Reprinted from the Summer/Fall 2008 issue of the Powder Horn.

The first notification, on the letterhead of Kensington Palace, W.8 (London), marked “Private and Confidential” was to Col James G.K. Strathy, OBE, ED, in March 1963. From Sir Philip Hay KCVO, the Private Secretary to HRH Princess Alexandra, Colonel-in-Chief of The Queen’s Own Rifles, it began as follows:

“My Dear Jim. Princess Alexandra has asked me to write to you, as Colonel of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and to convey to you her ideas as to how her Regiments may best be represented at her wedding at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday, 24th April.

“I think I should make it clear at the outset that, while the Princess is most anxious that the maximum number of officers and other ranks from all her Regiments should take some part at her wedding, it is very well understood by Her Royal Highness that it may prove difficult, or indeed impossible for The Queen’sOwn Rifles of Canada to meet the various requirements set out below, which I repeat are only tentative suggestions and should by no means be interpreted as royal commands.

“In the case of your Regiment, the Princess is aware of the very special difficulties which are bound to arise because the whole of the Regiment is stationed outside the United Kingdom.”

The letter continued, providing details for those who might be invited, including senior officers as official representatives, plus other members of The Queen’s Own, some who would act as ushers and others to form part of an escort party lining the entranceway to Westminster Abbey’s front doors, through which the wedding party would enter and exit.

As was his custom, Col Strathy acted with swift decisiveness, nominating the Commanding Officers of the Regiment’s three battalions, along with their wives, to be The Queen’s Own’s senior representatives, along with four junior officers and two NCOs from the 1st Bn serving in Germany, to round out the official party, which would also include Col and Mrs. Strathy.

This resulted in LCol H.C.F. Elliot CD, CO of the 1st Bn stationed in Fort McLeod, at (Dellinghoffen) Germany, his wife Bessie; 2nd Bn CO LCol D.N. Osborne CD, and his wife Phyllis stationed at Currie Barracks, Calgary, and 3rd Bn CO LCol Glenn McIver CD, and his wife Jean, in Toronto, going into frantic overdrive to prepare themselves for this occasion of a lifetime for members of The Queen’sOwn, the marriage of their Colonel-in-Chief to the Hon. Angus Ogilvy, London born son of the twelfth Earl of Airlie, a Scot. The last survivor of the four senior officers present at the wedding was LCol McIver, who died in March 2008, and who was survived by his wife, who had written an interesting account of their trip to attend the wedding. The following is an extract from a lengthy hand-written document which Jean McIver had taken the time to compose as she and her husband took a short pre-wedding vacation before flying into London and “touching down on Sat. Apr 20/63 at 12:30 a.m. after a holiday of eight days on the continent.”

She wrote, following a couple of days of sightseeing in London, that “Tuesday was the day of days. We were picked up by Canadian Army cars and driven to Kensington Palace, the home of our Princess. We were met at the door by an aide to Sir Philip Hay, who is secretary to Princess Marina (Princess Alexandra’s mother) and Princess Alexandra. We entered the Dining Room and then Princess Marina’s Drawing Room. These rooms impressed me very much, not because of their grandeur, for they were not pretentious but very, very home-like, just like any other bride’s the day before the wedding, with unopened gifts in the Dining Room.

“Lady Hamilton, the Princess’Lady-in-Waiting made us all welcome and talked to each person present while we waited and drinks and canapés were served to us. There were about 20 people present, eight QOR people plus representatives from Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The Princess was scheduled to stay for 15 minutes but stayed for 45. She arrived wearing a very chic green suit with her lovely hair done in a French roll. She was very charming and far prettier than her photos show. Angus was with her and is a very delightful person with a tremendous sense of humour and ready wit.

“When the Princess first entered the room we were presented to her singly. She spoke to us about Toronto. She has a great knowledge of the Regiment and its battalions. They both expressed delight at our coming so far and thanked us profusely. She expressed her desire to see us in the near future in Canada. We actually had the opportunity to speak to them three times for when the time came to leave they said goodbye to each one individually.

“An amusing incident occurred when Alexandra had finished saying goodbye to us. She proceeded to the next couple and walked behind us so she and Angus could get by easily. Glen moved me in front of him. This was very close to the centre of the floor and, at this point, Angus appeared and there we were alone in the centre of the room. He took my hand like one would in a French Minuet and said “Shall we dance this one alone?” And so our goodbyes ended with a laugh from all.

“London was all agog over the wedding and a great deal of fuss was made of it by the Press and Radio or TV. The day of the wedding LCol and Mrs Osborne and ourselves made quite an impression on the people in the lobby of the hotel when we came down and got into our chauffeur-driven Canadian cars.

“Westminster was a wonderful sight. The beauty of the Old Church with all of its lovely architecture cannot help but to impress us. We were ushered to our seats and were in plenty of time to see the arrival of all the dignitaries, the splendour and colour of the costumes of people from other countries as well as the beautiful fashions of the British Commonwealth people. Our spot in the Abbey was the Poet’s Corner (under Keats and Milton and on top of Hardy). This was one time when I had a desire to be seven feet tall to be able to see the whole of the Processional Aisle.

“The Abbey was equipped with closed circuit TV so it was possible to see the Royal Family and guests arriving at the Abbey and walking down the aisle. The TV showed the Princess leaving the Palace in her beautiful gown with her brother and at various points along the route. We saw the Queen, Prince Philip and Charles arrive and be received and the darling little bridesmaids and pages, who were a little impatient to be on their way, and Princess Anne trying to keep them in order. Princess Margaret smiling and happy with Anthony Armstrong Jones and Angus and the best man as they waited also.

“As Alexandra entered the Abbey there was a hush as all strained to catch a glimpse of the radiant and beautiful bride, a fairytale Princess, stately and regal, her magnolia gown so simple in design yet magnificent. The train, held by a diamond tiara and made of lace, was a true work of art. The details of the gowns of the wedding party are by now familiar to most people through press and TV coverage, although nothing can capture the excitement and grandeur of actually being there.”

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