"The Queen's Mother in Law" (2012) - Channel 4 Doco on Princess Alice of Battenberg

[An Ard Ri]

"The Queen's Mother in Law" (2012) - Channel 4 Doco on Princess Alice of Battenberg

"The Queen's Mother in Law"
Channel 4, August 2012

Channel 4 will air an hour long documentary on Prince Philip's late mother,Princess Alice next Tuesday night.
As I'm almost finished reading a biography on Princess Alice,I'm looking forward to seeing this.

The Queen's Mother in Law - The Queen's Mother in Law - Channel 4

The late Queen Mother was one of Britain's most instantly recognisable figures, but few of us have even heard of the Queen's mother-in-law, Princess Alice. But her life story almost defies belief. A great granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Prince Philip's mother married into the Greek royal family, only to see the Greek monarchy overthrown by revolution. Fleeing into exile, she suffered a severe nervous breakdown. She was locked away in mental hospitals and subjected to experimental treatments by psychiatrists, including Sigmund Freud.

The trauma had a shattering effect on Princess Alice's marriage and led to a fractured childhood for her only son, Prince Philip.
Philip's mother eventually fought her way back from mental illness, and became an unlikely hero of World War II, risking her life to hide a Jewish family from the Nazis.

When her son married the future Queen Elizabeth in 1948, Alice turned down the option of a cosy royal life. Instead she chose to dedicate herself to working with the poor in Greece, gave away all her possessions and even founded her own religious order.

Featuring exclusive interviews with family members and previously unseen archive footage, this film sheds new light on one of the royal family's most remarkable, but least known, personalities.

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: A new documentary about his family won't cheer ailing Prince Philip | Mail Online

"Ailing Prince Philip won’t be amused by a Channel 4 documentary next week about his late mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, describing her ‘walking the corridors of Buckingham Palace dressed as a nun, sucking on a Woodbine’.

Entitled The Queen’s Mother in Law, it depicts her husband, Prince Andrew of Greece, as a cad. Alice’s niece Countess Mountbatten says: ‘He went and lived in the south of France and had mistresses. He was no support to anybody.’ She says Philip never had a proper home before his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, adding: ‘When he stayed in our little cottage he signed Philip and under address put “No fixed abode”, which really says it all.’ "

v Princess Alice
image reproduced for promotional purposes.

 

[BeatrixFan]

I'm looking forward to this but I'm hoping it won't the usual Channel 4 style documentary with 5 minutes of interesting information and 45 minutes of slow moving photographs and so-called experts.

 

[Artemisia]

I hope I'll be able to watch the documentary as well.
Prince Philip's family is surprisingly little-covered apart from few well-known facts (such as escape from Greece or his father's conduct).

 

[An Ard Ri]

I must say I am looking forward to watching this,I've always had an interest in the Battenbergs/Mountbattens.

Princess Alice seems to have lived a remarkable life.

 

[Warren]

The other Queen mother: She spent two years in an asylum, then became a nun. A new documentary explores the unconventional life of the Queen's mother-in-law, Princess Alice | Mail Online

excerpts

She survived revolution and exile, mental breakdown and religious mania, evincing great personal courage to protect a Jewish family during the war – before turning her back on the trappings of royal life to become a nun.

Alice was a loving mother but enforced separation from her young son helped to forge Prince Philip’s self-reliant, sometimes cussedly independent spirit. Now, a Channel 4 documentary, The Queen’s Mother In Law, featuring previously unseen footage and interviews with Alice’s nieces – Prince Philip’s cousins – tells the forgotten story of the Queen’s most unconventional relative.

She was born Princess Alice of Battenberg in 1885 at Windsor Castle, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and raised as an English princess, although both her parents were German. Alice was congenitally deaf but she could speak clearly. Photographs show how beautiful she was, with her upswept hair and lace gowns.

Then in 1902, at the Coronation of King Edward VII, she fell head over heels in love with Prince Andrew, a younger son of the King of Greece. As her niece, Lady Pamela Hicks [Lord Mountbatten's younger daughter], explains, ‘She was absolutely dotty about him. Really, deeply in love.’ By 1914 Alice had four daughters. But in Greece, revolution was brewing, and shortly after Prince Philip was born in 1921, the Greek royal family were exiled. Aged 18 months, the future Duke of Edinburgh was bundled into a makeshift cot – an orange crate – as the family escaped on a British warship.

They arrived in Paris as refugees, living on handouts from relatives. The strain took its toll on Alice, and her impassioned religious beliefs became steadily more eccentric. By 1930 she was hearing voices and believed she was having physical relationships with Jesus and other religious figures. Although the couple never divorced, Alice was effectively abandoned by her playboy husband Prince Andrew, who went to live on the French Riviera with his mistress.

When Alice was eventually released from the sanatorium in 1932, she became a lonely drifter, staying in modest German B&Bs. Almuth Reuter, whose mother ran a boarding house in Cologne, remembers their unusual guest. She used to sit on the terrace, staring up into the sky,’ Almuth recalls. ‘One day, I asked Alice, “What are you looking at?” and she said, “St Barbara.”

In 1941, Alice was stranded in Nazi-occupied Greece. Her brother, Lord Mountbatten, sent food parcels – which she gave to the needy. Then, for more than a year, she hid a Jewish family on the top floor of her house, only yards from Gestapo headquarters. When the Gestapo became suspicious, Alice made her deafness an excuse for not answering their questions. When she was posthumously honoured as Righteous Among The Nations – the highest Israeli honour to non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust – Prince Philip said, ‘She would have considered it a natural reaction to fellow beings in distress.’

The Queen later gave her mother-in-law a room in Buckingham Palace. Prince Philip’s biographer Gyles Brandreth says: ‘They say you could always tell when she was coming along the corridor because of the whiff of Woodbines in the air. The idea of the Duke of Edinburgh’s mum, dressed as a nun, sucking on her Woodbine… it’s wonderful!’
.

 

[Mariel]

An very worthwhile person! To think what she was subjected to by psychiatrists, including Freud. There are several noteworthy Alice's in the royal family. A good name for a princess.

 

[BeatrixFan]

A really informative programme by Channel 4, nothing new to anyone who has read Wikipedia really but the archive footage of Alice was lovely to see.

 

[EIIR]

I enjoyed the documentary last night. I don't feel it was a character assassination of anyone involved, and actually portrayed Alice as a very generous and compassionate person, despite the wrongs that were done to her by some of her close family members.

I had worried that it would turn out to be another of those Channel 4 documentaries about the cold, un-feeling royal family who banish anyone in any way different to keep up appearances. I think they did a documentary on Prince John in the same vein. Fortunately that wasn't the case on this occasion.

 

[BeatrixFan]

The highlight for me was seeing Lady Pamela Hicks and Countess Mountbatten. They're so entertaining and really bring stories to life. I'd like to hear them talk about the family more.

 

[Ally Priest]

Does anyone know where a link can be found to watch it? I want to see it so bad!

 

[BeatrixFan]

You might be able to see it on the 4oD website

 

[Ally Priest]

You might be able to see it on the 4oD website

Thanks! I'm going to try it later!

 

[An Ard Ri]

I must saw I really enjoyed the documentary on Princess Alice last night.The old black and white footage was a highpoint as were the 2 Mountbatten sisters,I could listen to Patricia Knatchbull speak for hours!

 

[Artemisia]

By the looks of it, you were not the only one.

Queen's Mother-in-Law documentary gets right royal reception

A Channel 4 documentary about Prince Philip's mother – a great granddaughter of Queen Victoria – proved a ratings hit for Channel 4 on Tuesday night with 4 million viewers. The Queen's Mother-in-Law, about Princess Alice of Battenberg, attracted 3.5 million viewers on Channel 4 with another 500,000 on Channel 4+1, a 17% share of the audience.

I wish I were able to watch it.
@ Ally Priest - unfortunately, it's not available on 4oD.

 

[MarkUK]

I thought it was very good overall. They dwelt a little too much on her spell in a mental institution perhaps, but her true character shone out in the end. We can see where Prince Philip gets his looks from, his mother was a beauty well into middle age and his father had a definate that rakish appeal.

 

[An Ard Ri]

By the looks of it, you were not the only one.

Queen's Mother-in-Law documentary gets right royal reception
I wish I were able to watch it.
@ Ally Priest - unfortunately, it's not available on 4oD.

Wow that's a very good reception for Channel 4!

I wonder if any of the royals tuned in.

 

[Tsar bobo Iv]

does any 1 know if it airs in the usa

 

[MarNoe]

I very much enjoyed it. I was lucky enough to be visiting friends in East Sussex so was able to see it. It will probably never be shown here in the States.

 

[Osipi]

does any 1 know if it airs in the usa

My guess is that it may be aired on TLC sometime in future. That channel runs documentaries about the British Royal Family from time to time. Gotta love it.

 

[Tsar bobo Iv]

they aired alot during the royal wedding
pbs had alot of good specials on the queen
over the summer

 

[mary stuart]

i watched this on 4od it was an interseting to find out about princess alice she went thogh so much and it seems a much missed figure in greece and all thiose ophans she helped a right plucky woman who never gave up and the last letter tp prince philiap was very moving we need more docs

 

[An Ard Ri]

i watched this on 4od it was an interseting to find out about princess alice she went thogh so much and it seems a much missed figure in greece and all thiose ophans she helped a right plucky woman who never gave up and the last letter tp prince philiap was very moving we need more docs

It seems she was very popular figure in Athens it was nice to hear ordinary people talk about their memories of the late Princess.

 

[Molly2101]

I watched this and found it quite heartbreaking and interesting. It was good to see another side of Princess Alice, and I have to say I have never noticed her walking behind the Royal family at the Coronation, so that was wonderful to see. It was also nice to know that Philip let her come and live with him and his family in her final years. I wonder if Andrew and Edward remember her, as they were both quite young when she was there (She died in 1969.)

After having watched this I then began to look up more about Philip's life, and discovered that his sister Princess Sophie (later Princess George of Hanover) is one of Edward's godmother's, although she died in 2001. She was the only living sibling Philip had after the death of his sister Princess Theodora in 1963. How nice of Philip to have Sophie as one of his son's godmothers. Funny that Edward went on to marry a Sophie. I also discovered that his mother is one of Princess Anne's godmothers.

 

[Stefan]

After having watched this I then began to look up more about Philip's life, and discovered that his sister Princess Sophie (later Princess George of Hanover) is one of Edward's godmother's, although she died in 2001. She was the only living sibling Philip had after the death of his sister Princess Theodora in 1963. How nice of Philip to have Sophie as one of his son's godmothers. Funny that Edward went on to marry a Sophie. I also discovered that his mother is one of Princess Anne's godmothers.

Philip's sister margarita, Fürstin zu Hohenlohe-Langenbrug died in 1981.

 

[chelly]

I liked it, I thought they stayed way too long on the freud segment. I tend not to beleive what they were saying in that segment. I wonder what they would have diagnosed her now. I know severe depression might be one factor in her problems. Being isolated like she was it can be very hard on a person. Being hearing impaired/deaf can be very isolating. Especially if people are ignoring you. Even if they have all the riches in the world.

Though why was her mother allowed to send her to santitorum, wouldn't that fall to her husband. It seemed odd that her mother had that much power over her daughter's care.

I liked the documentary it also gives some insight into Prince Phillip. I will have to see if I can get a hold of that biography on Princess Alice. What is it called and by whom?

 

[Iluvbertie]

Her husband had basically left her by the time she was sent to the sanitorium and her mother was the one who cared enough to do something - whether it was the right thing is another question but she did do something.

 

[Warren]

...I will have to see if I can get a hold of that biography on Princess Alice. What is it called and by whom?

"Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece"
by Hugo Vickers
First published 2000

 

[An Ard Ri]

"Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece"
by Hugo Vickers
First published 2000

Excellent biography!

 

[AuroraB]

Just recieved my copy from Alibris and am looking forward to reading it this weekend.

 

[Tiggersk8]

Heads up for Canadians....

This is going to be shown at the top of the clock/11pm EST on CBC News Network.

One of the few good things about Super Bowl Sunday to me is that both CBC NN and PBS tends to show Royal programming of some sort. I saw this last week and was completely fascinated by the life this Princess had. Also a very brave lady for what she did during WWII.