The longest-lived princess of the blood royal lived through four British monarchs
In short: Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, was a constant figure in a changing century. From the halls of Windsor Castle to the wartime corridors of Rideau Hall, she witnessed the rise and fall of empires and the shifting roles of the British monarchy across nearly a century.
Born on 25 February 1883 at Windsor Castle, Alice Mary Victoria Augusta Pauline was the daughter of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, and Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont. As the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria, she occupied a unique position in the royal lineage, serving as a bridge between the Victorian era and the late 20th century.
Her life was marked by significant historical transitions. She served as Viceregal Consort in both South Africa and Canada. During her time in Canada from 1940 to 1946, she resided primarily at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, which became a hub for displaced European royalty and high-level wartime diplomacy, including the Quebec Conferences attended by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In addition to her formal duties, Alice actively aided social and military causes throughout the Second World War, holding the position of Honorary Air Commandant for the Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division. She also held the position of Chancellor at the University of the West Indies starting in 1950 and chaired the Council of Royal Holloway College from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Alice's personal life was not without hardship. She was a carrier of the haemophilia gene inherited from her father, who died of the disease when she was only one year old. She lived to the age of 97 years and 313 days, passing away in her sleep on 3 January 1981.
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