OTD in 1901, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester was born in Montagu House, London ✨️
Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott was born on Christmas Day 1901 as the third daughter and fifth child of John Montagu Douglas Scott, Earl of Dalkeith and his wife, the former Lady Margaret Alice "Molly" Bridgeman, daughter of the 4th Earl of Bradford.
Lady Alice married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, on 6 February 1935 in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace. A much more elaborate wedding was originally planned at Westminster Abbey but after the bride-to-be's father died of cancer on 19 October 1935, and due to the King's failing health, it was decided that the wedding should be reduced to a more private one. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester later had two children, Prince William and Prince Richard of Gloucester.
The new Duchess of Gloucester had many activities, one of which was the launch of HMS Gloucester on 19 October 1937. From 1945 to 1947, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester lived in Canberra, where the Duke served as Governor General of Australia.
In 1972, she lost her eldest son, Prince William, who died at the age of 30 in a plane crash while participating in an amateur air show competition. Her husband, the Duke of Gloucester, died on 10 June 1974 at the age of 74.
On 21 August 2003, Princess Alice surpassed the Queen Mother's record as the oldest person in the history of the British royal family by reaching the age of 101 years 238 days. On 20 September 2003, at the age of 101 years and 269 days, she was certified by Guinness World Records as the longest-lived royal of all time, surpassing Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.
Princess Alice died on 29 October 2004 in her sleep at Kensington Palace, aged 102 years and 309 days. She was buried next to her husband, Prince Henry, and eldest son, Prince William, at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore.
