The Story of Princess Alice: Queen Elizabeth II’s Mother-in-Law Who Saved a Jewish Family During World War II

Princess Alice of Battenberg was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and therefore mother-in-law of the current Queen of England. Some people always remember her for her nun outfit. However, her life was much more heroic than people realize. With congenital deafness, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and lived alone in the palace of Athens after the entire royal family fled. In addition, she was known for saving a Jewish family from the Nazis. Thanks to her bravery, she was posthumously recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, an award by the State of Israel to non-Jews who risked their lives to save people from the Nazi regime.

O awesome.club he was very impressed with the life of this princess who, despite her health problems and the difficult historical moment in which she lived, showed a lot of strength and courage.

Princess Alice along with her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse-Darmstadt, Alice was born at Windsor Castle in 1885, in the presence of her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria of England, who was one of her 3 godmothers, along with the Grand Duchess of Russia, Isabel Feodorovna. The little girl spent her youth in London and Malta, and lived a life of luxury, as was common among princesses in the 19th century.

Her Highness Princess Alice of Battenberg in 1906.

Alice’s mother noticed that at age 8 she had speech problems and could not pronounce words clearly. It was then that she was diagnosed with congenital deafness. However, this was not an impediment for her. Her mother encouraged her to read people’s lips in English and German. A few years later, before her wedding, she wanted to learn Greek.

Alice and Prince Andrew were married on October 6, 1903 in Darmstadt, Germany.

When she was 17 years old, the young woman fell in love with Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, whom she met during the coronation of her great-uncle, King Edward VII. He was the fourth child of King George I of Greece and Queen Olga. They were married a year later, and the wedding was one of the greatest events in the world, attended by Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark. This happened before the First World War.

Alice with her eldest daughters, Princesses Margaret and Theodora. Around 1910 or so.

The couple had 5 children, 4 girls and a boy, Philip, who would go on to marry the heir to the throne of the United Kingdom, then Princess Elizabeth, now known as Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1912, Greece was facing the Balkan war. During this phase, Alice worked as a nurse helping doctors and coordinating different hospitals for Greek soldiers. For her tireless work she was awarded the Royal Red Cross by King George Vl in 1913.

Prince Andrew and Princess of Greece and Denmark.

A year later World War I began. Despite the policy of neutrality adopted by her brother-in-law, King Constantine I of Greece, Alice and her children had to take refuge in basements during the bombings in Athens.

Eventually, the complicated political crisis in Greece forced Constantine to abdicate the Greek throne and the family had to flee the country. Alice and the children managed to escape thanks to the help of England, who sent a boat to the country that took them to Paris. During the trip, the princess had to put her son in a fruit box because she didn’t have the money to buy a crib.

They lived as refugees for a few years in different countries and survived thanks to the charity of different relatives of the European nobility, among them their brother, Lord Louis Mountbatten. Alice showed her more generous side by sharing what little she received with other Greek refugees who were in the same condition as her.

Alice and her husband Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark.

During her years as a nomad, Alice suffered from major depression and became very religious. She even said that she received divine messages and that she had healing powers. After being diagnosed with schizophrenia, the family committed her to a sanatorium in Switzerland.

While she was hospitalized, her 4 daughters were married to German princes, but Alice did not attend any of the weddings. Her son went to live in England under the guardianship of his uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten. After 2 years living in the sanatorium, the princess was released, but cut ties with her entire family and only kept in touch with her mother.

Alice’s daughter, Cecilia of Greece and Denmark.

It was not until 1937 that she found her family again, but unfortunately for a sad reason. She attended the funeral of her daughter, Cecília, her son-in-law and her 2 grandchildren. All died in a plane crash. At the time of the accident, Cecília was 9 months pregnant.

Constantine again assumed the throne of Greece and Alice returned to Athens, but she decided that she no longer wanted her jewels and went to work in charity. After the outbreak of World War II, the royal family had to face exile once again and fled to South Africa. However, the princess stayed in the palace with her sister-in-law, the Grand Duchess Helena Vladimirovna of Russia.

During this period, Alice returned to work for the Red Cross, created shelters for orphaned children and an infirmary service for the poorest people. Furthermore, she used her influence to travel to Sweden to get medicine for the sick, on the pretext that she would visit her sister Louise, who was married to the crown prince of that country.

Alice with her children, Princesses Margaret, Theodora, Cecília and Sofia, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark and her husband, André.

The princess had to face a very particular case, because her daughters’ husbands were Nazis and fought in the German army; on the other hand, her son Philip was on the side of the Allies and served in the British Royal Navy. Because of her kinship with her Nazi sons-in-law, the Germans who were in Greece let her live with relative tranquility during the war. However, when a German general asked if there was anything he could do for her, Alice replied that he could take his troops and “get the hell out of his country”.

Battle tanks on the streets of Athens in 1943.

The Axis occupation of Greece during World War II began in 1941 and lasted until 1944. It is estimated that at that time more than 75,000 Jews lived in the country, and more than 60,000 were taken to concentration camps. Only 2,000 managed to survive.

Jews had to register during the Nazi occupation of Greece.

The princess risked her own life by hiding 3 members of a Jewish family, the Cohens, in the palace of Athens. Years earlier, Rachel Cohen’s husband had helped Alice’s father-in-law, King George I of Greece. He said he would help if necessary. When the Cohen family showed up at the palace, Alice didn’t think twice about honoring that promise.

The Cohens were hidden in the palace for over a year. When the Gestapo (Nazi Germany’s secret police) became suspicious of Alice and tried to interrogate her, she acted as if she didn’t understand the questions because of her deafness. In this way, she prevented the police from entering the palace. The Cohen family managed to survive and now live in France.

Princess Alice (left, second row) at the wedding of her son Philip of Greece and Denmark, Duke of Edinburgh, to Queen Elizabeth II in 1947.

In 1967, after the end of the Greek monarchy, the princess went to live with her son and daughter-in-law at Buckingham Palace. Alice became very religious and, inspired by her aunt (and godmother), she founded the nursing order of Greek nuns, the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary🇧🇷 The princess donated all her jewelry and began to live in a humble way. However, she kept the tiara she wore on her wedding day. The diamonds were used to make the ring that the son used to propose to the queen’s hand in marriage. To this day, Queen Elizabeth II wears this ring.

Alice with her son, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Princess Alice died on December 5, 1969 at Buckingham Palace. Her wish has always been to be buried with her aunt on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. In 1988 her wish was finally respected.

After her death, the family discovered the heroic deeds she performed during World War II. In 1994, the Duke of Edinburgh and his sister Sofia went to Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem, because Alice was awarded Righteous Among the Nations for rescuing the Cohen family and for helping those most in need during the war.

During the ceremony, Philip gave a beautiful speech in honor of his mother.

In 2018, Alice’s great-grandson Prince William paid an official visit to Jerusalem. On the last day, he visited the princess’s tomb with members of the Cohen family.

Did you know the story of Queen Elizabeth II’s husband’s mother? What part of this story did you like the most? Share in the comments.