Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

I was sent a delightful photograph of Her Majesty and thought I would share it with my blog. I am not sure when or where this photograph was taken but it is obviously a recent one.

The Queen was born in 1926 and will be 87 this year and is still amazingly fit and does not appear to be reducing her annual workload. The Queens year is still set by the migration from the various Royal residences. Most weekends are spent here, in my hometown of Windsor.

The Queen is now the oldest reigning monarch in British history, her consort, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh is the oldest consort and has been consort longer than anyone else. In a few short years, The Queen will overtake her great great grandmother and be the longest reigning monarch in our history.

 

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HRH Princess Alice of Battenberg, mother of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

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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Privates on Parade on stage in London

For the next four weeks, at the Noel Coward Theatre in London, there is a show that has everything, fun, songs, laughter, sadness and tragedy. It is the first show in the Michael Grandage season at the Noel Coward theatre.

If you are easily offended, it is probably best not to see the show, but the main thing it is fun and the performances are amazing, the cast are on the go all the time.

Simon Russell Beale is superb as Capt Terri Dennis and gives a great performance.

For tickets

 

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HH Princess Marie Louise

HH Princess Marie Louise became a princess of nowhere after 1917 when King George V changed the name of the Royal House from Saxe Coburg Gotha to Windsor. All the remaining German titles of the members of the Royal Family were changed to English sounding names. The princess's father, Prince Christian had died in 1917 so was unaffected by the change and the princess's mother simply reverted to her original name, Princess Helena or was known as Princess Christian. Princess Helena was a daughter of Queen Victoria.

The princess was on the sidelines of the Royal Family but still undertook many public duties on behalf of her cousin, King George V. After her mother died in 1923, the princess lived with her sister, HH Princess Helena Victoria in Shomberg House, in Pall Mall.

The princess attended the coronations of Edward VII, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II. As she wasn't a princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, she was not entitled to the the ermine lined and edged train and so attended in her own long train. It is said that the princess ensured the whole event of the coronation of Elizabeth II was comfortable by sustaining herself with an ample supply of gin.

The princess is also remembered for publishing her memoirs just before she died in 1956. The memoirs are entitled, My Memories of Six Reigns and proved to be a very successful publication. Although nothing revealing was mentioned in the book, it did deal with the princess's short lived marriage and also daly domestic royal life. An interesting read for those who have in interest in the subject.

The princess had a large collection of Napoleonic memorabilia and left most of this and her jewellery to the Gloucester's. The tiara the princess wore to the coronation of Elizabeth II is still worn today by the current Duchess of Gloucester. A princess who did a lot of work for the Royal Family but not more or less forgotten, which is a shame as these princes and princesses did so much good for the country and all this before 24 hour news coverage.

 

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HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, part 2

Princess Alice was very much a British princess, living in the UK all her life, apart from short periods when her husband, HSH Prince Alexander of Teck (The Earl of Athlone) was Governor General of South Africa and Canada.

Behind this however was a deep emotional upset, her only brother, Charles Edward had been sent to Germany as a young boy to take over duties as the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, taking over from his uncle, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. This meant that during both world wars, Princess Alice and her brother, Karl Eduard, found themselves on different sides. Karl Eduard suffered because of his birthright, while Princess Alice was feted as one of the most popular British princesses.

Karl Eduard found himself imprisoned after WWII and was eventually released. He settled in one of his properties and led a fairly quiet life. He was able at last to receive visits from his sister but his health had really suffered and he died in 1954. All he ever wanted was to be the British Prince was he was born to be.

Princess Alice enjoyed meeting up with her many relatives, many of whom had ascended various European thrones, including her first cousins, Queen Ena of Spain, Queen Marie of Roumania, Queen Maud of Norway, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany to name but a few.

The Earl and Countess's daughter was born Princess May of Teck, but when she died she was known to the British public as Lady May Abel Smith. Lady May and her husband also lived a life dedicated to duty to the Crown and could often be seen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at events such as the Trooping of the Colour.

Princess Alice is in the front row on the left in this photograph and her husband is third from the left.

 

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HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.

Princess Alice was born in 1883 at Windsor Castle and was a grand daughter of Queen Victoria through her father, Prince Leopoldo, Duke of Albany. Princess Alice enjoyed a long and eventful life that encompassed nearly a century. The princess married a distant cousin, HSH Prince Alexander of Teck, the younger brother of the future Queen Mary.

Princess Alice's mother, Princess Helen, was the sister of Queen Emma of the Netherlands and this was the only link between the two Royal Houses.

When King George V changed the family name to Windsor, all the royal relations with German sounding names also changed, so HSH Prince Alexander of Teck became The Earl of Athlone, his elder brother became The Marquess of Cambridge. Princess Alice was able to keep her royal title as she had been born a Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. From 1917, Princess Alice was known as HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.

The Earl of Athlone was appointed Governor General of South Africa and Canada and together they both performed their duties brilliantly, supporting The King and Queen.

 

The Earl died in 1957, however Princess Alice lived on until 1981, making her the longest lived born royal in the British Royal Family. Princess Alice lived at Clock House, Kensington Palace and would often be seen shopping in Kensington Church Street, unrecognised by the public. With the new generation of royals, Princess Alice had been forgotten and all the work and duties she had performed just distant memories to those who remembered her.

The princess came to the public again in 1977 in the tv program Royal Heritage when she was interviewed by Sir Huw Weldon. She became a hit and everyone knew Princess Alice once more.

 

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Carol Channing, 92 on 31st January

On the 31st January, Broadway Legend Carol Channing will be 92. This amazing lady is still performing and also doing charity work for the foundation she formed with her husband, Harry, before he died.

Miss Channing is best known for her performance in Jerry Herman's smash hit, Hello Dolly! Miss Channing first performed this on Broadway in 1964 and has played the part over 5000 times. Her unique vocal range is so distinctive and you instantly know who you are listening to.

Miss Channing played Dolly in London in 1980 and I was fortunate enough to see her, she was amazing and have her all to the performance, something she does with everything she enters into. Miss Channing has played the part on Broadway several times and on many national tours in the US. There are two cast albums, the original in 1964 and the thirtieth anniversary cast album in 1994, both uniquely starring Miss Channing.

Miss Channing missed out on the film version, but for those who love this show, she is the only Dolly Levi.

Miss Channing also has another song that she is well known for and that is Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend, this was from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Miss Channing used to sing this song and then throw "diamonds" into to the audience.

Miss Channing was one of Al Hirschfeld's favourite subjects and I am fortunate enough to have a number of signed Hirschfeld limited prints, such as the one below.

Happy Birthday Miss Channing, wishing you many, many more.

 

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