Aside from the senior members composed by the Queen, Prince Philip and their children, the British Royal Family is also made up of its junior members who are the Queen's cousins, who also perform official duties and public functions and support dozens of charities in support of the Monarchy.
The Queen's cousins, who are also prince and princesses of the United Kingdom, are Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, Prince Michael, their wives and Princess Alexandra of Kent.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
Prince Richard was born in 1944. He is the second son of Prince Henry, fourth child and third son of King George V and Queen Mary, and of the Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott. He actually planned to pursue a career as an architect but the sudden death of his elder brother, Prince William, in 1972, and his father's death, made him his father's sole heir. Thus, he decided to set aside his career and instead carry on the burden of supporting the monarchy. In 1972, he married Birgitte van Deurs (b. 1946) and together, they performed an extensive round of public duties, official and ceremonial roles, charities that required them to travel around the world.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent
Prince Edward was born in 1935, the eldest son of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece. Prince George was the fourth son of King George V while Princess Marina was a member of the Greek Royal Family. He inherited his father's title upon his untimely death in 1942. Eventually, the duke pursued an active and successful career in the military while devotedly supporting the Queen through the numerous public and official activities he's been up to. He married Katharine Worseley (b. 1933) in 1961, who recently took up a teaching position and is so far the only member of the Royal Family to convert to the Catholic faith.
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
Prince Michael is the younger brother of Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra. His father died a few weeks after his birth in 1942. He and his wife, Princess Michael (b. 1945), are the only members of the Royal Family, who do not take on official duties, although for quite some time, they have represented the Queen on overseas visits. They also support hundreds of charities. Prince Michael has been an active officer in the military until his retirement in 1970s. In 1978, he married Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, who took the title Princess Michael after their wedding. She is a renowned author, lecturer and interior decorator while the Prince is a fluent Russian interpreter and manages his own consultancy firm (the Queen had given his cousin the permission to enter into business).
Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy
Princess Alexandra is the only sister of Prince Edward and Prince Michael and is known as one of the hardest working members of the British Royal Family. During her youth, she was already a familiar face, being a constant companion of her mother, Princess Marina, who herself was an active royal. Later, she took on her own role and travelled extensively, supported charities, and carried out official duties in support of her cousin The Queen. She married the Hon. James Ogilvy (1926-2004) in 1963, second son of the Earl of Airlie.
Christian's fascination to the glittering world of monarchy has started when he was like 12. Since then, it has never wavered but continued to flicker through the years. Aside from his hectic writing routine, he takes time to research and write about the lives of the royals. In fact, he could tell you anything about these people even while closing his eyes! Visit his royal blog, http://royal-splendor.blogspot.com/ and learn what he discovered recently.
Christian has been writing for the web since 2005. Since then, he has written thousands of articles for his clients. Check out more of Christian's articles at Helium and Suite 101.
Feel free to contact him at optimistic.writer@yahoo.com.
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