we already see about Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
In this Chapter we see about Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.
[wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester ] and children's
Introduction :
Name : Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.
Father : John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch.
Mother : Lady Margaret Bridgeman.
Born : Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott
25 December 1901
Montagu House, London, England
Died : 29 October 2004 (aged 102)
Kensington Palace, London, England
Burial : 5 November 2004
Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, Windsor, Berkshire, England
Spouse : Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Issue : 1.Prince William of Gloucester
2.Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
House : Montagu Douglas Scott
Viceregal consort of Australia
In role : 30 January 1945 – 11 March 1947
Monarch : George VI
Governor General : Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Preceded by The Countess of Gowrie
Succeeded by Mary, Lady McKell
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, GCB, CI, GCVO, GCStJ, GBE (born Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott; 25 December 1901 – 29 October 2004) was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the mother of Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
The daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch, Scotland's largest landowner, she became by marriage a princess of the United Kingdom, and a sister-in-law to Edward VIII and George VI. She was thus an aunt by marriage to Elizabeth II. Princess Alice was extremely well travelled, both before and after her marriage. At the time of her death at 102, she was the longest-lived member of the British royal family.
Early life :
Alice Christabel was born in Montagu House, Whitehall, London, on Christmas Day 1901 as the third daughter and fifth child of John Montagu Douglas Scott, Earl of Dalkeith (later Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry), and his wife, the former Lady Margaret Alice "Molly" Bridgeman, daughter of the 4th Earl of Bradford. Her brothers Walter and William and her nephew John were all Conservative MPs. Her first cousin, Marian Louisa, Lady Elmhirst, was the paternal grandmother of Sarah, Duchess of York, former wife of Alice's grand-nephew, Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
She was a descendant, in an unbroken male line, of Charles II through his eldest but illegitimate son, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, himself a major political figure during the years leading up to the Glorious Revolution. As she was born on Christmas Day, she was given the middle name of Christabel.
Alice spent much of her childhood travelling "between splendid houses": Boughton House in Northamptonshire, Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway, and Bowhill in the Scottish Borders. Eildon Hall, in Melrose, Scottish Borders, was more or less home base.
An experience of nearly drowning at the age of 14 awoke her to a keen sense of making the most of every day. Caught in a current in the Solway Firth, she was convinced that she was going to die and she prayed to God, begging for a miracle to save her life in exchange for her devoting herself to public service:
The next instant my feet touched rocks. I was able to stand up and get my breath back. I had been carried quite a way down the coast—some houses had come and gone on my left—but the rocks proved to be a reef and I was able to scramble through them back to shallow water without further mishap.... In return for my life I had promised to dedicate it to some useful purpose; but there never seemed to be anything that required my help or that I was any use at. So when, through a series of unforeseen circumstances, I one day found myself allotted a life of public duty in the service of my country, a very secret pledge was honoured.
She attended the independent St James's School for Girls, in West Malvern, Worcestershire, and later travelled to France, Kenya and India. After school in West Malvern, she spent a year in Paris "before returning home to be presented at Court in 1920". Alice enjoyed skiing, horse-riding and hunting and was also an accomplished watercolourist. A painting by her, done near Archers Post in Kenya, is today part of the Royal Collection. In Kenya, where she stayed for over a year, from about 1929–1931, she stayed in the area typical of the so-called Happy Valley set and encountered many of the personalities of said clique, including Evelyn Waugh.
Marriage :
In 1935, Alice returned to the United Kingdom when she learned that her father's health had been deteriorating. In August 1935, Lady Alice became engaged to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. They were married in a private ceremony, in the Private Chapel, Buckingham Palace, on 6 November of that year. A much more elaborate wedding was originally planned for Westminster Abbey; but after the Duke of Buccleuch died of cancer on 19 October 1935, and in consideration of the King's own failing health, it was decided that the wedding should be scaled down to a more private setting.
The Duchess's bridesmaids were her sister, the Lady Angela Montagu-Douglas-Scott; her nieces Clare Phipps, Lady Elizabeth Montagu-Douglas-Scott, and Anne Hawkins; her husband's nieces Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret of York; her cousin Moyra Montagu-Douglas-Scott; and her husband's cousin Lady Mary Cambridge. Alice wore a blush-hued wedding gown, the only British royal bride to do so. Her gown was designed by Norman Hartnell, who later designed the wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth, the future queen. The dress was "of modest simplicity, with long, narrow sleeves and a high neckline draped into a nosegay of artificial orange-blossom". The veil was made from "a drifting cloud of crisp modern tulle".
On her way to the private chapel at Buckingham Palace, Alice wore "an ermine blanket stole" due to the cold weather. Although the day was cold and wet, a crowd estimated to be over one million people lined the streets from the Palace to the railway station to see the couple off on their honeymoon. She was often referred to as the "Winter Princess" from then on.
Life in the royal family :
Initially the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester lived at the Royal Pavilion in Aldershot, where the Duke was taking the Army staff course. The Duke of Gloucester left the army to take on more public duties following the abdication of Edward VIII in December 1936.
The couple received a grace and favour residence at York House, St James's Palace, London, and, in 1938, they purchased Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire. The Duchess suffered two miscarriages, before giving birth to two sons:
Prince William of Gloucester (18 December 1941 – 28 August 1972)
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (born 26 August 1944). He married a Danish commoner, Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen, on 8 July 1972. The couple later had three children.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester travelled extensively, undertaking various engagements. The public appearances of the Duchess included launching HMS Gloucester on 19 October 1937. During World War II, the Duchess worked with the Red Cross and the Order of St John. She became head of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in 1939 as Senior Controller, changed to Air Commandant on 12 March 1940, and appointed Air Chief Commandant on 4 March 1943, when she took over as director until August 1944. When the WAAF became the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) in 1949, she was appointed an Air Chief Commandant (equivalent to Air vice-marshal) in the new service on 1 February 1949. She was promoted to Air marshal on 1 September 1968, and to air chief marshal in the Royal Air Force on 23 February 1990. She also served as deputy to Queen Elizabeth, the consort of George VI, as Commandant-in-Chief of the Nursing Corps.
From 1945 to 1947, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester lived in Canberra, where the Duke was serving as Governor-General of Australia.
The Duchess of Gloucester served as Colonel-in-Chief or deputy Colonel-in-Chief of a dozen regiments in the British Army, including the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Northamptonshire Regiment, the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire), the Royal Anglian Regiment, the Royal Hussars, and the Royal Irish Rangers (27th Inniskilling); also, the Royal Corps of Transport. She was Patron of the Girls' Day School Trust and Queen Margaret College.
In 1965, while returning from Winston Churchill's funeral in their vehicle, the Duke suffered a stroke which resulted in a car crash, with the Duke being thrown out of the car and the Duchess "suffering facial injuries". On the occasion she wrote "I was sitting beside him to grab the wheel or put my foot on the brake if he fell asleep and lost control, but on that occasion I must have dozed off myself. Apparently the Rolls swerved off the road (and) ended upside down in a field of cabbages. Prince Henry had luckily been thrown through the open door...into (stinging) nettles and brambles".
In 1972, the Duchess's elder son, Prince William, was killed in a plane crash while participating in an amateur air show race. Her husband was in such poor health at the time of their son's death that the Duchess hesitated whether to tell him, later admitting in her memoirs that she did not but that he may have learned of William's death from television coverage. The Duke of Gloucester died on 10 June 1974 at the age of 74.
Later life :
In 1975, Princess Alice was the first woman to be appointed a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. In 1981, she first published her memoirs under the title The Memoirs of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. In 1991, she released a revised edition as Memories of Ninety Years.
In 1994, after the Gloucesters had to give up Barnwell Manor for financial reasons, Alice moved from Barnwell to Kensington Palace, where she lived with the current Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. She officially retired from public duties at the age of 98. In 1999, the Duke issued a press release announcing that due to physical frailty, his mother would no longer carry out public engagements outside the environs of Kensington Palace. In July 2000, the Duke said in another statement that his mother had become "increasingly forgetful."
In December 2001, the royal family held a ceremony to acknowledge Princess Alice's 100th birthday. This was Princess Alice's last public appearance (as well as the last public appearance of Princess Margaret, the Queen's younger sister, who died on 9 February 2002). On the death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother at age 101 in March 2002, Princess Alice became the oldest living member of the British royal family. On 21 August 2003, Princess Alice surpassed the Queen Mother's record as the oldest person in the history of the British royal family by reaching the age of 101 years and 238 days. On 20 September 2003, at the age of 101 years and 269 days, she was certified by Guinness World Records as the world's longest-lived royal of all time, surpassing Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.
Titles, styles, honours and arms :
Titles and styles :
25 December 1901 – 5 November 1935: Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott
6 November 1935 – 10 June 1974: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester
10 June 1974 – 29 October 2004: Her Royal Highness Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester
On 10 June 1974, Prince Henry died, and was succeeded as Duke of Gloucester by their second son, Prince Richard (the couple's elder son, Prince William, had been killed in an aeroplane crash in 1972). As a widow she requested permission from her niece, the Queen, to use the title and style HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester instead of adopting HRH The Dowager Duchess of Gloucester. This form of title is normally only afforded to a Princess of the Blood. The Queen allowed her aunt to adopt this title, in part to avoid confusion with her daughter-in-law, the new Duchess of Gloucester (formerly Birgitte van Deurs).
Honours :
•British honours :
GCStJ: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St. John, 22 December 1936
CI: Companion of the Crown of India, 9 June 1937
GBE: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, 11 May 1937
GCVO: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 1 January 1948
GCB: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, 2 April 1975
Royal Family Order of King George V, 1935
Royal Family Order of King George VI, 1937
Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II, 1952
Foreign honours :
Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown, 1938
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Virtues (Nishan al-Kamal), 1950
Grand Cross of the Order of the Queen of Sheba, 1958
Military appointments :
•UK
Colonel-in-Chief, the King's Own Scottish Borderers
Colonel-in-Chief, the Northamptonshire Regiment
Colonel-in-Chief, the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire)
Colonel-in-Chief, the Royal Hussars (until 1992)
Colonel-in-Chief, the Royal Irish Rangers (27th Inniskilling) (until 1989)
Colonel-in-Chief, the Royal Corps of Transport
Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, the Royal Anglian Regiment
Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, the King's Royal Hussars
Deputy Commandant-in-Chief, the Nursing Corps
Lady Sponsor, HMS Gloucester
•Commonwealth :
Colonel-in-Chief, Australian Women's Army Service
Colonel-in-Chief, Royal Australian Corps of Transport
Colonel-in-Chief, Royal New Zealand Army Service Corps (until 1979)
Colonel-in-Chief, Royal New Zealand Corps of Transport
Honorary Colonel, Australian Army Nursing Service Reserve (until 1947)
Commandant-in-Chief, Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (until 1947)
Commandant-in-Chief, Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (until 1947)
Commandant-in-Chief, Australian Women's Land Army
•Military ranks :
1939: Head and Senior Controller, the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)
1940: Air Commandant, the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
1943: Air Chief Commandant, the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
1949: Air Chief Commandant (equivalent to Air Vice-Marshal), the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF)
1968: Air Marshal, the Women's Royal Air Force
1990: Air Chief Marshal, the Royal Air Force
Death :
Princess Alice died on 29 October 2004 in her sleep at Kensington Palace, at the age of 102 years and 309 days, and several years after suffering a stroke. Following her death, the Union Jack flew at half mast at Buckingham Palace. Her funeral was held on 5 November 2004, at St George's Chapel, Windsor, and she was interred next to her husband, Prince Henry, and her elder son, Prince William, in the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore. The funeral was attended by Elizabeth II and other members of the British royal family. A memorial service was held at St Clement Danes on 2 February 2005, which was attended by her son and his family and representatives of organisations Princess Alice was involved in; the service was co-ordinated by the Royal Air Force in respect of Princess Alice's role as Commandant-in-Chief WRAF.
Legacy :
Hugo Vickers called Princess Alice "a very private person who was not widely known to the general public" despite being the third-highest-ranking lady in the royal family at the time of her marriage. It was well known she disliked large parties. Peter Townsend said of her: "She possessed classic, serene good looks and sincerity shone from her mild face. But she was painfully shy, so that conversation with her was sometimes halting and unrewarding, for you felt that she had so much more to say, but could not bring herself to say it." Alice herself wrote in her autobiography: "I was very shy and rather plump, ... I made a miserable debut at a dance at Windsor for Princess Mary's birthday, uncomfortably squeezed into a white satin frock."
Although generally a woman of few and soft-spoken words, Princess Alice was known for her dry humour. Soon after her marriage, when the couple moved to York House, they were warned that the drawing-room floor would not stand the weight of more than twenty people. "So we made a party list", recalled the Duchess many years later, "of the twenty-one people whom we disliked most". The Queen Mother said of Princess Alice after her son's death in an aircrash in 1972: "The tragic accident was a great shock to all the family, but I feel desperately for his dear little mother. She has the courage of a lion, and has suffered so many cruel blows in the past few years...". Alice herself later admitted that following her son's death "I was completely stunned and have never quite been the same since."
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester And Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott has two children's They are, 1. Prince William of Gloucester.
2.Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
1. Prince William of Gloucester.
Introduction :
Name : William Henry Andrew Frederick.
Father : Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.
Mother : Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott.
Born : 18 December 1941
Hadley Common, Barnet, Hertfordshire
Died : 28 August 1972 (aged 30)
Halfpenny Green, Staffordshire
Burial : 2 September 1972
Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, Windsor, Berkshire
House : Windsor
Alma mater : Magdalene College, Cambridge
Stanford University
Prince William of Gloucester (William Henry Andrew Frederick; 18 December 1941 – 28 August 1972) was a grandson of King George V and paternal cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. At the time of his birth he was fourth in line to the throne, and ninth in line at the time of his death.
A Cambridge and Stanford graduate, he joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office serving in Lagos and Tokyo, before returning to take over royal duties. He led an active life, flying Piper aircraft, trekking through the Sahara, and hot air ballooning.
He remains the most recent descendant of George III to be diagnosed with porphyria, probably hereditary, which is widely believed to be the illness that most likely caused George III's mental breakdown.
Prince William died in 1972, aged 30, in an air crash while piloting his plane in a competition.
Early life :
Prince William was born at Hadley Common, Hertfordshire. His father was Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. His mother was Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the third daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch and Lady Margaret Bridgeman.
He was baptised in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle on 22 February 1942 by Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury. His godparents were King George VI (his paternal uncle), Queen Mary (his paternal grandmother), Princess Helena Victoria (his cousin), Lady Margaret Hawkins (his maternal aunt), Major Lord William Montagu Douglas Scott (his maternal uncle) and Lord Gort, who was unable to attend. Because of the war, newspapers did not identify the actual location of the christening, and said instead that it took place at "a private chapel in the country".
At the time of his birth, and for months afterwards, Prince Henry was away on military duties, some of which meant considerable risk. This prompted George VI to write to his sister-in-law, promising that, if anything should happen to his brother, he would become Prince William's guardian.
In 1947, Prince William was a page boy for his cousin Princess Elizabeth at her wedding to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The other page boy was Prince Michael of Kent. In 1953, he attended the coronation of Elizabeth II.
Prince William spent his early childhood at Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire and later in Canberra, Australia, where his father served as Governor-General from 1945 to 1947. After returning to England, he received his education at Wellesley House School, a prep school at Broadstairs in Kent, then at Eton College, where he achieved mention in the Eton College Chronicle for his performance in junior cricket and achieved house colours for football. After leaving Eton in 1960, he went up to Magdalene College, Cambridge, to read history, graduating with a BA degree in 1963, subsequently raised to an MA (Cantab.) degree in 1968. After Cambridge, he spent a post-baccalaureate year at Stanford University, studying political science, American history, and business.
Career :
After returning to Britain, Prince William took a position with Lazards, a merchant bank.
He was the second member of the British royal family to work in the civil service or the diplomatic service (the first was his uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent, in the 1920s). He joined the Commonwealth Office in 1965 and was posted to Lagos as the third secretary at the British High Commission. In 1968, he transferred to Tokyo as second secretary (commercial) in the British Embassy.
By 1970, the health of his father, the Duke of Gloucester, had become critical after further strokes. William had no choice but to resign from the diplomatic service and return to Britain in order to take care of his father's estate and, as he put it, take on the full-time job of a royal prince. On his way back, he represented the Queen at the celebrations to mark the termination of Tonga's status as a protected state. For the next two years, he managed Barnwell Manor and began to carry out public duties as a member of the royal family.
Apart from taking over many engagements his father could no longer perform, William took particular interest in St John Ambulance, where he became increasingly active. He was also President of National Ski Federation Supporters' Association, the Magdalene Society (Cambridge), the East Midlands Tourist Board, and the Royal African Society. His patronages included the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, the British Schools Exploring Society and the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society.
Prince William served on some occasions as Counsellor of State in the absence of his cousin, the Queen.
Personal life :
The prince was consistently described by friends as adventurous (almost to the point of recklessness), warm, tender and extremely generous. But of all his qualities, the one most often mentioned is that of loyalty to his friends. One account describes how William was particularly kind to friends who were either "ill, unpopular with others, or even downright embarrassing". His status and circumstances had also influenced his personality and he could, at times, be "tiresomely selfish".
Regarding his family, Prince William considered himself extremely lucky compared to other members of the royal family. He had a very close relationship with both his parents, especially with his mother of whom he said, "She is a human being and she must possess some faults. But so far as I am concerned she has no faults at all". He was also very fond of his father, one friend describing William's love and tenderness for him as "infectious". William acknowledged his father couldn't have been very happy as a young man, as a result of the strict upbringing he had received, so he was very grateful to him for the freedom he had given him throughout his life.
Relationships :
Former model and stewardess Zsuzsi Starkloff had a long-running relationship with William. The last time they met in person was in August 1970. The relationship with Starkloff was further explored in the 2015 Channel 4 TV documentary, The Other Prince William. Despite the alleged reluctance of senior members of the royal family to take William's relationship with Starkloff seriously, the standards regarding marriage in the royal family at the time were no longer as strict as they had been. Princess Margaret, while not encouraging William, did sympathize with him in this regard, telling him to "wait a bit" and to "see how everything looks" once he returned to Britain. Furthermore, once back in England, Starkloff went to stay with William's family at Barnwell Manor, where his parents were kind and accommodating to her. William's intentions regarding his relationship with Starkloff are unclear. In the year of his death, he gave an interview to Audrey Whiting for the Sunday Mirror, in which he declared that if he ever married, he would do so to a woman not only right for him, but right in "the eyes of other members of the Family".
In the early 1970s, Prince William began a relationship with divorcee Nicole Sieff (née Moschietto) who had two sons from her marriage to Jonathan Sieff.
Health :
Shortly before transferring to Tokyo in August 1968, Prince William was examined by a Royal Air Force doctor, Headly Bellringer, at the request of the prince's mother. William told the doctor that he had suffered from jaundice, beginning in December 1965 and lasting several months. He had subsequently noticed that his skin was prone to a blistering rash, particularly on exposure to sunshine. Bellringer tentatively diagnosed porphyria, prescribed sunblock cream and gave him a medical warning card regarding the need to avoid certain medications. Although he was aware of the theory of the royal family's history of porphyria then being proposed by Ida Macalpine and Richard Hunter, he stated he "tried not to let it influence him...with all the symptoms, I was left with little option but to diagnose the Prince's condition as porphyria." William was later examined by haematologists at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and also by a Professor Ishihara in Tokyo, both of whom also concluded he was suffering from variegate porphyria, by then in remission.
A member of the British royal family being reliably diagnosed with porphyria added credence to the theory—first proposed by Professor Macalpine in the late 1960s—that porphyria was the source of the ill-health of both Mary, Queen of Scots (an ancestor of both of William's parents) and of George III, and that the disorder had been inherited by some members of the royal families of the UK, Prussia and several German duchies and principalities.
Titles, styles, honors and arms :
Titles and styles :
18 December 1941 – 28 August 1972: His Royal Highness Prince William of Gloucester
•Honors :
Counsellor of State, 1962–1971
Knight of Justice of the Order of St John (KStJ), 1971
Commander-in-Chief of the St John Ambulance Brigade, 1968
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), 1971
Arms :
For his 21st birthday, in 1962, Prince William was granted the use of the Royal Arms, differenced with a label argent of five points, the outer pair and central point bearing lions gules, the inner pair crosses gules.
Death :
A licensed pilot and President of the British Light Aviation Centre, Prince William owned several aircraft and competed in amateur air show races. On 28 August 1972, he was competing in the Goodyear International Air Trophy at Halfpenny Green near Dudley. Vyrell Mitchell—a pilot with whom the prince had often raced—was listed as a passenger. Shortly after takeoff and while at a very low altitude, the Piper Cherokee banked abruptly to port; there was an extreme increase in the rate of turn and a corresponding loss of altitude. The wing of the plane hit a tree shearing off and the out-of-control plane flipped over and crashed into an earthen bank, bursting into flames. Prince William and Mitchell were killed. The crash happened before 30,000 spectators, the fire took two hours to control, and the bodies were identified at inquest the next day from dental records.
His father, Prince Henry, was in such poor health at the time of his death that his mother hesitated whether to tell him. She later admitted in her memoirs that she did not, but that he may have learned of their son's death from television coverage
Prince William was buried in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. The comprehensive school in Oundle, which he opened in 1971, was renamed Prince William School in his memory. His will was sealed in London after his death in 1972. His estate was valued at £416,001 (or £3.9 million in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).
William was the heir apparent of his father's peerages, Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, and Baron Culloden. Upon his death, his younger brother Prince Richard of Gloucester became heir apparent, and succeeded to these peerages in 1974. William was the first grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary to die.
2.Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
Introduction :
Name : Richard Alexander Walter George.
Father : Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.
Mother : Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott.
Born : Prince Richard of Gloucester
26 August 1944 (age 78)
St Matthew's Nursing Home, Northampton, England
Spouse : Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen
Issue : 1.Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster
2.Lady Davina Windsor
3.Lady Rose Gilman
House : Windsor
Alma mater Magdalene College, Cambridge
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, KG, GCVO, GCStJ, SSI, FRIBA (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as well as the youngest of the nine grandchildren of George V and Queen Mary. He is currently 30th in line of succession to the British throne, and the highest person on the list who is not a descendant of George VI, who was his uncle. At the time of his birth, he was 5th in line to the throne, behind his first cousins Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret, his father, and his elder brother Prince William of Gloucester.
He practised as an architect until the death of his elder brother placed him in direct line to inherit his father's dukedom of Gloucester, which he assumed in 1974. He married Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen in July 1972. They have three children.
Early life :
Prince Richard was born on 26 August 1944 at 12:15 pm at St Matthew's Nursing Home in Northampton, the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. His father was the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. His mother was the third daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch and Lady Margaret Bridgeman. At the time of his birth, he was second in line to his father's dukedom, behind his elder brother, Prince William of Gloucester, who died in 1972 before inheriting the title and having any children of his own. Richard was baptised at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park on 20 October 1944 by the retired Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Gordon Lang. When Richard was four months old, he accompanied his parents to Australia, where his father served as governor-general from 1945 to 1947. The family returned to Barnwell Manor in 1947, where Richard spent most of his childhood.
Education and career :
Prince Richard's early education took place at home, under the instruction of Rosalind Ramirez, who had also tutored young King Faisal II of Iraq; later, he attended Wellesley House School at Broadstairs and Eton College. In 1963, he matriculated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he read architecture, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in June 1966. As is customary at Cambridge, this was promoted to MA (Cantab) in 1971.
In 1966, Prince Richard joined the Offices Development Group in the Ministry of Public Building and Works for a year of practical work. He returned to Cambridge in 1967, completing both parts of the Diploma in Architecture degree in June 1969. Upon passing his exams, he became a practising partner in Hunt Thompson Associates in London, an architectural firm.
Marriage and family :
On 8 July 1972, Richard married the Danish-born Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen in St Andrew's Church at Barnwell, Northamptonshire; they have three children:
Alexander Patrick Gregers Richard Windsor, Earl of Ulster (born 24 October 1974 at St Mary's Hospital, London); he married Claire Booth in 2002. The couple have two children.
Lady Davina Elizabeth Alice Benedikte Windsor (born 19 November 1977 at St Mary's Hospital, London); she married Gary Lewis in 2004, and they divorced in 2018. They have two children.
Lady Rose Victoria Birgitte Louise Gilman (born 1 March 1980 at St Mary's Hospital, London); she married George Gilman in 2008. The couple have two children.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester's official residence is at Kensington Palace in London. They have leased their private home, Barnwell Manor, since 1994. In September 2022, the Duke put the manor up for sale for £4.75 million.
Activities :
Richard ended his architectural career in 1972, after the death of his elder brother Prince William, who crashed his plane in a flying competition. Richard became heir apparent to his father's dukedom and had to take on additional family obligations and royal duties on behalf of the Queen. He became the second Duke of Gloucester (in the fifth creation of that title) upon the death of his father on 10 June 1974.
Richard was elected as a corporate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (and FRIBA) in 1972. He is president of the Society of Architect Artists. He also serves as a commissioner of the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England (English Heritage). He has been patron of construction charity Construction Youth Trust for many years. With his background in architecture, the Duke of Gloucester takes interest in the work of the trust and frequently visits their projects, in addition to giving his name to their long standing Duke of Gloucester Young Achiever's Scheme Awards. The Duke is also patron of the Architects Benevolent Society. The Duke is also vice president of Lepra, a UK based charity working towards a world free from prejudice and disability due to leprosy. As part of his active involvement in this role, he attends national and international events in support of the charity's work. He is Royal Patron of the UK branch of the charity Habitat for Humanity, Royal Patron of the St George's Society of New York, and president of The London Society. A keen motorist, Prince Richard passed the Advanced Driving Test of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, of which he was president for more than 32 years. On his appointment in 1971, it was recorded that the new president was "currently [driving] an Austin 1300", reflecting the modest image with which he has always been identified. He stood down as president in January 2005.
The Duke of Gloucester, accompanied by the Duchess, represented his cousin Elizabeth II at the Solomon Islands independence celebrations on 7 July 1978. He served as a judge in Prince Edward's charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament on 15 June 1987.
On 10 April 2008, the Duke of Gloucester was officially installed as inaugural Chancellor of the University of Worcester at a ceremony in Worcester Cathedral. In this role, the Prince officiates at degree ceremonies and major events, as well as promoting the university overseas. The Duke carried out the first of these duties on 5 and 6 November 2008 at the Graduation Award Ceremonies. The Duke is also patron of the Severn Valley Railway and the Pestalozzi International Village Trust. He is patron of the British Homeopathic Association, a charity dedicated to the study, research and promotion of homeopathy. He shares a name with another Duke of Gloucester, Richard III, and has been the patron of the Richard III Society since 1980. He is also a member of the international advisory board of the Royal United Services Institute. Since 1972, the Duke has been a corporate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He is also an honorary fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers. He has long been patron of the Richard III Society, sharing that monarch's forename and pre-reign title.
During 2009, the Duke became patron of the De Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre in support of its bid to raise funds through private means and through a bid for Heritage Lottery Funding. Other patronages include: British Society of Soil Science, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, Action on Smoking and Health, British Association of Friends of Museums, British Mexican Society, St Bartholomew's Hospital, as well as numerous other organisations and charities. In July 2011, the Duke visited the Isle of Man to meet with the representative of Manx National Heritage and the Council of Cancer Charities. On 8 November 2011, he opened the new Law School Building at the University of Hertfordshire on the de Havilland campus site of the former de Havilland Aircraft factory. On 19 March 2013, the Duke represented Elizabeth II at the Vatican for the inauguration of Pope Francis.
On 11 March 2015, the Duke visited the Royal School Dungannon in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, to celebrate their 400th anniversary since the founding of the school; presenting a commemorative plaque and raising an anniversary flag on the grounds. On 22 and 26 March 2015, the Duke represented the Queen at the ceremonies marking the reburial and commemorations of King Richard III in Leicester Cathedral. Richard III had held the title Duke of Gloucester before his ascension to the English throne. In March 2018, the Duke travelled to Malawi to attend the Commonwealth Day celebrations, and visited projects related to health services, wildlife, and climate change. He missed the celebrations in March 2022 after testing positive for COVID-19.
On 14 September 2022, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September, the Duke joined her children, grandsons and nephew, in walking in the state cortege from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, for her lying in state.
Titles, styles, honours and arms :
•Titles and styles :
26 August 1944 – 10 June 1974: His Royal Highness Prince Richard of Gloucester
10 June 1974 – present: His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester
•Honors :
2 June 1953: Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
1 January 1974: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)
1975: Grand Prior and Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of St John (GCStJ)
6 February 1977: Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
1978: Solomon Islands Independence Medal
1980: Vanuatu Independence Medal
1980: Badge of Honour, New Hebrides
1984: Service Medal of the Order of St John (with 5th bar (2 gold bars))
1997: Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (KG)
6 February 2002: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
4 August 2008: Star of the Solomon Islands (SSI)
6 February 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
6 February 2022: Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
•Foreign :
1973: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav
1 August 2008: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Crown of Tonga
2015: Sash of Special Category of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
1973: Sash of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
1975: Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star
1975: Member, 1st Class of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta
24 February 1975: Nepalese Coronation Medal
Honorary military appointments :
•Australia
Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Australian Army Education Corps
•New Zealand
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps
•United Kingdom
Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Anglian Regiment
Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Army Medical Corps
Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Logistic Corps
Royal Colonel, of the 6th (V) Battalion, The Rifles
The Royal Honorary Colonel, of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia)
Honorary Air Commodore, of RAF Odiham
Honorary Air Commodore, of 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 16 June 2001.
Honorary Air Marshal, Royal Air Force, 1 September 1996.
Arms :
Notes :
The Duke of Gloucester's armorial bearings are based on the Royal Arms as set down for descendants of George V. The following explains how his Arms are different from those of the Sovereign and other members of the royal family.
Adopted : 1962
Coronet : Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign
Crest : On a Coronet of children of other sons of the Sovereign, composed of four Crosses-pattées alternated with four Strawberry Leaves, a Lion statant guardant Or, crowned with the like Coronet, and differenced with a Label as in the Arms.
Supporters
The Royal Supporters, differenced with a Coronet as in the Crest and Label as in the Arms.
Orders : The shield is surrounded by the Garter circlet, whose motto states:
HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE
(Shame be to him who thinks evil of it)
Other elements : Differences from the Royal Arms are a Label of five Points Argent, the centre and two outer Points charged with a Cross Gules, and the inner Points with a Lion passant guardant also Gules.
As Grand Prior, like other Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem, he is entitled to augment the Arms of the Order in chief.
Banner : The Duke of Gloucester's Standard (or Banner) displays his personal Arms, granted in 1962.
(in Scotland)
Symbolism : As in the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, the first and fourth quarters represent England, the second Scotland and the third Ireland.
End of 11th Chapter...