Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, was a member of the British royal family. She was the longest-lived princess of the blood royal, and one of the longest-lived British royals. Princess Alice was the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria, the sister-in-law of Queen Mary, and the cousin of Mary's husband, King George V.
Early life
Alice was born on 25 February 1883 at Windsor Castle, the only daughter of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and his wife Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her younger brother and only sibling, Prince Charles Edward, was born on 19 July 1884.She was baptised in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle on 26 March, and named Alice after her late paternal aunt Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse. Her godparents were: Queen Victoria ; the German Empress, for whom Alice's paternal aunt Princess Beatrice stood proxy; the King of the Netherlands, for whom the Dutch Ambassador Count Charles van Bylandt stood proxy; the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, represented by his brother-in-law Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh; the Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont ; the Prince of Wales ; the Princess Royal represented by her sister-in-law the Princess of Wales; Prince Wilhelm of Württemberg, represented by his cousin the Duke of Teck; the Hereditary Princess of Bentheim and Steinfurt, for whom her paternal aunt Princess Christian stood proxy; and the Duchess of Cambridge, represented by her daughter the Duchess of Teck. She was confirmed at the Royal Memorial Church of St George, Cannes, in 1898 with Queen Victoria present.
When she was four years old, a burglar broke into Clarence House through Alice's bedroom window on the first floor, having used a ladder from a nearby farmhouse. He was followed by two accomplices, but a scream from Alice's nanny alerted everyone and made them flee. Princess Alice's mother tried to calm her by telling her it had been Father Christmas.
Alice was one of the carriers of the gene for haemophilia which originated with Queen Victoria. Alice inherited the gene from her father, who died from the disease when she was one year old.
Marriage and family
On 10 February 1904, at St George's Chapel, Windsor, Alice married her second cousin once removed Prince Alexander of Teck, the brother-in-law of the Prince of Wales. Alice was attended by five bridesmaids, all cousins: Princesses Margaret and Patricia of Connaught, Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Princess Mary of Wales and Princess Mary of Teck. Alice and her husband were both descended from King George III. They had three children:- Princess May of Teck, later Lady May Cambridge; married Sir Henry Abel Smith in 1931, had issue.
- Prince Rupert of Teck, later Viscount Trematon; died in a car accident.
- Prince Maurice Francis George of Teck ; died at five months old.
Alice was godmother to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, who is the granddaughter of her first cousin on her mother's side, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.
South Africa, Canada and Second World War
The Earl was appointed Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, and served from 1924 to 1931. Alice accompanied him and was the Vicereine during that period. Lord Athlone and Alice had a coastal beach house constructed at Muizenberg, which still stands today and is one of South Africa's national monuments. The Cape Town suburb of Athlone was named in honour of the Governor-General; apart from the beach house and the preserved Class GL Garratt steam locomotive Princess Alice in the Outeniqua Transport Museum, it is the only physical reminder of the Athlones' residence at the Cape.On the sudden death of the popular Lord Tweedsmuir in 1940, Canada found itself without a Governor General in time of war. Despite the longstanding intention of Canadian governments to appoint Canadian nationals as governors general—Australia had already appointed an Australian national, Sir Isaac Isaacs, as its governor general in 1931—the royal family had garnered vast public support during the royal tour of 1939. As Queen Mary's brother and a former governor general of another Dominion, Lord Athlone seemed a satisfactory candidate, and the Canadian prime minister advised the King to appoint him.
Alice accompanied her husband to Canada where he served as Governor General from 1940 to 1946, residing primarily at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Their three grandchildren, Anne, Richard, and Elizabeth, lived with them in Canada for the duration of the war.
Upon taking up his post, The Earl immediately made himself active in the support of the war effort, travelling across the country and focusing much of his attention on the troops, either those training at military facilities or those injured and in hospital. Viewing his position as governor general as a link between Canadians and their monarch, Athlone also communicated in speeches that the King stood with them in their fight against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime.
As vicereine of Canada, Alice also supported the war effort by serving as Honorary Commandant of the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service, Honorary Air Commandant of the Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division and president of the nursing division of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
File:Eleanor Roosevelt, Princess Alice, and Mrs. Winston Churchill at Quebec, Canada for conference - NARA - 196993.jpg|thumb|Eleanor Roosevelt, Princess Alice, and Clementine Churchill at the Second Quebec Conference during the Second World War
In 1944, the Princess Alice Barracks Cabin at Britannia Bay provided a summer retreat for Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division personnel based in Ottawa. The cabin was located near the Britannia Boating Club's facilities for tennis, dancing and boating. Rented from the King's Daughter's Guild of Ottawa, the cabin featured 60 beds, a separate cookhouse and dining pavilion. The cabin had served previously as a Fresh Air Cottage for mothers and undernourished children.
The war was brought close to home for the Athlones also because many of those belonging to displaced European royal families sought refuge in Canada, and resided at or near the royal and viceroyal residence, Rideau Hall. Among the royal guests were Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Märtha of Norway; Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix of Luxembourg; King Peter of Yugoslavia; King George of Greece; Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma and her daughters; as well as Queen Wilhelmina and her daughter, Princess Juliana. Further, in December 1941, British prime minister Winston Churchill arrived at Rideau Hall, where he presided over British Cabinet meetings via telephone from his bed.
The viceregal couple also played host at Quebec City to prime minister Mackenzie King, as well as Churchill and United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who all gathered to take part in what would become known as the Quebec Conferences, with the first taking place between 17 and 24 August 1943 at the viceregal residence in La Citadelle, and the second occurring from 12 to 16 September 1944 at the Château Frontenac. Photos of the Earl with Roosevelt, Churchill and Mackenzie King on the ramparts of the Citadel during the Quebec Conference were widely published at the time.
It was at these meetings that the four men discussed the Allied strategies that would eventually lead to victory over Nazi Germany and Japan. When Germany fell on 8 May 1945 and Japan on 15 August of the same year, Athlone led the national celebrations held on Parliament Hill and elsewhere. He thereafter spoke in speeches about Canada's future being marked not by war but by a strong role in reconstruction and reconciliation.
During their time in Canada, the Athlones also supported various charitable and social events, and mounted a number of tobogganing parties and skating lessons on the grounds of Rideau Hall, as well as skiing in Gatineau Park. Before the couple departed from Canada at the end of Athlone's time as the King's representative, he left as a legacy the Athlone-Vanier Engineering Fellowship, awarded by the Engineering Institute of Canada.
Public life
In her lifetime, Alice carried out many engagements and took part in many of the activities the royal family were involved in. Apart from her normal duties as vicereine of South Africa and then Canada, she attended the coronations of four British monarchs: Edward VII, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II, as well as the investiture of the Dutch queen Juliana. She was also the Colonel-in-Chief of two British Army units and one Rhodesian Army unit. During the Second World War, she was Honorary Air Commandant of the Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division. In 1950, she became the first Chancellor of the University of the West Indies. As Chancellor, she visited the university every year, staying as a guest of Sir Kenneth Blackburne, Governor-General of Jamaica, and his wife.From the 1930s to the 1960s, she was Chair of the Council of Royal Holloway College, University of London. With her husband, daughter and son-in-law, Alice represented the King at the 1937 wedding of Juliana of the Netherlands to Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld.
Alice and her husband visited Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in the winter of 1938. She was the first member of the British royal family to visit the country and the only one to meet King Abdulaziz. Their nephew Lord Frederick Cambridge accompanied them on the visits. In Saudi Arabia Princess Alice visited Riyadh, Hofuf and Dammam, and met Noura bint Abdul Rahman, sister of the King and other members of the Saudi royal family.
In 1966, Princess Alice published her memoirs, For My Grandchildren.