Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, (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 age 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 great-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:
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.
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.