Prince William of Gloucester

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Prince William of Gloucester; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince William of Gloucester was born on December 18, 1941, at Hadley Common in Hertfordshire, England.  His father was Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary, and his mother was Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, the third daughter of John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch.

On February 22, 1942, Prince William was christened William Henry Andrew Frederick at the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle. His godparents were:

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William, his mother, and his brother

William had one younger brother:

Prince William attended Wellesley House Preparatory School, Broadstairs in Kent, and Eton College. In 1960, he went to Magdalene College, Cambridge to read history, graduating with a BA degree in 1963, which was raised to an MA degree in 1968. Following Cambridge, he spent a year at Stanford University in California studying political science, American history, and business.  Upon his return to the United Kingdom, he worked for Lazard, an investment bank.  In 1965, he became the second member of the British Royal Family (after his uncle Prince George, Duke of Kent) to work in the civil service or the diplomatic service.  Prince William was employed by the Commonwealth Office and was posted to Lagos, Nigeria as the third secretary at the British High Commission. In 1968, he transferred to Tokyo to accept the post of second secretary in the British Embassy.

Since 1965, William had been suffering from fever and skin rashes. Some of these episodes lasted several months. In addition, he noticed that he often developed a blistering rash especially after being out in the sun. In 1968, Prince William was tentatively diagnosed with porphyria, and the diagnosis was later confirmed by two additional doctors. Porphyria is a disorder that results from a buildup of porphyrin in the human body. Porphyrin is necessary for the proper function of hemoglobin in the blood, but high levels of porphyrin can cause significant problems. Porphyria mainly affects the nervous system, skin, and other organs. Porphyria is usually inherited, but in some types of porphyria, environmental factors may trigger the development of symptoms. It is thought that the ill health of King George III, an ancestor of William’s father, was caused by porphyria. A member of the British Royal Family reliably diagnosed with porphyria gave credence to this theory which was first proposed by Dr. Ida MacAlpine and Dr. Richard Hunter in 1966.

 

Prince William was a licensed pilot, owned several airplanes, and enjoyed competing in air shows. On August 28, 1972, the prince planned on competing at the Goodyear International Air Trophy races at Halfpenny Green, near Wolverhampton, England. Express and Star photographer Ray Bradbury, an eyewitness, described what happened: “I saw Prince William’s Piper, number 66, and another Piper, number 69, take off. Number 69 appeared to get airborne before the prince. Then it seemed he was in some sort of trouble. He banked to port. It looked as though the Prince might have been troubled by the other aircraft making a turn at a higher altitude. His port wing seemed to hit the trees and he disappeared from view. Then there was an explosion.” See Unofficial Royalty: Tragedy in the British Royal Family at the End of August (scroll down).

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Prince William at the air show on the day of his death; Photo Credit- www.bobbington-village.co.uk

Prince William of Gloucester’s funeral was held on September 2, 1972, at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret had been at Balmoral and flew from Scotland for the funeral. The Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Anne arrived from Munich, Germany where they had been attending the Olympics. Prince William’s gold and crimson personal standard was draped over his coffin which was carried by eight Scots Guards. After the service, Prince William of Gloucester was buried at the Royal Burial Grounds, Frogmore in Windsor, England. Prince William was the elder son of his parents and would have succeeded his father as Duke of Gloucester.  His younger brother Prince Richard succeeded their father as Duke of Gloucester. The Prince of Wales was close to the older Prince William of Gloucester and named his first child in honor of him.

Prince William’s grave; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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