Princess Alice of Greece, a royal princess who wears the "plain garb of a humble nun," is mourning the death of King George VI, reports the Chicago Daily Tribune.
The princess is the mother of the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of the new Queen Elizabeth II. Princess Alice, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, is staying at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. She arrived on an American Airlines flight "on a tour to raise funds for the Sisterhood of Martha and Mary," a religious order of Greek Orthodox nuns.
"The death of the king has greatly changed my plans for my visit here. I shall cancel most of the arrangements I have made. This is a period of mourning for us of the royal family."
Princess Alice's nun's habit was "suitable for mourning." She wore a "simple gray wool suit, a gray wool coif and a veil covering her hair, and gray scarf. Her finely drawn features were devoid of makeup." Princess Alice spoke in English, "untouched by an accent."
"The king's death was a great shock to me. I did not know about it for eight hours. I was on my way here when I learned of it and my mind has been occupied with little else. I will not make any public appearances now and will meet with persons interested in helping with my order only in private. It is too late for me to attend the funeral, but I shall cut my visit and go to London.
Princess Alice, 66, said that she had not heard from her son, Prince Philip. She believed he would remain as Duke of Edinburgh, and not be created Prince Consort.
"I do not think that anyone would take that away from the great prince consort, Queen Victoria's husband. However, I should not speculate, particularly before the funeral. It is a royal tradition that families of sovereigns do not comment on other families. It is not like having a President about whom you can express your opinions freely."
The princess last saw George VI at Sandringham on January 15th. She said he "looked far better than before his operation."
When she was asked if Elizabeth "would make a good queen," Princess Alice "smiled, shrugged her shoulders slightly, and refused to comment."
2 comments:
I can't remember the source of this, but I got a chuckle from this funny phrase uttered by Alice's mother (I think it was mother, and I'm paraphrasing)
"Really, a nun who smokes and plays canasta!"
hahaha. Maybe I saw it while leafing the Vickers' Princess Alice bio at a bookstore, which sounds good. Worth a read?
Hugo's book is fabulous. Alice was not actually a nun. She only dressed like one.
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