Pages

Friday, January 11, 2019

Prince Philip moving closer to longest living QVD

Embed from Getty Images 

 Prince Philip will soon become the longest living descendant of Queen Victoria.

Embed from Getty Images

 The current titleholder is HRH Princess Alice Mary Victoria Augusta Pauline of Albany, who was born at Windsor Castle on February 25, 1883, the first of two children of HRH Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, eighth of nine children of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and Princess Helene of Waldeck und Pyrmont.

The Duke of Albany, a hemophiliac,  died at Cannes on March 28, 1884, following a fall.    The Duchess of Albany was expecting a second child at the time.  She gave birth posthumously to a son, Charles, Edward, on July 19, 1884.  The infant prince succeeded immediately to his father's peerages.


Embed from Getty Images 

Princess Alice married HSH Prince Alexander of Teck, her second cousin once removed,  at St. George's Chapel on February 10, 1904. Following her marriage, the princess was styled as HRH Prince Alexander of Teck.

The second cousin once removed relationship is due to their descent from George III's granddaughters,   Queen Victoria (daughter of the Duke of Kent) and Mary Adelaide (daughter of the Duke of Cambridge), who were first cousins.   Prince Leopold and Prince Alexander were second cousins, thus making Alice and Alexander second cousins once removed.

Alexander's older sister, Mary, was married to Alice's first cousin, King George V.  This meant that Alice and George were in-laws as well as first cousins.

In 1917,  Alexander, with other collateral members of the British royal family, who had German titles (and who were not affected by the George V's July 17, 1917 declaration establishing the House of Windsor and the renouncement of all German titles) .  He and his family relinquished the Teck princely title and the style of Serene Highness.  George V created Alexander as Earl of Athlone and Viscount Trematon.   (His older brother, Adolphus, relinquished his titles, too, and was created Marquess of Cambridge.)

As a Princess of Blood Royal, Alice resume the use of her own as part of her title, HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.

The family name for Adolphus and Alexander became Cambridge,  as their mother was born a Princess of Cambridge.

Alice and Alexander had three children:  HSH Princess May (Lady May Cambridge (January 26, 1906- May 29, 1994) who married Sir Henry Abel Smith),  HSH Prince Rupert (Viscount Trematon (August 24, 1907-April 15,1928)) and HSH Prince Maurice of Teck  (March 29, 1910- September 14, 1910.)



Princess Augusta

The Earl of Athlone died at Kensington Palace in 1957.   Princess Alice died at Kensington Palace on January 3, 1981 at the age of 97 (and 313 days.)  She was the oldest living blood member of the British Royal Family, having surpassed the record held by her husband's aunt, Princess Augusta of Cambridge, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1822-1916).  Augusta lived for 94 years, 4 months and 16 days.

Embed from Getty Images 

 Princess Alice broke the British  record on July 15, 1977.   Although Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother lived longer than Princess Alice, she remains the longest living blood member of the British royal family, as well as the longest living descendant of Queen Victoria.


Embed from Getty Images 

HRH Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (now HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) will tie the  the record on  April 18, 53 days before his own birthday.  The record will be broken on the following day, April 19.

35,741 for Alice and Philip will achieve 35,742 days on April 19, 2019.

Philip will celebrate his his 98th birthday on June 10.


This is a interesting achievement as May 24th will be the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria.
If you enjoyed this article











3 comments:

  1. Wouldn't Princess Alice have been Princess Alexander of Teck after her marriage until the time George V issued his new Letters Patent in 1917?

    ReplyDelete
  2. No. Her title changed when her husband was created an earl. She was not affected by Letters patent

    ReplyDelete