Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, Her Life and Death

born as Alice christabel Montague Douglas Scott in Edwardian England Alice would become the wife of a prince her husband was Henry the third son of King George V and Queen Mary together the couple was known as The Duke and Duchess of cluster for almost half of her life Alice was a member of the women's auxiliary air force which was later renamed into the women's rural Air Force she joined her husband in Australia when he was appointed governor general there she suffered two miscarriages before giving birth to two sons however she would outlive her Elder son she would also outlive her husband by over 30 years she became the oldest living member of the British royal family after the death of her sister-in-law on August 21st 2003 she broke the record as the oldest person in the British royal family at the age of 101 years and 238 days at the time of her death on October 29 2004 Alice had also broken the record as the world's longest lived Royal this is the incredibly long life of a girl born into a noble family and dying as a princess it was Christmas day in 1901 when at Montague house in London a little girl was born she was given the names Alice christabel the latter she gained as she was born on Christmas Day Allen says she was known in her family came from the noble family of Montague Douglas Scott the family can trace their line back to the eldest illegitimate child of King Charles II James Scott at the age of 14 his father the King created the title of Duke of buckloo and granted it to his eldest son and his wife who used a title in her own rides so when James was attained during the so-called manma rebellion in which James tried to depose his uncle his wife's title was unaffected it is through her that the title would pass all the way down to Alice's Father John Montague Douglas Scott John Montague Douglas Scott himself was also born at montagu house back in 1864. he served as midshipman on board the HMS bacand together with Prince Albert Victor and Prince George of Wales in 1893 he married lady Margaret Alice Bridgeman who was called Molly in her family Molly was the daughter of the fourth Earl of Bradford and Lady Ida Francis Annabella Lemley the couple was married that sang Paul's Church in Knightsbridge together they had a total of eight children Including Alice Alice had four sisters and three brothers one of her brothers Walter was a conservative Member of Parliament who during the second world war was seen as pro-german he even went as far as attending Hitler's 50th birthday celebration in 1939 although firstly opposing War he later campaigned for a truce which enabled Hitler to keep all of his conquered territory Alice's other brother William was also a conservative Member of Parliament the Montague Douglas Scott family also includes other prominent members for example Alice's first cousin Marianne was the grandmother of Sarah Ferguson who is the former wife of prince Andrew Marian is there for the great grandmother to Princess Beatrice and Eugenie Marion was also a second cousin to Cynthia Countess Spencer who was the paternal grandmother of Lady Diana Spencer the seeds of the montagu Douglas God family include Beau will house drumbling ring Castle Barton house and montagu house these are also the places at which Alice grew up she attended Saint James's school for girls in Worcestershire and later traveled to France Kenya and India young Alice enjoyed skiing horse riding hunting and water coloring Alice would remain abroad for the next several years when in 1935 she received the news that the health of her father was deteriorating she returned but her father died on October 19th of that same year of throat cancer only weeks earlier her engagement to Prince Henry had been announced Prince Henry was the fourth child and third son of King George V and Queen Mary he was born on March 31st 1900 making him one year older than Alice prior to his marriage Henry had an affair with pilate barreled Markham Beryl was already married with her second husband so the court did not view her as the ideal Bride for a prince Henry was pressured by his parents to settle down with a suitable wife and so he proposed to Alice in what she would later call the most unromantic way possible apparently both were on a walk when Henry mumbled the words Prince Henry and Alice met through her brother William who was one of his best friends in order to avoid a scandal Henry paid his former Affair Barrel an annuity until her death in 1985. the engagement was announced on September 2nd 1935 and the wedding date was set for November 6th a lavish ceremony was initially planned but as Alice's father died in late October and the groom's father's Health was also weak it was decided to minimize the celebrations the wedding took place as planned on November 6 1935 at the private Chapel at Buckingham Palace Alice made her way to the chapel with the glass coach with her brother by her side unusual for Royal Brides Alice wore a blush pink satin gown as she was 34 at the time of her wedding which was considered quite old back then she wished for Less Maiden tones in her dress Alice was attended by eight bridesmaids two of them being the den princess Elizabeth of York and her younger sister Margaret although the wedding was cut slim there were still many Royal guests attending among others you could find the queen of Norway and the king of the hellenists it is estimated that around a million people lined in the streets after the wedding procession despite the weather being cold and wet Alice is therefore also often referred to as the winter princess after the wedding the newlyweds spent their honeymoon at bottom house later it is settled in the Royal Papillon Alice later called it a very simple cabin with her husband's presence being the only Royal thing about it after the abdication of Alice's brother-in-law Edward VII the couple moved to York house in order to take over more Royal duties in order to support the new King George VI Alice and Henry often traveled abroad where they represented the monarchy as Henry was the next adult in the line of succession behind his nieces Elizabeth and Margaret he would have acted as Regent in the case that the then princess Elizabeth would have come to a throne as a minor he therefore was not allowed to travel abroad at the same time as his brother the king during the second world war Alice began working with the Red Cross and the Order of sanction she became the head of the woman auxiliary air force which was a female auxiliary of the British royal Air Force Alice started as senior commander in 1939 and changed to air commandant a year later by August 1944 Alice had become the director of the w aaf she remained a member of the WAAF which became the woman's Royal Air Force even after the second World War by 1990 Alice Rose to the ranks up to the position of air Chief Marshall during the war time Ellis and Henry had become parents to two sons their first son William was born on December 18 1941 while Henry was away on Military duties their second son Richard was born on August 26 1944 at the Saint Matthew's Nursing Home in Northampton in early 1945 Prince Henry was suddenly appointed governor general of Australia the family consequently moved to Canberra where they lived for the next two years they returned to the United Kingdom in March 1947 when Henry was called back in 1965 the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester as their official title was attended the funeral of former prime minister Winston Churchill while on their way back Henry suffered from a stroke which resulted in a car crash Henry was thrown out of the car and Alice suffered face injuries in 1972 the couple's eldest son William died at the age of only 30 in a plane crash by then the Duke of Gloucester was himself in such bad Health that Alice made the decision to not tell her husband about the death of their son in her Memoir she later recalled that he perhaps learned of it from television coverage Henry has suffered several more Strokes after his first one and was unable to speak or walk in his last years he died on June 10 1974 as the last surviving child of King George V and Queen Mary after the death of her husband Alice lived a Barnwell Manor in 1975 Alice was the first woman to be appointed a Dame Grand Cross of the order of bath Alice released two Memoirs one when she was around 80 and one after she turned 90. in 1994 financial reasons forced Alice to give up her home and move to Kensington Palace there she lived with her son and his wife the new Duke and Duchess of gluster after the death of her husband Alice requested permission from Queen Elizabeth II to use the style Princess Alice Duchess of cluster to avoid confusion with her daughter-in-law although this form of tile is usually only granted to princesses by Blood she was allowed to adopt it at the age of 98 Alice retired from public duties her last official of public appearance was on the occasion of her 100th birthday in 2001. after the death of her sister-in-law Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Alice became the oldest living member of the British royal family she died on October 29 2004 at the incredible age of 102 years and 309 days following the death of Princess Alice the Union check at Buckingham Palace was lowered to half-mast her funeral was held at Saint George's Chapel at Windsor Castle she was buried next to her husband and son at Frogmore Princess Alice was the longest lived member of the British royal family and also the longest lived Royal of all time she's remembered as a classic shy lady with a dry humor the princess herself wrote in her autobiography that she was rather plump and shy Peter Townsend lover of Princess Margaret said of her she possessed classic Serene good looks and sincerity shown from her milled face but she was painfully shy so the 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 she suffered from the early death of her son and herself said that she was never the same afterwards the guardian wrote about her death in 2004 that she was perhaps the last great Edwardian lady the final echo of a world and social order long gone

Channel: Back To History

Views: 52,814

Keywords: princess alice, duchess of gloucester, history documentry, british royal family, royals, windsor, george v

Id: fzhbUB0nvqw

Length: 12min 45sec (765 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 05 2023