#Alice Duchess of Gloucester

[royal-things]

The Duchess of Gloucester and Prince Richard in front of the old castle at Barnwell, 1948.

[missmarymaywindsor]

among her daughters-in-law alice duchess of gloucester, queen mother aka duchess of york, princess marina duchess of kent.

with whom she had the best relationship?

i know she disliked simposon duchess of windsor

Hi @abigaaal !

You are certainly correct! I think we can all agree without a shred of doubt that QM did NOT like Wallis Simpson!

As for the rest of her daughters-in-law I do believe she liked and got on well with all of them. I know Elizabeth and Alice referred to QM as ‘darling Mama’ though I have not seen Marinas letters, and I think referring to your mother-in-law as ‘mama’ in such high society circles was fairly common. I know Princess Mary also referred to her own M-I-L in such fashion, as did QM with Queen Alexandra.

From what I have read, my opinion is that Alice of Gloucester was her favourite, followed by Elizabeth then Marina - however I think the margin between all of them was very small. She had things in common with all them though I think she found Alice the most down-to-earth.

She had certainly known Elizabeth the longest as she married Bertie in 1923, and Alice and Marina didn’t appear on the scene until the early to mid 1930s respectively. Elizabeth as I understand it was the undisputed favourite of George V, though this may be because he died so early into the marriages of his two younger sons. Though in the days Bertie was proposing to Elizabeth (3 times!! so yes I do mean days - if not months and years) QM as I understand was very very keen for Elizabeth to say yes as she thought she’d be a fantastic match for Bertie. And much later on she knew undoubtedly that Elizabeth would be a wonderful Queen.

We know Alice and QM were close only I think because of the memoir written by Alice (which is FABULOUS btw - if you haven’t read it I would absolutely recommend it). Marina however doesn’t have the luxury of being as well written about unlike her sisters-in-law, with one being a Queen of England and the other as I’ve mentioned writing her own story, though by all means Alice was still discreet. So when it comes to Marina I’m afraid we know a little less about her relationship with QM. I also have to confess I’m not much of an expert when it comes to Marina, if anyone else has any light to shed on it please do comment!

Ultimately, I think she liked each D-I-L for who they were and how happy they made her sons (and of course they were of the appropriate marrying variety unlike Simpson).

Hope this helps! ♥️

[grandmaster-anne]

14 May 1958 President Giovanni Gronchi state visit day two: Royals arriving at the Italian Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London © ITN

[royal-confessions]

“Duchess Alice of Gloucester resembled those beautiful actresses of the 1930s, but without the extravagance and scandals. Prince Henry of Gloucester was a lucky man to have found her.” - Submitted by cenacevedo15

[theroyalhistory]

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester at Remount Depot, Arborfield, March 1936

[davbertieloml]

OTD in 1901, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester was born in Montagu House, London ✨️

Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott was born on Christmas Day 1901 as the third daughter and fifth child of John Montagu Douglas Scott, Earl of Dalkeith and his wife, the former Lady Margaret Alice "Molly" Bridgeman, daughter of the 4th Earl of Bradford.

Lady Alice married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, on 6 February 1935 in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace. A much more elaborate wedding was originally planned at Westminster Abbey but after the bride-to-be's father died of cancer on 19 October 1935, and due to the King's failing health, it was decided that the wedding should be reduced to a more private one. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester later had two children, Prince William and Prince Richard of Gloucester.

The new Duchess of Gloucester had many activities, one of which was the launch of HMS Gloucester on 19 October 1937. From 1945 to 1947, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester lived in Canberra, where the Duke served as Governor General of Australia.

In 1972, she lost her eldest son, Prince William, who died at the age of 30 in a plane crash while participating in an amateur air show competition. Her husband, the Duke of Gloucester, died on 10 June 1974 at the age of 74.

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 238 days. On 20 September 2003, at the age of 101 years and 269 days, she was certified by Guinness World Records as the longest-lived royal of all time, surpassing Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.

Princess Alice died on 29 October 2004 in her sleep at Kensington Palace, aged 102 years and 309 days. She was buried next to her husband, Prince Henry, and eldest son, Prince William, at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore.

[collarsncrowns]

Members of the British Royal Family attend the coronation of King George VI and Queen Consort Elizabeth, 1937.

[tiaramania]

* Coronation Tiaras *

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, wore Queen Mary's Honeysuckle Tiara for the coronation of King George VI of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey on 12 May 1937.

[littlemuoi]

The essence of being a royal.

From Memories of Ninety Years by Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

[thecatalogueofroyalfashion]

Princess Alice, The Duchess of Gloucester  ||  Norman Hartnell

[royal-things]

The Duchess of Gloucester

by Cecil Beaton, 1938

[catherinetheprincessofwales]

Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands invite the British Royal Family to a banquet at Carpenters' Hall in the City of London, UK, 13th April 1972. From left to right, Prince Richard of Gloucester, the Duchess of Gloucester, Prince William of Gloucester, the Queen Mother, Prince Bernhard, Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Juliana, Princess Alexandra and Princess Margaret. 

[grandmaster-anne]

30 January 1945 The Gloucesters in Sydney, Australia © Grinberg, Paramount

[royal-confessions]

“Im just going to say if you think that Kate and Meghan have the worst sister-in-law relationship, look at the queen mother and wallis simpson, they call each other mean name in front of them and their husbands. Marina and the queen, and Alice, Marina always put down these two because they were earl's daughter, while she was a prince' daughter. Alexandra and Maria alexdrovna, hated each other, because MA think her family is more powerful then her Alex's family, and called each other mean name.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[royalbloopers]