Ronald Ferguson

Major Ronald Ivor Ferguson, OStJ (10 October 1931 – 16 March 2003), was a British military officer and polo manager. He was born in London to Colonel Andrew Henry Ferguson (1899–1966) and Marian Montagu Douglas Scott (1908–1996). His maternal lineage includes Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, who married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, making Ferguson a cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II. His maternal grandfather was Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Herbert Montagu Douglas Scott, the fourth son of William Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch, a direct descendant of King Charles II of England. His paternal great-grandfather was Henry Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden.

He grew up at Dummer Down Farm in Dummer, Hampshire, close to Basingstoke, and was educated at Ludgrove School, Eton College, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Ferguson's elder brother, John Ferguson, died at age ten from peritonitis.

Ferguson joined the Life Guards in February 1952, a regiment previously commanded by his father, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1954 and Captain in 1958. He retired from active service in 1968, receiving the honorary rank of Major. His military service included deployments in Germany, Egypt, Aden, and Cyprus. In 1987, he was made an officer in the Venerable Order of Saint John.

Following his military career, Ferguson became involved in polo, serving as a polo manager. His role brought him into contact with the British Royal Family; notably, his interest in polo was a connection through which his daughter, Sarah Ferguson, met Prince Andrew. Ferguson competed in the England II polo team, winning the Silver Jubilee Cup in 1979 along with Alan Kent, Patrick Churchward, and Charles, Prince of Wales.

In 1988, Ferguson was implicated in a controversy involving membership in the Wigmore Club, a London establishment alleged to offer sexual services. Ferguson claimed he used the club solely for massage. This incident was reported in the media and was believed to have influenced his departure from his position as polo manager for the Prince of Wales and at the Guards Polo Club. He was later reinstated at the Guards Polo Club shortly before his death.

Ferguson was married twice. His first marriage was to Susan Mary Wright on 17 January 1956; they had two daughters, Jane Louisa Ferguson (born 1957) and Sarah Margaret Ferguson (born 1959). Jane married William Alex Makim, with whom she had two children, and later married Rainer Hans Lüdecke. Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew in 1986 and divorced in 1996; they had two daughters, Princess Beatrice (born 1988) and Princess Eugenie (born 1990).

His second marriage was to Susan Rosemary Deptford in 1975, with whom he had three children: Andrew Frederick John Ferguson (born 1978), Alice Victoria Ferguson (born 1980), and Elizabeth Charlotte "Eliza" Ferguson (born 1985). Susan Ferguson remarried Lt-Gen Sir Richard Swinburn in 2012.

Ferguson was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996, and also had skin cancer. He suffered a heart attack in November 2002 and died of a heart attack on 16 March 2003 at the Hampshire Clinic in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

He authored the autobiography titled "The Galloping Major: My Life in Singular Times," published in 1994.