Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester

Birgitte
Duchess of Gloucester (more)
The Duchess of Gloucester in her late sixties
Birgitte in 2015
BornBirgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen
(1946-06-20) 20 June 1946 (age 77)
Odense, Denmark
Spouse
Issue
HouseWindsor (by marriage)
FatherAsger Henriksen
MotherVivian van Deurs

Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, GCVO DStJ CD (born Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen; 20 June 1946) is a Danish-born member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a grandson of George V. They have three children.

Early life and education

Birgitte was born Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen, in Odense, Denmark, the younger daughter of Asger Preben Wissing Henriksen, a lawyer, and his wife, Vivian van Deurs. She was educated in Odense and at finishing schools in Lausanne and Cambridge. She took her mother's ancestral name van Deurs on 15 January 1966, after her parents' separation.[non-primary source needed] After completing a three-year course in Commercial and Economic Studies in Copenhagen, she moved back to the United Kingdom in 1971 to work as a secretary at the Royal Danish Embassy in London.

Marriage and family

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

Van Deurs Henriksen first met Prince Richard of Gloucester, the younger son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, in the late 1960s in Cambridge, where he attended university. In February 1972, their engagement was announced. They married on 8 July 1972 at St Andrew's Church, Barnwell, Northamptonshire. The bride's wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell. It was constructed of Swiss organdie, with a high collar, a simple skirt, long sleeves and a small train. Instead of wearing a tiara, she wore stephanotis flowers on her hair which secured the veil. Upon marriage, she assumed the style Princess Richard of Gloucester.

Six weeks after their wedding, Prince Richard's elder brother, Prince William of Gloucester, was killed in a flying accident. Prince Richard unexpectedly became heir apparent to the dukedom and upon his father's death in 1974, the couple became the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

The couple have three children: Alexander (born 1974), Davina (born 1977), and Rose (born 1980). They were born at St Mary's Hospital, London. The Duke and Duchess officially reside at Kensington Palace.

Activities

The Duchess in Brisbane, 1979

The Duchess of Gloucester has accompanied the Duke of Gloucester on his official visits overseas: her first visit was in 1973, when they represented the Queen at the 70th birthday celebrations of King Olav V of Norway. Other joint visits have included Australia, Belgium, China, Denmark, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tonga, Tunisia and the United States. Birgitte has also travelled overseas in support of her own patronages and military units, including a visit to Iraq in December 2008.

She and her husband represented the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the state funeral of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga on 19 September 2006. They also represented the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the coronation of King George Tupou V of Tonga on 1 August 2008 in Nukuʻalofa.

The Duke and Duchess riding in the Scottish State Coach with Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence following the coronation on 6 May 2023

Birgitte is sponsor of two Royal Navy ships: HMS Gloucester and HMS Sandown. She is also the royal patron of the Bermuda Regiment. She is patron of SeeAbility, a charity for people with learning disabilities and sight loss; The Lullaby Trust, a baby charity aiming to prevent unexpected deaths in infancy and promote infant health; and Music in Hospitals & Care. She regularly attends functions at schools of which she is president or patron: St Paul's Cathedral School; the Friends of St Paul's Cathedral; the Cathedral Music Trust; St John's School, Leatherhead; Bridewell Royal Hospital (King Edward's School, Witley); the Royal Alexandra and Albert School; the Children's Society; Parkinson's UK; Hope for Youth Northern Ireland; Scottish Opera; Lawn Tennis Association; the Royal School of Needlework; Turn2us; Missing People; and Princess Helena College. After the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, Birgitte became president of the Royal Academy of Music. She is also the patron of Prostate Cancer UK, and in March 2006, she opened the Prostate Centre.

Honours and arms

Foreign

Honorary military appointments

Australia
  • Australia Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Australian Army Educational Corps
Bermuda
Canada
New Zealand
  • New Zealand Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal New Zealand Army Educational Corps
United Kingdom

Non-national titles and honours

Arms

Coat of arms of the Duchess of Gloucester
Notes
The coat of arms of the Duchess of Gloucester, depicting her husband's armorial bearings surmounted by an escutcheon of pretence granted to her by Royal Warrant.
Adopted
18 July 1973
Coronet
Coronet of a grandchild of the sovereign.
Escutcheon
The Duke of Gloucester's arms and in the centre an escutcheon of pretence Azure a lapwing proper, on a chief Or two pairs of ostrich feathers in saltire Sable
Supporters
The Royal Supporters differenced with the like coronet and label.
Orders
The Royal Victorian Order circlet.
VICTORIA
Other elements
Insignia of GCVO appended.

Issue

Name Birth Marriage Issue
Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster 24 October 1974 22 June 2002 Claire Booth Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden
Lady Cosima Windsor
Lady Davina Windsor 19 November 1977 31 July 2004
Divorced 2018
Gary Lewis Senna Lewis
Tāne Lewis
Lady Rose Gilman 1 March 1980 19 July 2008 George Gilman Lyla Gilman
Rufus Gilman

This page was last updated at 2024-03-25 10:57 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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