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| Britain |
| Princess Alice, Oldest British Royal, Dies |
| 2004-10-30 |
| Princess Alice, aunt of Queen Elizabeth II and the oldest member of the British royal family, has died, Buckingham Palace said Saturday. She was 102. The palace said the princess died peacefully in her sleep on Friday with her family around her. A spokesman said the queen was greatly saddened by the death of her aunt. He said the queen "remembers with gratitude Princess Alice's service to the monarchy and to the country." Born Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott on Christmas Day, 1901, the princess married Henry, Duke of Gloucester -- the third son of King George V and brother of the queen's father, King George VI -- in 1935. After helping to boost morale on the home front during World War II, Alice moved with her husband to Australia, where the Duke was governor general from 1945 to 1947. Back in Britain, she kept a busy schedule of charitable work and official duties until she was in her 90s. She was the second member of the royal family to reach her centenary, after the Queen Mother Elizabeth, who died in March 2002 at the age of 101. The princess and her husband had two sons -- William, who died in a flying accident in 1972, and Richard, the current Duke of Gloucester. The princess's husband died in 1974. She is survived by her son and three grandchildren. Funeral details were not immediately announced. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #6 The old standard was that a true lady only appeared in the newspapers on the occassion of her birth, marriage and death. It's a bit limiting, that is--- no scope for a Nobel Prize in medicine, or flying around the world, single-handed, or all sorts of other amusing and ground-breaking achievements. Still, I'll bet it was a standard the royals devoutly wish was still a doable proposition... |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2004-10-30 11:24:20 PM |
| #5 ....Respects and Sympathies to the Cousins. She was born a Royal in an age when they still commanded armies and power, and by all accounts she lived up to the job. Think about it - she heard first hand what it was like when Grandmama Victoria was not amused. She would have been old enough to see the Empire fight for its life not once but twice...and she lived long enough to see us find other planets around other stars. That, ladies and gents, was someone to be cherished. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-10-30 4:10:27 PM |
| #4 I think Shipman is right - we won't see her like again. I just hope Harry turns out to be more like her or his grandmother than like his father. But I'm not holding my breath. My condolences too, Bulldog and other UK Rantburgers. Though she had probably been out of the public's eye for some time (considering her age), she sounds like she was a good person and a responsible royal. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-10-30 12:43:52 PM |
| #3 Seafarious - thanks for the sympathy, but I have to say it: Princess Who?! Anyway, RIP Alice. Good innings. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-10-30 12:21:01 PM |
| #2 Condolences to our UK friends. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-10-30 11:30:45 AM |
| #1 Talk about pre-911, jeez this is pre 8/1914. Won't see her like again. /wilson |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-10-30 11:19:50 AM |