Katharine Ingrid Mary Isabel Fraser, 22nd Lady Saltoun, (''née'' Ramsay; born 11 October 1957), is a Scottish peer. She is the daughter of Alexander Ramsay of Mar and

Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun Flora Marjorie Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun (18 October 1930 – 3 September 2024), was a Scottish noblewoman and Crossbench peer. Until her retirement on 12 December 2014, she was the only holder of a lordship of Parliament with a seat in the Hou ...

. As the granddaughter of

Princess Patricia of Connaught Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay, she relinquished her title of a British princ ...

, she is a second cousin of

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

and

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 52 ...

, and a distant relative of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

Biography

Saltoun was born Katharine Ingrid Mary Isabel Ramsay in

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, on 11 October 1957. Her mother, Flora, 21st Lady Saltoun, was the ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' Lady Saltoun and the

Chief of the Name and Arms The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard ci ...

Clan Fraser Clan Fraser is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Publis ...

. Her father, Alexander Ramsay of Mar, was the son of the former

and a great-grandson of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. Her godparents included Queen Ingrid of Denmark and the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

. Born with her father's surname, and since 1959 having used her father's

territorial designation In the United Kingdom, a territorial designation follows modern Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies. Within Scotland, a territorial designation ...

of Mar, the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon, or Lyon Court, is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All ...

recognized her use of the surname Fraser in 1973. As she had no brothers, she was styled as ''Mistress of Saltoun'' as her mother's

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

. She succeeded her mother as ''suo jure'' 22nd Lady Saltoun and clan chief on 3 September 2024. On 20 April 2005, Saltoun was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Marriage and children

In February 1980, her engagement to Captain Mark Malise Nicolson (born 29 September 1954), of the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

, was announced.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

granted her consent to the marriage under the

Royal Marriages Act 1772 The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (12 Geo. 3. c. 11) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribed the conditions under which members of the British royal family could contract a valid marriage, in order to guard ...

on 13 February 1980. They were married on 3 May 1980. They have three children, including the Hon. Alexander Fraser, Master of Saltoun (born 1990), his mother's heir apparent and sometime

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The only ...

to Queen Elizabeth II.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Katharine 1957 births Living people 22 Hereditary women peers Nobility from Aberdeenshire

Katharine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Christian sa ...

Deputy lieutenants of Aberdeenshire Daughters of barons People from Fraserburgh