Five Brothers and a War

Prinses Margriet

Holland was invaded on May 10, 1940. Six weeks later, a new Governor-General of Canada was appointed (the Canadian Governor-General is the Viceroy appointed to represent the British Crown in those states holding the monarch as head of state). The new person was Major-General Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone—known as Alexander Cambridge. More importantly, for the purposes of this story, he was born in London’s Kensington Palace as Prince Alexander of Teck, in the German kingdom of Württemberg. As a result of World War I, German titles among British royalty were forced to be terminated. His mother was a granddaughter of King George III and cousin to Queen Victoria. He married Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, who was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and critically, the cousin of Koningin Wilhelmina.

holland

Alexander Cambridge and Princess Alice As the new Governor-General was about to assume his duties in Canada, Princess Alice suggested to her cousin, Wilhelmina, that they go to Canada for their safety. The decision was made to have the Koningin remain in London, but that the two successive heirs to the throne, Prinses Juliana and Prinses Beatrix, along with Beatrix’s younger sister, the “spare”, Prinses Irene, should live in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, and the location of the Governor-General’s home and office. Prins Bernhard stayed in England, but visited Ottawa from time to time. Juliana, Beatrix and Irene arrived in Halifax aboard a Dutch destroyer on June 11, 1940. The family first lived in the Governor-General’s official residence, Rideau Hall. They then moved into a small and overcrowded home. To correct the problem, the Prinses was offered the use of a mansion named “S tornoway” , which today is the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition. The Prinses won the hearts of Canadians on a number of levels, including the fact that she did all of her own grocery shopping, shopped for clothes

Five Brothers and a War

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