Monarchy as a working member of the Royal Family,
attending numerous ceremonial and charitable engagements.

In 1959, she carried out an extensive tour of Australia, and attended the
Queensland Centenary Celebrations.The Alexandra Waltz was composed
for this visit by radio announcer Russ Tyson, and television musical director,
Clyde Collins. It was sung for the princess by teen-aged Gay Kahler, who
later changed her name to Gay Kayler. 

In 1961 Princess Alexandra visited Hong Kong and made a visit to
Aberdeen Fish Market, Lok Ma Chau police station and So Uk Estate,
a public housing complex. 

Princess Alexandra returned to Australia in 1967 for a private holiday, but also
carried out engagements in Canberra and Melbourne.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane is named in her honour.

Princess Alexandra represented the Queen when Nigeria gained its
independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960, and opened
the first Parliament on 3 October. Later overseas tours included visits to Canada,
Italy, Oman, Hungary, Norway, Japan, Thailand, Gibraltar and the Falkland
Islands.

Princess Alexandra launched the New Zealand Leander-class frigate HMNZS
Waikato at Harland and Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1965.

Princess Alexandra opened the Victoria to Brixton section of London Underground's
Victoria line on 23 July 1971.

Princess Alexandra opened the new hospital in Harlow, Essex, named
in her honour on 27 April 1965. The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
was announced by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in September 2019 to be
part of the government's new health infrastructure programme to build a new hospital.

Princess Alexandra served as Chancellor of Lancaster University from its
foundation in 1964 until she relinquished the post in 2004

(when she also accepted an honorary degree in Music). She also served as the
first Chancellor of the University of Mauritius.

Until it was abolished in 2013, Princess Alexandra received £225,000 per year
from the Civil List to cover the cost of official expenses, although as with the
other members of the royal family (except the Duke of Edinburgh) the Queen
repaid this amount to the Treasury. Alexandra lives at Thatched House Lodge
in Richmond, London, a Crown property purchased on a 150-year lease
from the Crown Estate Commissioners by Sir Angus Ogilvy after their wedding
in 1963. She also has use of a grace-and-favour apartment at St James's Palace
in London.

In November 2016, one month ahead of her 80th birthday, the Queen held a
reception at Buckingham Palace in honour of the work of Princess Alexandra's charities.

Source pictures: Wikipedia