Between 6th and 7th October of 1903, Prince Philip’s parents, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenburg tied the knot. Today, 117 years on, we’re taking a look back at their somewhat complicated love story.
Princess Alice and Prince Andrew met while in London for King Edward VII’s coronation in 1902 and instantly hit it off. Shortly after on 6th October 1903, the couple tied the knot at Darmstadt in a civil wedding. The next day, they celebrated their marriage with two religious services: a Lutheran in the Evangelical Castle Church and a Greek Orthodox celebration in the Russian Chapel at Mathildenhohe.
According to Princess Alice’s niece, Lady Pamela Hicks, Prince Andrew played a joke on his bride on their wedding night. “He was a great tease, and they were lying in bed presumable after they were married. He said he had a very special present for her so like every other girl, [she thought it was] going to be a diamond brooch. He said, ‘no it’s a motorcycle.’ And she burst into tears but of course it was a joke,” she said on India Hicks podcast.
In 1922, Prince Andrew was arrested after being found guilty of disobeying a military order. Other members of the coup were shot, but the prince was spared. However, he and his family were banished for life, with the royals having to flee into exile. During this time, the princess suffered a nervous breakdown and was institutionalised in Switzerland. Their four daughters married and settled in Germany – away from their father – while their brother, Prince Philip was sent to school in the UK and was brought up by his mother’s relatives. At this point, their marriage was virtually over.
Prince Andrew died in the Hotel Metropole in Monaco of heart failure and arteriosclerosis as the horrific chapter of the Second World War was coming to a close. He was first buried in Nice’s Russian Orthodox Church in 1944 but in 1946 his remains were moved to the royal cemetery near Athens.
Princess Alice, despite her senility and mental issues, she seemingly remained lucid until her death at Buckingham Palace in December 1969. She was buried five days later in the Royal Crypt at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Her dying wish was to be buried in Jerusalem. This was realized in 1988 when her remains were transferred there. In 2010, she was posthumously named by the British Government as a Hero of the Holocaust as she helped sheltered persecuted Jews during the war.