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Princess Patricia of Connaught, The Honourable Alexander Ramsay, and their wedding party; Credit – Wikipedia
At 12:00 PM, on February 27, 1919, Princess Patricia of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, married The Honourable Alexander Ramsay at Westminster Abbey in London, England. This was a notable wedding for two reasons. It was the first major royal event after World War I and the first royal wedding at Westminster Abbey since the 1382 wedding of King Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia.
Early Life of Princess Patricia of Connaught
Princess Patricia of Connaught; Credit – Wikipedia
Known as Patsy in the family, Princess Patricia of Connaught was born on March 17, 1886, at Buckingham Palace in London, England. She was the youngest of the three children of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria, and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, who died in 1917.
Princess Patricia had an elder sister and brother:
Princess Patricia spent two years in India while her father, the Duke of Connaught, who served in the British Army, was posted there. In 1911, the Duke of Connaught was appointed Governor-General of Canada, and Patricia accompanied her parents to Canada.
Early Life of The Honourable Alexander Ramsay
The Honourable Alexander Ramsay; Credit – Wikipedia
The Honorable Alexander Ramsay was born in London, England, on May 29, 1881. He was the third of the five sons of John William Maule Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie, and Lady Ida Bennet, daughter of Charles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville. Alexander had a long career in the Royal Navy, beginning in 1894 as a cadet on the cadet training ship HMS Britannia. He was regularly promoted, reaching the rank of Admiral in 1939, and retired from the Royal Navy in 1942. Alexander was the naval aide-de-camp to Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, in the duke’s early years (1911-1913) as Governor-General of Canada.
Pre-Wedding
While serving as naval aide-de-camp to Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, during the duke’s early years as Governor-General of Canada, Alexander became acquainted with the duke’s youngest child, Princess Patricia of Connaught. There was much speculation about whom Princess Patricia would marry. She was rumored to be matched with several foreign royals, including Alfonso XIII, King of Spain, Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, Adolf Friedrich VI, the future and last Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia.
However, Patricia ultimately chose a commoner, albeit the son of a peer, The Honourable Alexander Ramsay. She reportedly first met Alexander in 1908. After Alexander was appointed aide-de-camp to Patricia’s father in 1911, a romance developed. The marriage proposal occurred at the fishing lodge of J. K. L. Ross, a Canadian businessman, sportsman, thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, and philanthropist, in St. Anns, Nova Scotia, Canada. At first, the Duke of Connaught disapproved of Patricia’s choice of a husband. After much convincing and the end of World War I, the engagement was announced in December 1918. On February 11, 1919, Patricia’s first cousin, King George V, granted his consent to the marriage as required by the Royal Marriages Act 1772.
The Wedding
Princess Patricia of Connaught driving from Westminster Abbey, with her husband Commander Alexander Ramsay, after the wedding ceremony
Randall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated at the wedding with the assistance of Herbert Edward Ryle, Dean of Westminster. Although this was the first royal wedding at Westminster Abbey since 1382, it began a trend for royal weddings at Westminster Abbey. From 1919 to 2011, there have been ten royal weddings at Westminster Abbey.
The court mourning for 13-year-old Prince John, King George V’s youngest son, who had died on January 18, 1919, was relaxed for the wedding day, giving the ladies a little more leeway regarding the color of their gowns. For the most part, the colors were subdued. King George V wore the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet, in recognition of the groom’s naval rank. Queen Mary wore a silver-grey crepe gown, embroidered in silver beads and silk. Westminster Abbey was decorated sparsely, with only a few white flowers and the Abbey’s gold church plate on the altar.
Princess Patricia was escorted down the aisle by her father, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. The bride wore a Venetian-style white panné velvet gown with a silver lace overlay decorated with acorns and lover’s knots. Panné is a fabric finish for velvet and satin that gives the material a high-luster, shiny appearance. The gown had long white chiffon sleeves, and the bodice was draped across a Venetian girdle of silver embroidery hung at the side, and was finished with lovers’ knots and acorns. Because the bride was royal, her veil was worn off her face and was held by a wreath of myrtle leaves and small buds.
Eight bridesmaids and two page boys attended Princess Patricia:
- Princess Mary, daughter of King George V
- Princess Ingrid of Sweden, the bride’s niece, the daughter of Patricia’s sister
- Princess Maud, daughter of Louise, Princess Royal
- Lady Mary Cambridge, daughter of Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge
- Lady Helena Cambridge, daughter of Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge
- Lady May Cambridge, daughter of Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone
- Lady Ida Ramsay, the groom’s niece
- Lady Jean Ramsay, the groom’s niece
- Alastair Windsor, Earl of Macduff, the bride’s nephew
- The Honorable Simon Ramsay, the groom’s nephew
The Westminster Abbey organist and choir provided the music.
Notable Wedding Guests
This is not a complete list.
Relatives of the Bride
- Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, the bride’s father
- Queen Alexandra, widow of King Edward VII, the bride’s paternal aunt by marriage
- Princess Helena, daughter of Queen Victoria, the bride’s paternal aunt
- Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, daughter of Queen Victoria, the bride’s paternal aunt
- The Dowager Duchess of Albany, widow of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, son of Queen Victoria, the bride’s paternal aunt by marriage
- Princess Beatrice, daughter of Queen Victoria, the bride’s paternal aunt
- The Marchioness and Marquess of Milford Haven, the bride’s paternal first cousin and her husband, born Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine and Prince Louis of Battenberg
- The Earl and Countess of Medina, the bride’s paternal first cousin once removed and his wife, born Prince George of Battenberg and Countess Nadejda Mikhailovna de Torby
- The Marquess and Marchioness of Cambridge, the bride’s paternal second cousin once removed and his wife, born Prince Adolphus of Teck and Lady Margaret Grosvenor
- Queen Amélie of Portugal, the widow of the bride’s paternal third cousin
Relatives of the Groom
Children
Alexander Ramsay of Mar; Credit – Wikipedia
Patricia and Alexander had one child:
Afterward
After her marriage, Princess Patricia voluntarily relinquished the style of Royal Highness and the title of Princess of Great Britain and Ireland and assumed the style of Lady Patricia Ramsay. She was not obligated to renounce her royal title, but she wished to have a social status and rank closer to that of her husband. The decision was made with the agreement of her father, the Duke of Connaught, and her first cousin, King George V. Lady Patricia remained a member of the British Royal Family, remained in the line of succession, and attended all major royal events, including weddings, funerals, and coronations.
Lady Patricia was an accomplished watercolor artist and was made an honorary member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours.
At the age of 91, Alexander Ramsay died at his home, Ribsden Holt in Windlesham, Surrey, England, on October 8, 1972, and was buried in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, in Windsor, England. Fourteen months later, on January 12, 1974, Lady Patricia died at Ribsden Holt at the age of 87 and was buried alongside her husband.
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Works Cited
- The royal wedding. (1919, February 28). The Times. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/the-royal-wedding-ktz5sd5nc
- Flantzer, Susan. (2013). Princess Patricia of Connaught, Lady Patricia Ramsay [Review of Princess Patricia of Connaught, Lady Patricia Ramsay]. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/march-17-daily-featured-royal-date/
- Flantzer, Susan. (2015). The Honorable Sir Alexander Ramsay | Unofficial Royalty. Unofficialroyalty.com. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/the-honorable-sir-alexander-ramsay/
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Wedding of Princess Patricia and Alexander Ramsay. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
