Sir Ralph (Hugo) Anstruther, 7th Baronet, GCVO, MC, DL (13 June 1921 – 19 May 2002) was a Scottish courtier.
The only son of Captain Robert Edward Anstruther MC of the Black Watch only son of Sir Ralph William Anstruther, 6th Baronet, and Marguerite Blanche Lily de Burgh, he was educated at Eton and at Magdalene College, Cambridge.
He served with the Coldstream Guards, and was awarded the Military Cross in 1943. He later served in Malaya in 1950, and was mentioned in despatches. He was Equerry to the Queen Mother from 1959–98, and Treasurer from 1961–98. He was awarded the CVO in 1967, and promoted to KCVO in 1976 and GCVO in 1992.
He succeeded his grandfather in 1934 to the baronetcy of Anstruther of Balcaskie, and in 1980 succeeded his cousin, Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther, 8th Baronet, to the baronetcy of Anstruther of Anstruther. With the latter he also became Hereditary Carver to the Queen. He was succeeded to the baronetcies by his cousin. He was also a Member of the Royal Company of Archers and Deputy Lieutenant of Fife from 1960–97 and of Caithness from 1965.
As the Queen Mother's treasurer, Anstruther had the difficult job of trying to limit her spending, which became effectively impossible in later years. He suffered two strokes, and at times appeared at Clarence House in a state of altered cognition. In 1998, he was replaced by Nicholas Assheton, becoming Treasurer Emeritus, but resisted his replacement and evinced hostility to Assheton and Sir Alastair Aird, the Queen Mother's Private Secretary. The Queen Mother finally told him to go and stay in Scotland, which he did for the rest of his life.[1]
| Baronetage of Nova Scotia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ralph Anstruther |
Baronet (of Wrae, Linlithgowshire and Balcaskie, Fife and Braemore, Caithness) 1934 – 2002 |
Succeeded by Ian Anstruther |
| Preceded by Windham Carmichael-Anstruther |
Baronet (of Anstruther, Carmichael and Westeraw, Lanarkshire) 1980 – 2002 |
|