Alices parents were desperate for an answerbut they wouldnt like the one theyd get. Elizabeth inspired Alice to live a more religious life. Princess Alice stayed locked up in the sanatorium for two years, despite her many pleas for freedom. She was Alices first cousin), and Alices eventual marriage to Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark brought her directly into conflict with the decline of royalty following World War I. Her daughters all married German princes, while her son, Prince Philip, went to Britain to stay with Alices brothers. So, when the general asked what he could do for her, she looked him in the eye and barked, You can take your troops out of my country. The entire Greek royal family was forced into exile in 1917, including Princess Alice, Prince Andrew, their four daughters, and their young son Prince Philip. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Apparently, sending her to an insane asylum just wasnt the kind of thing Princess Alice would get over. Alices mother soon realized something wasdifferent about her. So, why worry about that? The British Royal Family orbits around Princess Alice of Battenberg. [15], The global war effectively ended much of the political power of Europe's dynasties. After marrying Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark in 1903, she adopted the style of her husband, becoming Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark. She met her husband, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark in 1902 at the coronation of King Edward VII, with the two marrying a year later. Here was Princess Alice, great-granddaughter to Queen Victoria herself, living in utter squalor. One of these royals was Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. In October 1937, Cecilie's father-in-law Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse died. Before Alice passed away in 1969, she had inked a heartfelt note for Philip, her youngest child. But Princess Alice had served her city through years of warfareshe wasnt going to stop now. Shes also a word nerd with a moderate chocolate obsession. Princess Alice may have been an outlier amongst the British royal family, but just about every person depicted on the show lived an even more astounding life in the reality of history. It was an extremely dark time, and not just for Princess Alice. After their wedding, Prince Andrew continued his career in the military and Princess Andrew became involved in charity work. Battenberg family, English Mountbatten, a family that rose to international prominence in the 19th and 20th centuries, the name being a revival of a medieval title. Princess Alice of Battenberg was even more interesting than 'The Crown' gives her credit for. She was committed to a psychiatric clinic when Philip was just eight. Birth. The sparks flew in their first meeting and they kept in close contact. During World War II, Princess Alice lived in the Athens palace of her brother in law, Prince George of Greece, and worked with the Swedish and Swiss Red Cross. "I suspect that it never occurred to her that her action was in any way special," he said. That winter, her father fell seriously ill with typhoid fever. Alices mother took a personal interest in her early education, and she was in for a pleasant surprise. In 1988, her remains were transferred from a vault in her birthplace, Windsor Castle, to the Church of Mary Magdalene at the Russian Orthodox convent of the same name on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The little Princess Alix is sat directly beneath her mother's bust and may be . Philip was the fifth child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Alice, now 18 years old, devoted her entire time to nursing her father in order to allow the Queen to attend to the business of the monarchy. However, people couldnt help but notice something wasdifferent about Princess Alice. After several years, she left the . 5 December 1969. Princess Alices final wish was to be interred in Jerusalem, at the Church of Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives. And now that WWII was actually behind her, she could finally start living her life again. Princess Alice worked tirelessly to help the people of Athens. Mashable is a registered trademark of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without express written permission. Of all the things a regular watcher of The Crown might expect to see in Buckingham Palace, a chain-smoking Greek Orthodox nun with a history of institutionalization and a love of card games might be low on the list. Princess Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie of Battenberg. This was no Bedlamsome of the worlds richest mental patients resided at the sanatoriumbut to Alice, it was nothing more than a prison. And yet, the life story of Prince Philip's mother almost defies belief. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. However, because this poor woman must have been cursed, Alices problems were far from over. For more ways to live your best life plus all things Oprah, sign up for our newsletter! . In fact, you can still see these jewels today: Theyre usually on Queen Elizabeths finger. Princess Alice of Battenberg. On 2 February 1931 at Darmstadt Cecilie married George Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. Then WWII broke out, and five more years passed with the couple not seeing one another. It felt like Alice could finally have some peacebut it couldnt last for long. She was the wife of Prince Andrew of Greece, and mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. But along with Helena Bonham Carter's tortured Princess Margaret, the firecracker that is Princess Anne (Erin Doherty), and the tortured future king that is Prince Charles (Josh O'Connor), one of season 3's most intriguing characters is only shown briefly. Princess Alice of Battenberg: a final reunion. Princess Alice helped save a Jewish family from the Holocaust by sheltering them in her Athens palace during the Nazi occupation of Greece. Princess Alice wanted to be left alone, but WWII made her simple life impossible. Charitable to a fault, she had long since given everything away. Her reply was characteristically witty: They tell me that you dont hear the shot that kills you, and in any case I am deaf. We want our readers to trust us. However, nearly 20 years after Alice's death, she was finally buried alongside her aunt on August 4, 1988 with a commemoration service held by the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem. She and her sister-in-law, Princess Nicholas of Greece, lived in Athens for the duration of the war, while most of the Greek royal family remained in exile in South Africa. All Rights Reserved. She left no possessions whatsoever behind, as she had given everything she had ever owned to the needy. After all, two of her daughters were married to Germans. Princess Alice of Battenberg was even more interesting than 'The Crown' gives her credit for. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine was a carrier. She converted to the Greek Orthodox Church and began plans for a religious order of nursesthe same plan her martyred cousin Elizabeth Feodorovna had outlined all those years ago to her. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. But for a woman with such blue blood, Princess Alices life was no fairy tale. [6] Her early years were spent in the company of her royal relatives, and she was a bridesmaid at the wedding of the Duke of York (later King George V) and Mary of Teck in 1893. Philip and his mother, Princess Alice, via YouTube Warner Bros. She even tried to escape several times, only for guards to bring her right back. She gave away most of her possessions and started preparing for an ascetic, spiritual existence. Little did she know, it was only beginning. By the turn of the 20th century, every royal family in Europe was one big, tangled mess. Spoiler alert: It didnt work. British forces begged Princess Alice to remain in shelter, but they didnt know who they were dealing with. Her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, was present for her birth. Finally, after the liberation of Athens, it seemed like the time might finally be right for them to get back together. Princess Alice was an unconventional royal who prioritized helping others over wealth and privilege. In one of the most extravagant, gilded ceremonies in the world, Alice stood in a simple grey dress and wimple, like a nuns habit. Princess Alice and her. After Princess Alice's death, Alfred Cohen . Calling all Disney adults and 'Titanic' fanatics. Alices family sent her to the finest psychiatrists in Europe, and they all offered the same diagnosis: Princess Alice was a paranoid schizophrenic. She was a person with a deep religious faith, and she would have considered it to be a perfectly natural human reaction to fellow beings in distress. A statement posted on the royal family's website Friday morning. Date of death. Princess Andrew and her children were forced to shelter in the palace cellars during the French bombardment of Athens on 1 December 1916. [47][48], Despite suggestions of senility in later life, Princess Andrew remained lucid but physically frail. Catherine of Aragon was King Henry VIIIs first wife and longest-lasting Queen of England. Sigmund Freud recommended that Princess Alices regular doctors at the sanatorium should X-ray her ovaries. [26] It was a famous and well-respected institution with several celebrity patients, including Vaslav Nijinsky, the ballet dancer and choreographer, who was there at the same time as Princess Andrew. 'Cause you're worth it, and you deserve it. Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, was born profoundly deaf at Windsor Castle in the presence of her great grandmother Queen Victoria. The naval career of her father, Prince Louis of Battenberg, had collapsed at the beginning of the war in the face of anti-German sentiment in Britain. The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox. [28], Princess Andrew remained at Kreuzlingen for two years, but after a brief stay at a clinic in Merano in northern Italy, was released and began an itinerant, incognito existence in Central Europe. The entire time that Princess Alice remained locked up in the sanatorium, she insisted that she was sane and begged to be let free. [1] She was the eldest child of Prince Louis of Battenberg and his wife, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. In April 1947, Alice returned to Britain for the wedding of Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth - her engagement ring incorporated jewels from Alice's personal collection. .css-ssumvd{display:block;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.0625rem;font-weight:bold;line-height:1.25;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-ssumvd:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-ssumvd{letter-spacing:0rem;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}Gayle King Interviews Angela Bassett, Gayle Says March Is a Good Month for TV Lovers, Sheryl Lee Ralphs Definition of True Love, What We Know About The Little Mermaid Remake, Oprah Congratulates Kimmel on 20 Years of His Show, Nikole Hannah-Jones on "The 1619 Project", Ta-Nehisi Coates on the Wakanda Forever Podcast, Oprah Is Acting in Tyler Perrys Next Netflix Film. Around this point in her life, Princess Alice started to claim that she was receiving divine messages from spiritual forces. [37] During this period, Princess Andrew hid Jewish widow Rachel Cohen and two of her five children, who sought to evade the Gestapo and deportation to the death camps. The couple had five children: four daughters and a son - the future Duke of Edinburgh and consort to Queen Elizabeth II of England.