Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index

Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone

Her Royal Highness Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (25 February 1883 - 3 January 1981), was the daughter of HRH Prince Leopold George Duncan, Duke of Albany; and Princess Helena Frederica of Waldeck. As such she was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

In 1904, Princess Alice of Albany married His Serene Highness Prince Alexander of Teck. Prince Alexander was the brother of Queen Mary. Upon marriage she was styled, HRH Princess Alexander of Teck.

Prince and Princess Alexander of Teck had three children:

Lady May Cambridge died in 1994; Viscount Trematon in 1928; and Prince Maurice in 1910.

When the British royal family dropped all Germanic titles in June 1917, Prince Alexander of Teck became the Earl of Athlone, relinquishing the title "Prince of Teck" in the Kingdom of Württemberg and the style Serene Highness, and adopting the surname Cambridge. As such, the two surviving children lost their Württemberg princely titles. Princess Alice, however, was a princess of Great Britain and Ireland and a Royal Highness in her own right, as a male-line granddaughter of Queen Victoria. From June 1917 until her death, she was styled HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.

The Earl died in 1957 at Kensington Palace in London. Princess Alice lived on there until 1981 when she herself passed away. She died at age 97 years and 312 days, making her the longest-lived member of the British Royal Family until Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother broke the record in 1997. Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone remains the longest-lived British princess of the blood royal and the oldest surviving granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

In her lifetime, Princess Alice carried out many royal duties. She attended the coronations of four monarchs: Edward VII, George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II. She was also the Colonel in Chief of two British army units and one Rhodesian army unit.

Her funeral took place in St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle attended by all members of the Royal Family.

She is buried alongside her husband in Frogmore cemetery at Windsor.