DUCHESS OF GLOUCESTER : 1982 1982

DUCHESS OF GLOUCESTER 1977: A rose for Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, from the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association in honour of her 80th birthday (25/12/81) presented to her at Kensington Palace. Princess Alice is patron of BLESMA. The new rose is called 'BLESMA Soul' and has been gorwn for the Association's Golden Jubilee. * 19/08/2003: Princess Alice, the Queen's 101-year-old aunt, who becomes the oldest British Royal in history tomorrow, Wednesday August 20, 2003. The dowager Duchess of Gloucester overtakes the Queen Mother's record longevity with a lifespan of 37,128 days. Born on Christmas Day 1901, Alice was 17 months younger than the Queen Mother when the widow of George VI died on March 30, 2002. The elderly Princess has endured the death of her elder son, Prince William, who died in a plane crash in 1972, and the loss of her husband, Prince Henry, two years later. Her eventful life has spanned a century of social change when not even a close relative of the Queen was protected from the pressure of rising costs which forced her to move out of the family's country home. 20/08/03 : Princess Alice of Gloucester with a rose from the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association in honour of her 80th birthday. Princess Alice, the Queen's 101-year-old aunt, who becomes the oldest British Royal in history today, Wednesday August 20, 2003. The dowager Duchess of Gloucester overtakes the Queen Mother's record longevity with a lifespan of 37,128 days. Born on Christmas Day 1901, Alice was 17 months younger than the Queen Mother when the widow of George VI died on March 30, 2002. The elderly Princess has endured the death of her elder son, Prince William, who died in a plane crash in 1972, and the loss of her husband, Prince Henry, two years later.