Royals at the Reinterment

One of the questions I have been asked as I talk to people here about my trip is, What royalty will be at the event, besides King Richard III, that is? Will the Queen be there?

In my first letter that included my invitation, I was told that the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester would be there. For those who do not know much about the Royal Family, here is some information about the Duke and Duchess:

HRH The Duke of Gloucester in 2008
(Wikipedia.org)

HRH Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester was born 26 August 1944. He is the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary and first cousin to Queen Elizabeth II. He inherited the title of Duke of Gloucester from his father, Prince Henry, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was interested in becoming an architect and although he now often represents the Queen on royal duties, he is still interested in architecture and conservation. He also happens to be the patron of the Richard III Society.

The Duchess of Gloucester in 2013
(Wikipedia.org)

On 8 July 1972, Prince Richard married Birgitte van Deurs, Duchess of Gloucester. They have three children: Alexander Windsor, the Earl of Ulster, Lady Davina Lewis, and Lady Rose Gilman.



The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester live in Kensington Palace, in London.

One very important reason for the Duke of Gloucester to attend the reinterment of King Richard III is that Richard was also a Duke of Gloucester. The title was first created in 1385 by Richard II for Thomas of Woodstock, thirteenth son of Edward III.

The title became extinct at Thomas' death, only to be revived for Humphrey of Lancaster, fourth son of King Henry IV in 1414.

It again became extinct, but was revived a third time for Richard Plantagenet, our Richard, in 1461 by Edward IV, Richard's brother. The Dukedom merged with the Crown when Richard III became king, and as his only son died very young, the title again died out for a time.

Recently an important announcement was made that another member of the Royal Family, Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex, is to be at the reinterment. Here is an article about the announcement.

HRH The Countess of Wessex
(Carfax 2, via Wikimedia Commons)

I like the Countess of Wessex now that I have read more about her. I confess, though, there was a time when I was quite jealous of her. 

The last time I was in England at the young age of 20 years old, the last Royal Bachelor was Prince Edward, and all of the girls were hopeful of meeting him. I was not immune to these foolish thoughts. Why not? I was at Cambridge, Prince Edward was at Cambridge, and he was my age. Very silly, I know. I never saw him, not even once. I didn't look very hard, though.

Years later, when I had moved on to other more realistic concerns, I heard that he was marrying Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones. Oh well. He did marry a Helen, just not this Helen.

The news I see now of the Countess is that she is very active in royal duties. She is a patroness of the Girl Guides. She is a few months older than I am, has two very cute children, and is one of the Queen's favourites. Her father was a tyre salesman and her mother was a secretary. I enjoyed this article in the Sunday Express about her. I think she sounds like a very likable person, at least to a dedicated Anglophile, such as myself.

Needless to say, because of these high profile guests, security at the reinterment will be high. I had to answer some questions about myself so that I could be on the list of guests. I must be on very best behaviour.

I will be on the lookout, the same as everyone, for these famous faces. I'll let you know if I get to see them!

For more information about the British Royal Family, you might like to visit the Official Website of The British Monarchy. There, you can find out more about the Queen, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Countess of Wessex. The website also contains a very informative History of the Monarchy from 400 AD to the present.