Henry & Alice, Duke & Duchess of Gloucester

[feodorovna]

I can't help but feel that the biggest problem which befell George and Mary's children was being born to George and Mary.

[grandduchessella]

I still wonder at how these 2--George and Mary--are consistently singled out. I don't think their children ended up much worse than many other royal children--or children of the nobility--of their time and they certainly, for the most part, had a stronger sense of duty then most.  Were they great parents? Not really, by modern interpretations. Were they probably average or even above so for their time and station, I believe yes. Queen Alexandra, for all she is lionized in her parenting, did her children a great disservice in treating them like infants until she died. The Wales girls, especially, had some serious issues and far less a sense of duty (I speaking specifically of Louise, the Princess Royal here) than the Wales children--even David.

[feodorovna]

I still wonder at how these 2 are consistenly singled out. I don't think their children ended up much worse than many other royal children--or children of the nobility--of their time and they certainly, for the most part, had a stronger sense of duty then most.  Were they great parents? Not really, by modern interpretations. Were they probably average or even above so for their time and station, I believe yes. Queen Alexandra, for all she is lionized in her parenting, did her children a great disservice in treating them like infants until she died. The Wales girls, especially, had some serious issues and far less a sense of duty (I speaking specifically of Louise, the Princess Royal here) than the Wales children--even David.

That's an interesting point. IMO, the lives of historical "celebs" from A list to Z list, are at the mercy of the pens, or keyboards, of those who record them. As royal "celebs" go, I imagine the Gloucesters were small fry, which probably meant that their children enjoyed a freedom not granted to their more elevated cousins.

[grandduchessella]

William Gloucester seems like he may have been a more wild character--some have even speculated on porphyria--but I don't think anyone can deny that Richard Gloucester turned into an exceptional junior royal. Considering he wasn't expected to have any significant role--not even the Dukedom--he and his wife stepped up to the plate most admirably. They haven't been touched by any, even minor, scandal that I can recall--not have their children.

[Maria_Pavlovna]

That's an interesting point. IMO, the lives of historical "celebs" from A list to Z list, are at the mercy of the pens, or keyboards, of those who record them. As royal "celebs" go, I imagine the Gloucesters were small fry, which probably meant that their children enjoyed a freedom not granted to their more elevated cousins.

I agree, their cousins the Kents were more popular since their mother was a Princess of Greece and a fashion icon.

[grandduchessella]

The Daily Mail is carrying a story about the Prince and his ladylove:

"Forty years on, she still wears the prince’s ring on a chain around her neck, its weight and royal insignia a daily reminder of what might have been. She could have married into the Royal Family, but instead she lives a modest existence on a mountain-top in Colorado, many thousands of miles from the world and the intrigues of the House of Windsor which caused her downfall. Otherwise, Hungarian-born Zsuzsi Starkloff could have been Duchess of Gloucester, with a sprawling estate in Northamptonshire and a grace-and-favour apartment in Kensington Palace. Her natural modesty and cool good looks would have won her many admirers and a place in the nation’s heart.

Instead, the unseen forces of the Establishment and a fatal plane crash put paid to a love which, though it remained largely secret, shook the royal court to its core. Today, surrounded by mementos and photographs of her ill-starred affair, 78-year-old Mrs Starkloff has broken her decades-long silence to talk to the Mail about the love of her life. In August, 1972, her lover, the spectacularly handsome Prince William of Gloucester, died instantly, aged just 30, when his Piper Arrow light aircraft stalled on a tight turn in an air race and crashed to the ground. A grandson of King George V, he was the Queen’s first cousin and the most dazzling royal of his generation.

Clever, cool, athletic and muscular, William was a hero-figure to the young Prince Charles, who modelled himself on his older cousin and, ten years later, named his first-born after him.  But despite his natural gifts, the prince’s one fatal flaw was that he had fallen for an older woman who was both a divorcee and a foreigner. The prince could have anything he wanted in life, but not her. For the powers-that-be at Buckingham Palace had already labelled Zsuzsi Starkloff ‘the new Mrs Simpson’ (after the American divorcee whose affair with Edward VIII triggered the Abdication Crisis in 1938) and were out to break the romance in any way they could." 

Full article:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2193349/How-Queen-sabotaged-passionate-affair-cousin-Zsuzsi-Starkloff-tells-story-Prince-William-Gloucester-fell-scandalised-royals-process.html

[Kalafrana]

William of Gloucester was indeed quite a dashing young man. I was 12 when he was killed and thought of him as a much more exciting figure than the Prince of Wales! He was in the news quite a bit, not only doing royal engagements, but because of his flying.

According to Purple Secret, he had porphyria in a fairly mild form and it mainly manifested itself in skin trouble (not like George III - I suspect his 'madness' was largely delirium resulting from high fevers brought on by porphyra). Interstingly, I met Henry Bellringer, who diagnosed the porphyria. He was an RAF dermatologist and my brother was referred to him for eczema. For some reason he wanted to see the whole family so I was taken along as well. Unfortunately I can't remember the actual meeting (I was five at the time), but according to my mother Bellringer (I remember the name perfectly as it was so unusual) was busy teling my parents that my rather hyperactive brother was a perfectly normal child until he started wrecking his consulting room!

Ann

[KarlandZita]

Duchess of Gloucester by Cecil Beaton :

[Kalafrana]

I remember William of Gloucester as a dashing young man, much more so than his cousin the Prince of Wales. William was seven years older, so old enough to be dashing at the time he died - Charles was a trifle young and a very different personality.

As a hard-working member of the royal family, the Duke of Gloucester really hasn't put a foot wrong.  The worst he's done is to trigger one speed camera too many and get himself banned from drivging (maybe he's a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing!). The Duchess and their children all also seem to be sensible and live peaceful lives.

Ann