Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

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Princess Alice
Duchess of Gloucester
The Duchess in her later years
The Duchess in her later years
Spouse Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Issue
Prince William of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Full name
Alice Christabel Windsor
Titles
HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester
HRH The Duchess of Gloucester
Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott
Royal House House of Windsor
Father John, Duke of Buccleuch
Mother Lady Margaret Bridgeman
Born 25 December 1901
Montagu House, London
Died 29 October 2004
Kensington Palace, London
Burial 2 February 2005
St Clement Danes, London

Lady Alice Christabel Montagu-Douglas-Scott (later Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester GCB, CI, GCVO, GBE (December 25, 1901 - October 29, 2004) was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. She was thus the sister-in-law of King George VI and King Edward VIII, and the mother of the current Duke of Gloucester. She was an aunt of Queen Elizabeth II through her marriage to the Queen's paternal uncle.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Lady Alice was born in Montagu House in London as the third daughter of John Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch and 9th Duke of Queensberry (1864–1935), and his wife, the former Lady Margaret Bridgeman. She is therefore a descendant, in an unbroken male (though illegitimate) line, of Charles II. She spent much of her childhood in her family's country homes: Boughton House in Northamptonshire, Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway, and Bowhill in the Scottish Borders. She attended St. James's boarding school, West Malvern, Worcestershire and later travelled to France and Kenya.

[edit] Marriage

In August 1935, Lady Alice became engaged to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, third son of George V of the United Kingdom. They were married in a private ceremony in the chapel of Buckingham Palace on November 6 of that year. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester initially lived at 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 Duke and Duchess had two sons, Prince William of Gloucester (December 18, 1941 – August 28, 1972) and Prince Richard of Gloucester (born August 26, 1944).

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester travelled extensively to perform their royal duties. During World War II, the Duchess worked with the Red Cross and the Order of St. John. She became head of the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) in 1940 and was given the honorary title of Air Chief Commandant in 1945. 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 Hussars, and the Royal Irish Rangers (27th Inniskilling).

[edit] Change of Title

Styles of
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester
Reference style Her Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Royal Highness
Alternative style Ma'am

On June 10, 1974, Prince Henry died and was succeeded as Duke of Gloucester by their second son, Prince Richard. (The couple's elder son and heir, Prince William, had been killed in an airplane crash in 1972.) The duke's widow requested permission from her niece, Queen Elizabeth II, to use the title and style "HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester" instead of "HRH The Dowager Duchess of Gloucester". 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 Brigitte Eva Van Duers). Princess Alice also apparently did not wish to be known as a dowager duchess and so followed the example of her late sister-in-law, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, following the marriage of her elder son in June 1961. However, Princess Marina was a princess by birth. The de facto Dowager Duchess of Gloucester was allowed to be known as Princess Alice as a courtesy from the Queen. Although not specifically created a Princess by letters patent, the Princess was entitled to style herself as a British princess, even though she was not born a British princess. (see: British princess)

[edit] Later years

In 1981, Princess Alice 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 because of financial reasons, Princess Alice moved from Barnwell to Kensington Palace, where she lived with the current Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

In 1999, the Duke of Gloucester 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 December of 2001, the royal family held a ceremony to acknowledge Princess Alice’s centennial birthday, the second royal centennial birthday celebration held that year–the other being that of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. This was Princess Alice's last public appearance. (It was also the last public appearance of Princess Margaret, the Queen's sister.) On July 24, 2003 Princess Alice succeeded Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, as the oldest ever living member of the British royal family. In fact, no member of any royal family has ever lived longer.

Princess Alice died on October 29, 2004 in her sleep at Kensington Palace at the age of 102. Her funeral was held November 5, 2004 at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, 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 The Queen and other members of the Royal Family. A memorial service was held at St Clement Danes on February 2, 2005.

[edit] Titles & Honours

[edit] Styles

At the time of her death, Princess Alice's full title was Her Royal Highness Princess Alice Christabel, Duchess of Gloucester, Countess of Ulster and Baroness Culloden, Dame Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Companion of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

[edit] Publications

  • Ronald Allison and Sarah Riddell, eds., The Royal Encyclopedia (London: Macmillan, 1991), ISBN 0-333-53810-2.
  • Marlene A. Eilers, Queen Victoria's Descendants (New York: Atlantic International Publishing, 1987), ISBN 91-630-5964-9.
  • Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, The Memoirs of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (London: Collins, 1983), ISBN 0-00-216646-1.
  • Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, Memories of Ninety Years (London: Trafalgar Square, 1992), ISBN 1-85585-048-6.
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