Andrew Bertie


Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie was Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 1988 until his death in 2008.
On 20 February 2015 a formal inquiry for the cause of his beatification and canonisation was opened in Rome.

Early career

Bertie was born in London as the elder son of the James Bertie and Lady Jean Crichton-Stuart.
He was the fifth cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II, by common descent from King George III and his wife Charlotte Sophia.
He was educated at the English Roman Catholic public school, Ampleforth College, and graduated in Modern History from Christ Church, Oxford. He also attended the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. From 1948 to 1950, he carried out military service in the Scots Guards, becoming a commissioned officer in 1949. After a short experience in the commercial sector, he taught modern languages for twenty-three years at Worth School, a Benedictine public school in Sussex, England. He was a judo black belt and taught judo at Worth School.

Grand Master of the Order of Malta

Bertie was admitted to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1956. He became a Knight of Justice in the order by taking Perpetual Vows in 1981.
He also joined the government of the Order in 1981 as a member of the Sovereign Council, and in April 1988, he was elected Grand Master. Subsequently, he was Hospitaller of the Sanctuary of Lourdes, which is the annual pilgrimage site of SMOM. He succeeded the late Angelo de Mojana, the Milanese nobleman who had served the Order as Grand Master since 1962 and accomplished a great deal of modernization to the organization. Although it is considered sovereign, the Order of Malta is also a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, so Bertie's election needed the ratification of Pope John Paul II, which was obtained on 11 April 1988.
Bertie described the aims of the Order as "to help the poor and the sick; that is and always has been our primary aim":

Personal life

Bertie never married or had children. He died in Rome from cancer on 7 February 2008, aged 78.

Ancestry

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and style

His full title was: His Most Eminent Highness Fra' Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, Most Humble Guardian of the Poor of Jesus Christ.

Honours and awards

Honours