Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece

by Hugo Vickers and Alice Princess Siwundhla

Book Overview

Hugo Vickers's Alice is the remarkable story of Princess Andrew of Greece, whose life seemed intertwined with every event of historical importance in twentieth century Europe.

"In 1953, at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Alice was dressed from head to foot in a long gray dress and a gray cloak, and a nun's veil. Amidst all the jewels, and velvet and coronets, and the fine uniforms, she exuded an unworldly simplicity...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312302398
• ISBN13: 9780312302399
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Woman to be Remembered

Alice,Princess Andrew of Greece is the story of a fascinating, not well known royal. Born into the Battenburg Family of Germany,Queen Victoria witnessed the birth of her great-grandaughter.Alice,was discovered to be deaf,but her mother taught her to read lips. The deafness did not appear to handicap her.In her girlhood she was extremely intelligent,and considered one of the young beautiful princesses of her time. In 1903 she married Prince Andrea of Greece(hence becoming Princess Andrew.)The women in Europe,unlike England,took the name of their husband when they married. Alice was devoted to her godmother,Ella,Grand Duchess of Russia.She imitated her charitable works and was a nurse during the Balkan Wars(1913),that preceeded World War I. It was here she first manifested her mania.Not sleeping for three days and singlehandedly building Operating Theaters in the midst of the War. The Princess had four daughters and one son,the current Prince Phillip of England. In the 1920's she was unable to care for her chidren.Due to the death's of many close relatives,Tsarina Alix of Russia,Aunt Ella,it is believed her illness became worse and she lost touch with reality. The biography drags a little here,but I think it is because she was in treatment seven years. In her later years she believed she was an Orthodox Nun. Without,a country,the present Queen Elizabeth allowed her to live quietly in England. If you read this book,first consult the geneology lists in the back of the book.Apparently,the Queen and Prince Philip are fourth cousins,both descendants of Queen Victoria. Despite her illness,Alice is a Princess who gave much to others,and deserves to be remembered.History will not forget this woman,who helped during the Holocaust and saved lives.She along with Oskar Schlinder is remembered in Israel as one of the Righteous.

Praise for the author

I was hesitant to order this book as biographies tend to be dry but Hugo Vickers has written a most sensitive and honest account of HRH Alice's life. He had the cooperation of her son Prince Philip who graciously allowed family photos to be published. This is a very good book about a lady who overcame personal problems and, at the same time, always tried to improve the lives of those less fortunate. A remarkable lady.

Excellent work on an exceptional royal

Vickers outdoes himself in this moving biography on one of royal history's most captivating people. This book explores every faucet of Alice's interesting life, from the moment of her birth until the day she died. An extraordinary woman in her own right, this book does the late princess justice. An excellent read for lovers of history and royalty and highly recommended.

A Little Known but Admirable Princess

I would imagine that most people outside the ranks of royalty enthusiasts have never heard of Princess Alice of Battenberg, Princess Andrew of Greece. If anything, they know her as Prince Philip's mother. And that's a pity, because Hugo Vicker's new biography reveals that Alice Battenberg was a truly remarkable individual.Alice was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, which must have seemed her only interesting point at the time of her birth. Her father was morganatic (half-royal) and her mother a princess from a minor German state. Her first years were spent among her multitudinous family (Vickers provides footnotes and trees to help sort everyone out), in the background and unnoticed. Alice's marriage was hardly a glamorous match. Prince Andrew was a younger son of the King of Greece and while charming, not all that interesting. Alice lived quietly until the 1920s, when a revolution in Greece and her own personal troubles caused her a certain notoriety. Vickers does a good job of covering Alice's physical and emotional ailments and is most successful in describing her growing religious faith. In this Alice is similar to her two Russian Aunts, Tsarina Alexandra and Grand Duchess Elizabeth. During World War II Alice protected a Jewish family at grave risk to herself, so that she was later declared Righteous Among the Gentiles by Israel.After World War II Alice continued to live in the background, now overshadowed by her only son, Prince Philip, who became the consort of Queen Elizabeth II. She remained a loving and wise part of the Royal Family however, as memories of her from her grandchildren and other relations attest.Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece deserves a place in the library of anyone interested in royalty as well as anyone who cares to read about honorable and decent people.

An excellent biography of Prince Philip's Mother.

This really is a most enjoyable read about a fascinating woman. Princess Alice was the Mother of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of HM Queen Elizabeth II. If you want to understand the family Prince Philip grew up in I can think of no better book. Princess Alice was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and married Prince Andrew of Greece. Prince Philip is her only living child and her youngest. This book is a must for those interested in the Battenberg family of which Princess Alice was a member. Having read about Princess Alice's Mother, Princess Victoria of Hesse-Darmstadt (eldest sister of Tsarina Alexandra) who married Prince Louis of Battenberg (later Marquis and Marchioness of Milford-Haven) this book really is worthwhile but stands very well alone. There are loads of fantastic pictures. I highly recommend it.