When it came to treating extended family, Queen Elizabeth was apparently kind and patient towards her mother-in-law, Princess Alice of Battenberg. A cousin of Prince Philip said that she has many fond memories of Her Majesty, who recently turned 94 years old on April 21.
Speaking in the podcast of her daughter, India Hicks, the Duke of Edinburgh's cousin, Lady Pamela Hicks, said that Queen Elizabeth always treated Princess Alice marvelously. The royal from Greece spent her final days at Windsor Castle and had Queen Elizabeth taking care of Princess Alice until she died in 1969.
Pamela, who is the daughter of Lord Mountbatten, Prince Philip's uncle and the younger brother of Princess Alice, said that her aunt was a very sharp and difficult woman to deal with. Despite this, Queen Elizabeth took her under her wing even as Prince Philip and his mother led distant and separate lives.
It was not a secret that Princess Alice suffered from many illnesses, including a deafness and a nervous breakdown. However, Pamela said that her aunt was a great character who had her quirks. Regardless, Queen Elizabeth felt it was her responsibility to take care of Princess Alice and she did so for the royal's final two years of life.
According to Pamela, Princess Alice stayed at the castle's attic while Prince Philip preferred to be downstairs. Apparently, it was also the princess' choice to stay by her lonesome above the Queen's house.
Windsor is the same castle where Prince Philip is staying in isolation today, with Queen Elizabeth, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Duke of Edinburgh moved in this area from Sandringham in the middle of March as the government imposed strict social distancing measures in the U.K. Prince William said in an interview with BBC that they are taking extra measures to ensure the health and safety of his grandparents because of their age and their condition.
Meanwhile, Prince Philip has been retired from public service since 2017. However, he recently issued a public statementto thank those in the medical and scientific profession for uniting to work on COVID-19, as well as those in food production and distribution for ensuring that everyone's lives will continue despite the lockdown.
Royal experts said that the Duke of Edinburgh was prompted to issue a public message because he was moved by how people responded to the pandemic. It was a rare and very personal message coming from a retired public servant.
