14 MAR 2023
A tribute & memorial website to honour - Lord Louis MOUNTBATTEN, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
PRINCESS ANDREW OF GREECE & DENMARK
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Mother-Superior Alice-Elizabeth (Princess Alice - Princess Andrew of Greece & Denmark)
In January 1949, the Alice founded a nursing Order of Greek Orthodox nuns - the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary, modelled after the convent founded in 1909 in Russia by her aunt - Grand Duchess Elizabeth 'Ella' Feodorovna of Russia, formerly Princess Elisabeth of Hesse & By the Rhine (1864-1918) and who later became a Holy Martyr. Alice raised funds in America and sold the last of her jewels for the Order and bought premises in Athens and became known as Mother Superior Alice-Elizabeth, deciding to wear a grey nun’s habit. However, the Order eventually was wound up due to the lack of suitable applicants but the orphanage she founded is still in use today as a community centre. At the Coronation of her daughter-in-law - Queen Elizabeth II (1926(1952-2022) on 2nd June 1953, Alice attended in her habit (in sheer contrast to the tiaras, medals, uniforms and ermine) and led members of the Mountbatten family in the processional within the Abbey.
On 21st April 1967, just weeks before the scheduled elections in Greece, a group of right-wing Army officers seized power in a coup d'état - called 'The Colonel’s Coup', and Alice (along with the rest of the Greek Royal Family) were forced to flee Greece. Her great-nephew - King Constantine II, the King of the Hellenes (b.1940) left Greece soon after and went into exile after the failure of a counter-coup. By this time Alice’s health was of concern and she was invited by Prince Philip and The Queen to reside permanently at Buckingham Palace, London - where she stayed until her death on 5th December 1969. Her only possessions were three dressing-gowns.
Prior to her death, Alice made it clear that she wished to be buried at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, near the Garden of Gethsemene, on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Israel. This Russian Orthodox church was built by Tsar Alexander III of Russia (1845-1894) in honour of his mother and was the last resting place of her aunt - Grand Duchess Elizabeth 'Ella' Feodorovna of Russia, formerly Princess Elisabeth of Hesse & By the Rhine (1864-1918) who later became a Holy Martyr. Initially her remains were kept in the Royal Crypt under St George’s Chapel, at Windsor Castle, but on 3rd August 1988, Alice’s remains were finally transferred to the crypt under the Church of St Mary Magdalene in accordance with her final wishes.
BELOW: The final resting place of
Princess Alice - Mother-Superior Alice-Elizabeth
(Princess Andrew of Greece & Denmark)
at The Church of St Magdalene,
on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel
ABOVE: Princess Alice -
Mother-Superior Alice-Elizabeth
(Princess Andrew of Greece & Denmark)
leading members of her family
in Westminster Abbey
at the Coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II in 1953
RIGHT: Princess Alice -
Mother-Superior Alice-Elizabeth
(Princess Andrew of Greece & Denmark)
.jpg)
The Church of St Magdalene, on the Mount of Olives,
Jerusalem, Israel
.jpg)
The 'Righteous Among The Nations'
medallion
On 31st October 1994, a ceremony was held at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Memorial) on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, Israel, to be honoured as 'Righteous Among The Nations' - an honour given by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis. The ceremony was attended by her son - Prince Philip, 1st Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021) and her only living daughter - Princess George William of Hanover, formerly Princess Sophie of Greece & Denmark (1914-2001).
Prince Philip, 1st Duke of Edinburgh
and his sister - Princess George William of Hanover
(Princess Sophie) in October 1994,
laying a wreath at Yad Vashem, in honour
of their mother - Princess Andrew
of Greece & Denmark (Princess Alice)
'The British Hero of the Holocaust' medallion
Prince Philip, 1st Duke of Edinburgh
and his sister - Princess George William
of Hanover (Princess Sophie),
in October 1994, planting a tree
at Yad Vashem, in honour of their mother
- Princess Andrew of Greece
& Denmark (Princess Alice)
In 2008, the Holocaust Educational Trust initiated a campaign to posthumously honour British citizens who had helped to rescue members of the Jewish community during the Holocaust. In April 2009, the then Prime Minister - The Rt Hon. Gordon Brown (b.1951) announced that the Government would create a new national award, outside of the Honours System - which precludes posthumous honours. In March 2010 the first list of 27 recipients was announced - Alice was one of the first to be honoured. The award is a solid silver medallion, and bears the inscription "in the service of humanity" on the front, and on the reverse, a recognition of the recipient's "selfless actions [which] preserved life in the face of persecution" and recognised as a 'British Hero of the Holocaust'.
ABOVE: Prince William,
now The Prince of Wales
visited the grave of his
great-grandmother -
Princess Andrew of Greece & Denmark
(Princess Alice) whilst on
an official visit
to Israel in June 2018
RIGHT: A short film by
Associated Press showing
the visit by King Charles III
in January 2020
to the grave of his grandmother -
Princess Andrew of Greece & Denmark
(Princess Alice)
Prince William, now The Prince of Wales (b.1982) visited the grave of his great-grandmother in June 2018. He was the first member of the British Royal Family to undertake an official visit to the State of Israel. King Charles III (1948(2022- ) did visit the grave of his grandmother privately in October 2016, whilst he was in Jerusalem attending the State funeral of the former President - Shimon Peres (1923-2016), but was able to visit Alice's grave once again in January 2020 whilst on an official visit to Israel.
