Merchant banking In 1953, then Lord Ogilvy took up merchant banking, joining
J. Henry Schroder & Co. He was sworn into the
Privy Council and appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the
Royal Victorian Order. In his capacity as Lord Chamberlain, he was chancellor of the Royal Victorian Order. He was following in the footsteps of his late father, who had served as Lord Chamberlain of
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's household. Under Lord Airlie, the Lord Chamberlain's ceremonial and non-executive role was altered to that of chief executive. In 1986, he produced a 1,393-page report recommending 188 changes for smoother operations of the Royal Household. On 29 November 1985, Airlie was made a Knight of the
Order of the Thistle, Scotland's highest order of chivalry. Airlie's tenure as Lord Chamberlain saw times of turbulence for the monarchy, including Queen Elizabeth II's
annus horribilis, with the
1992 Windsor Castle fire and the separations and subsequent divorces of the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of York, and the
death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in August 1997. He remained in the post until 1997; upon his retirement, he was awarded the
Royal Victorian Chain and appointed a permanent
lord-in-waiting. ==Later life==