OTD February 25th.1883 Princess Alice Countess of Athlone

Princess Alice was born on February 25th. 1883 in Windsor Castle.

Princess Alice

Source picture: Wikipedia

Family

Her parents were Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and  Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont. 

She was christened in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on 26 March 1883, and named Alice after her late paternal aunt Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse.

- Her godparents were:
* Queen Victoria (her paternal grandmother);
* the German Empress, for whom Alice's paternal aunt Princess Beatrice
stood proxy;
* the King of the Netherlands (her mother's brother-in-law), for whom the
Dutch Ambassador Count Charles van Bylandt stood proxy;
* the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (her paternal aunt's widower),
represented by his brother-in-law Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh;
* the Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont (her maternal grandmother);
* the Prince of Wales (her paternal uncle);
* the Princess Royal (the German Crown Princess) (her paternal aunt)
represented by her sister-in-law the Princess of Wales;
* Prince Wilhelm of Württemberg (her mother's brother-in-law), represented
by his cousin the Duke of Teck;
* the Hereditary Princess of Bentheim and Steinfurt (her maternal aunt),
for whom her paternal aunt Princess Christian stood proxy;
and the Duchess of Cambridge (her grandmother's aunt), represented
by her daughter the Duchess of Teck.

Love and Marriage

In 1904, she married Prince Alexander of Teck (brother of Princess Mary of Teck). They would have 3 children. 

Prince Alexander of Teck

Source picture: Wikipedia

In 1917, the British Royal Family abandoned all Germanic Titles. Prince Alexander took the surname of his mother: Cambridge. Later  he became the Earl of Athlone.

Princess Alice was the godmother of Princess Beatrix (former Queen of The Netherlands).

Duty

The Earl was appointed Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, and served from 1924- 31.Princess Alice accompanied him and was the Vicereine during that period. Lord Athlone and Princess Alice had a coastal beach house constructed at Muizenberg, which still stands today and is one of South Africa's national monuments.

The princess and her husband visited Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in the winter of 1938. She was the first member of the British royal family to visit the country and the only one to meet King Abdulaziz

On the sudden death of the popular Lord Tweedsmuir in 1940, Canada found itself without a Governor General in time of war. Despite the longstanding intention of Canadian governments to appoint Canadian nationals as governors general—Australia had already appointed an Australian national, Sir Isaac Isaacs, as its governor general in 1931—the royal family had garnered vast public support during
the royal tour of 1939. 

As Queen Mary's brother and a former governor general of another Dominion, Lord Athlone seemed a satisfactory candidate, and the Canadian prime minister (W. L. Mackenzie King) advised the King
to appoint him.

Princess Alice accompanied her husband to Canada where he served as Governor General from 1940 to 1946, residing primarily at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Their three grandchildren, Anne, Richard,
and Elizabeth, lived with them in Canada for the duration of the war.

World War II

Upon taking up his post, The Earl immediately made himself active in the support of the war effort, travelling across the country and focusing much of his attention on the troops, either those training at military facilities or those injured and in hospital. Viewing his position as governor general as a link between Canadians and their monarch, Athlone also communicated in speeches that the King stood with
them in their fight against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime.

As vicereine of Canada, Princess Alice also supported the war effort by serving as Honorary Commandant of the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service, Honorary Air Commandant of the Royal
Canadian Air Force Women's Division and president of the nursing division of the St John Ambulance Brigade.

In 1944, the Princess Alice Barracks Cabin at Britannia Bay provided a summer retreat for Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division personnel based in Ottawa. The cabin was located near the Britannia Boating Club's facilities for tennis, dancing and boating. Rented from the King's Daughter's Guild of Ottawa, the cabin featured 60 beds, a separate cookhouse and dining pavilion. The cabin had
served previously as a Fresh Air Cottage for mothers and undernourished children.

The war was brought close to home for the Athlones also because many of those belonging to displaced European royal families sought refuge in Canada, and resided at or near the royal and viceroyal residence, Rideau Hall. 

Among the royal guests were:
Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Märtha of Norway;
Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix of Luxembourg;
King Peter of Yugoslavia;
King George of Greece;
Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma (Austria)
and her daughters;
as well as Queen Wilhelmina and her daughter, Princess Juliana.

Further, in December 1941, British prime minister Winston Churchill arrived at Rideau Hall, where he presided over British Cabinet meetings via telephone from his bed.

During their time in Canada, the Athlones also supported various charitable and social events, and mounted a number of tobogganing parties and skating lessons on the grounds of Rideau Hall, as well
as skiing in Gatineau Park. Before the couple departed from Canada at the end of Athlone's time as the King's representative, he left as a legacy the Athlone-Vanier Engineering Fellowship, awarded
by the Engineering Institute of Canada.

Coronations

Princess Alice attended 4 British coronations:

- Edward VII;

- George V;
- George VI;

- and Queen Elizabeth II.

She also attended the investiture of Queen Juliana of The Netherlands

Death

Princess Alice died in 1981. She was the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria.