Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone - Early Life

Early Life

Princess Alice was born 25 February 1883 at Windsor Castle. Her father was Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, the youngest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her mother was Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont. She had one brother, Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany (1884–1954) and later reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1900–1918). As the granddaughter of the Sovereign through the male line, she was a Princess of the United Kingdom and a Royal Highness. As the daughter of the Duke of Albany, she was, therefore, styled Her Royal Highness Princess Alice of Albany. She was baptised in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on 26 March 1883, and named Alice for her late paternal aunt. Her godparents were: Queen Victoria (her paternal grandmother); the German Empress (for whom Alice's paternal aunt Princess Beatrice stood proxy); William III, King of the Netherlands (for whom the Dutch Ambassador Count de Bylandt stood proxy); Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse (her namesake's widower, whose brother-in-law the Duke of Edinburgh represented him); the Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont (her maternal grandmother); the Prince of Wales (her paternal uncle); the German Crown Princess (her paternal aunt, whose sister-in-law the Princess of Wales represented her); Prince Wilhelm of Württemberg (her cousin, for whom his cousin the Duke of Teck stood proxy); the Hereditary Princess of Bentheim and Steinfurt (her maternal aunt, for whom her paternal aunt Princess Christian stood proxy); and the Duchess of Cambridge (an aunt of the Queen, whose daughter the Duchess of Teck represented her).

Read more about this topic:  Princess Alice, Countess Of Athlone

Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:

    “The conviction that the best way to prepare children for a harsh, rapidly changing world is to introduce formal instruction at an early age is wrong. There is simply no evidence to support it, and considerable evidence against it. Starting children early academically has not worked in the past and is not working now.”
    —David Elkind (20th century)

    “Thus far women have been the mere echoes of men. Our laws and constitutions, our creeds and codes, and the customs of social life are all of masculine origin. The true woman is as yet a dream of the future. A just government, a humane religion, a pure social life await her coming.”
    —Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)