Royal expert breaks down significance of Queen's 70 year reign

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The Queen is known to have a very close relationship with her paternal cousins, and many of them still assist her with her duties as working royals. But heartbreak struck the tight-knit group of royal cousins when Prince William of Gloucester died in 1972.

Who was Prince William of Gloucester?

Prince William of Gloucester was born in 1941 to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.

As a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, he served as a page boy at her 1947 wedding to Prince Philip.

Prince Richard worked in diplomatic relations for many years, but upon the ill health of his father, he started supporting the Queen as a working royal.

Away from his royal career, William was passionate about aviation and he competed in several aircraft competitions.

William was diagnosed with porphyria, an inheritable disease believed to have affected some royals over the centuries, including King George III.

When did Prince William of Gloucester die?

On August 28, 1972, Prince William of Gloucester died in an air crash while piloting his plane in the Goodyear International Air Trophy at Halfpenny Green. His co-pilot Vyrell Mitchell also died in the crash.

At the time of his death, William was ninth in line to the throne, and the Queen ordered a period of mourning for the Royal Family until William’s funeral was held.

The Prince was buried in the Royal Burial Ground in Frogmore, where many deceased members of the Royal Family are buried including King Edward VIII.

More than three decades later upon the death of William’s mother Princess Alice in 2004, the Queen’s statement showed that her cousin William was still in her memory.

The Queen said: “The Queen was greatly saddened by the death of her aunt, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.

“After the Princess’s marriage to Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in 1935, Princess Alice supported the work of King George VI and then The Queen over many years throughout war and peace, and despite the tragedy of the early death of her son, Prince William.

“The Queen remembers with gratitude Princess Alice’s service to the monarchy, and to the country.”

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What happened to the Gloucester Dukedom?

Prince William was next in line to inherit his father’s Duke of Gloucester title, but after his death, his younger brother Prince Richard became heir to the historic Dukedom.

When Prince Henry died a few years after his elder son in 1974, Richard succeeded him and ever since he has been styled as His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester.

Richard is a working member of the Royal Family and he has supported the Queen for decades alongside his wife Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester.

The Gloucesters appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the Platinum Jubilee edition of Trooping the Colour this year.

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