He was the princely spare who married a beautiful foreigner without any aristocratic credentials. Eclipsed by his dashing elder brother, Prince William, he chose to pursue a career outside the constraints of royal life. But when tragedy struck, duty beckoned.
and unlike a rather more notorious second sibling of modern times, Prince Richard, later Duke of Gloucester, turned to embrace his destiny without complaint. Even today, as he turns 80, Queen Elizabeth’s cousin is one of the monarchy’s most hardworking members, undertaking close to 200 public engagements annually. Moreover, neither he, nor his elegant danish wife, Birgitte – a lawyer’s daughter who worked as a ‘nine-to-five secretary’ before their marriage – has ever uttered a word in public about their lives at the heart of the Royal Family.
And yet what a story they could tell – for Prince Richard was arguably the first royal trailblazer of the modern age. A man who, say friends, has lived his life with total independence, “absolute authenticity” – and unfettered loyalty to the Crown. Though he was standing with the King on the Buckingham Palace balcony after his Coronation, he is someone who can walk down the street unrecognised and will hop on the train to royal engagements without fanfare.
At Kensington Palace, he can often be seen wandering around after his dog, poo bag in hand. What makes this all the more remarkable is that Prince Richard Alexander Walter George was born fifth in line to the.