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Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Obituary of Fra' Andrew Bertie; born 15 May, 1929, in London; died 7 February, 2008, in Rome, aged 78.

Fra' Andrew Bertie was Grand Master of the Order of Malta, the sovereign order of chivalry constituting the world's smallest state. From headquarters in Rome, the order issues passports and exchanges ambassadors. The reign of his most eminent highness heralded a period of enormous modernisation, as he oversaw the oldest chivalric order in the world meeting contemporary needs of humanitarian aid and the relief of suffering around the globe. Fra' Andrew balanced this by ensuring that the order maintained tradition, continuing to recall the primacy of the spiritual over the temporal.

Andrew William Ninian Bertie (pronounced "Barty"), the first grand master of the order called forth from the English-speaking world since Hugh Revel in 1258, was grandson of John, 4th Marquess of Bute, son of Lady Jean Crichton-Stuart, and great-grandson of the famous Catholic convert and beneficiary of the University of St Andrews' John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute. On being appointed 78th head of the order in 1988, one of Bertie's first duties was a visit to Scotland to pay a courtesy call on Cardinal Gordon Gray in Edinburgh, and to inspect work carried out through order fundraising activities in Falkirk, Alloa and Aberdeen, before going on to Pluscarden Abbey in Moray, the religious house refounded by a family member in 1948.

Full story at The Scotsman.