Ramsay, Patricia (1886–1974)

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Ramsay, Patricia (1886–1974)

English princess and granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Name variations: Lady Patricia Ramsay; Patricia Saxe-Coburg. Born Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth on March 17, 1886, at Buckingham Palace, London, England; died on January 12, 1974, in Windlesham, Surrey, England; daughter of Louise Margaret of Prussia (1860–1917) and Arthur, duke of Connaught (son of Queen Victoria ); married Alexander Ramsay, on February 27, 1919; children: Alexander Ramsay (b. 1919).

As the daughter of Louise Margaret of Prussia and Arthur, duke of Connaught and son of Queen Victoria , Patricia Ramsay was born a princess in 1886 but endured an unhappy childhood. Her father's military posts frequently took him abroad, and before she was 25 she had traveled with him to India, Ireland, and the Mediterranean. In 1911, he was named governor-general of Canada, and it was Ramsay rather than her mother who moved with him to Canada to serve as his hostess. She proved so popular with Canadians that "Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry" was named in her honor, and she was made the colonel-in-chief of the regiment. Her father's term as governor-general ended in 1916, and three years later she married Alexander Maule Ramsay and became Lady Ramsay. The couple had one son. A painter who chose not to submit her work for consideration at the Royal Academy, Ramsay lived away from the public eye after her marriage, and died in 1974.

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