By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2025-04-03 08:10:08 | Updated at 2025-04-04 04:29:36
20 hours ago
A godson of the late Queen Elizabeth II has died after suffering a severe head injury at the age of 79.
Lord Charles O’Hagan, whose full name was Charles Towneley Strachey O’Hagan, died at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, located in south-west England, on March 23, Hello! reported.
His official cause of death was stated as a subdural hematoma — a condition that results in a burst of blood vessels following a head injury. It is unclear how the injury was sustained.
The politician boasted a close relationship with the late queen, becoming her godson when she was still Princess Elizabeth.
After studying at Eton College and New College, Oxford, he got a start in politics thanks to his grandfather, politician Maurice Towneley-O’Hagan, 3rd Baron O’Hagan.
O’Hagan served as a member of the European Parliament for Devon twice, once from 1973 to 1975, and again from 1979 to 1994.
His mother, Lady Mary Sophia Palmer, was Lady-in-Waiting to then-Princess Elizabeth between 1944 and 1947. She later became an Extra Lady-in-Waiting until 1949.
Lady Mary even helped to look after Elizabeth following the birth of King Charles III at Buckingham Palace in 1948.
This royal connection led to Elizabeth becoming the godmother to O’Hagan. He later served as her Page of Honor following her coronation in 1953 — a ceremonial role he held from 1959 to 62.
In 1960, he was pictured carrying Her Late Majesty’s train during the Order of the Garter ceremony at Windsor Castle.
As for his personal life, O’Hagan was married three times.
His first marriage was to Georgian Princess Tamar Bagration-Imeretinsky, whom he wed in 1967.
The pair called it quits by 1984 and had one daughter together, Nino Natalia O’Hagan Strachey, whom they welcomed in 1968.
He married for a second time in 1985, tying the knot with Mary Claire Roose-Francis. The pair got divorced a decade later.
Finally, O’Hagan married Elizabeth Lesley Eve Smith in 1995. They remained married until his death.
Throughout her life, the late Queen Elizabeth had 30 godchildren, including her nephew, David Armstrong-Jones, the only son of her sister, Princess Margaret and Earl Spencer.
Not all identities of her godchildren have been revealed to the public over the years.
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died in September 2022 at the age of 96.
