One figure that was present at many royal gatherings was a lady in a long cloak similar to a nuns habit. The lady in question obviously had the bearing of someone high born, but who was she? The answer is simple, the lady was the mother of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
Princess Alice of Battenberg was the sister of The Queen of Sweden, Earl Mountbatten of Burma and the Marquess of Milford Haven. She married Prince Andrew of Greece and they went on to have four daughters and one son, Philip.
The princess experienced many issues throughout her life and although she remained married, she did it live with Prince Andrew in the conventional sense. The princess had a series of breakdowns and spent many years in a sanatorium in Germany, missing many events in her families lives. Prince Philip was at school and when he wasn't he would spend time with his sisters and their families in Germany or with his Mountbatten relations in England. Prince Andrew died in France in 1944.
Princess Alice stayed in Greece throughout the war and continued the work she started when she stared her own order of nuns, helping the poor. It was said she was inspired in this role by the memory of her aunt, Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, who was murdered in the revolution. Princess Alice protected many people from the Germans including Jewish people, at great danger to herself. This fact only came into the public domain in the last 20 years.
Princess Alice continued her work, however she became ill and The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh invited the princess to live at Buckingham Palace, which she did until her death in 1969. The Duke of Edinburgh is her last surviving child.
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