Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece

Princess Alice, mother of the duke of Edinburgh of royal blood herself was a fascinating woman. A child of the Victorian age, married into the Greek royal family. She witnessed war first hand as a frontline nurse tending to the wounded, exile when her husband prince Andrew was sentenced to death, The German occupation in WW2 where she alone among the royals remained in Greece feeding the poor and sheltering Jews. She continued to tend to the poor throughout her life. She was deeply religious founded a monastic order in a poor area of athens tending to orphans and the destitute. Mother Theresa like. After the 1967 military coup in Greece which ended the monarchy by plebiscite in 1974, her son convinced her to move to Buckingham palace where she died, penniless. She had a history of mental illness and was treated rather barbarically having had her ovaries “burned” by x-rays as her doctors (including Freud) sought to cure her. . What disappointed me about this book was the focus on the social life of European royalty and her relations and on her mental illness. The details are excruciating. Not enough on her spirituality, her devotion to the poor, to her adopted country, her resilience, her humility and her deep humanity. She was a remarkable woman and in many ways a modern woman. A fascinating life that has so far not been well documented.

A fascinating story, very well told. I knew nothing about Princess Alice before reading this book, didn't know that she even existed. Not that I thought Prince Philip had arrived in the world via spontaneous combustion,I just had never given any thought to his family before. The traumatic story explains a lot about the reported character of the Duke of Edinburgh. Princess Alice had a tragic life in many respects, a very determined and intelligent lady. Stone deaf from birth she taught herself to lip read in several languages. For someone born a Princess she had a very hard life, her physical survival in WW2 was by no means guaranteed. At Yad Vashem if they know you are from the UK her tree is pointed out in the Avenue of the Righteous.

Hugo Vickers did a fantastic job of writing this book.it is very complicated to read as there is so much going on and he had to work from so many different sources, letters and medical reports as most of Alices papers were destroyed.her life spanned so much of early 20th century history.granddaughter of Queen Victoria so connected to most of the European families.married into the Greek royal family.born deaf could lip read in several languages.had a major breakdown in mid life was sectioned for many years.she said she was the true wife of Christ.she set up hospitals in the 1st war and worked tirelessly with the wounded soldiers.stayed in Greece to help the poor and shelter Jews in the 2nd, while Greece was under German occupation.was in a difficult situation as her daughters were married to SS menand her son was in the Royal navy. because of her illness missed most of Philips growing up.her 3rd daughter and family were killed in a plane crash.her relations the Romanov's were all killed.she was definitely Bi Polar, but had a fantastic mind she suggested to her brother Dickie Mountbatton that there should be a united Europe (like we have now) well before the 2 war. no one would listen to her.she finally set up her own religious sect and continued to do good.a lady to be admired as well as pitied.

Very Interesting book, but the old yellow condition of book put me off.Put me off buying used books

A superbly researched biography of a royal member too often kept in the shadows, the queen's mother-in-law!