Born – 25th February 1885
Died – 5th December 1969
Father – Prince Louis of Battenberg (1854 – 1921)
Mother – Princess Victoria of Hesse (1863 – 1950)
Spouse – m. 1903 – Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (1882 – 1944)
Children – Margarita (1905 – 1981), Theodora (1906 – 1969), Cecilie (1911 – 1937), Sophie (1914 – 2001), Philip (b. 1921)
Known to History – Great Granddaughter of Queen Victoria, mother of Prince Philip
1885 (25th February)
Princess Alice of Greece and Denmark was born Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie to Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England. She was known as Alice.
1885 (25th April)
The family had returned to Germany and Alice was christened Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie at Darmstadt, Germany.
1886 (around)
The family were concerned that Alice was slow to speak. After taking her to a specialist it was revealed that she was deaf. She began to learn to lip-read.
1889 (13th July)
Alice’s sister, Louise Alexandra Marie Irene was born to Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse at Schloss Heiligenberg, Hesse, Germany.
1890 (around)
Alice was privately educated. She learned to speak and lip-read both English and German. She also learned French.
1892 (6th December)
Alice’s brother, George Louis Victor Henry Serge was born to Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse at Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany.
1900 (25th June)
Alice’s brother, Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas was born to Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse at Frogmore House, Windsor, Berkshire, England.
1901 (4th February)
The Battenberg family attended the funeral of Queen Victoria in London.
1902 (9th August)
Alice attended the coronation of King Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark. She met Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark for the first time.
1903 (6th October)
Princess Alice married Prince Andrew of Greece, son of George I of Greece and Olga of Russia, at Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany.
1903 (7th October)
The marriage of Alice and Prince Andrew was celebrated in a Lutheran service and a Greek Orthodox service.
1905 (June)
Princess Alice’s brother-in-law, George of Greece, High commissioner of Crete, was forced to resign after an uprising against officials appointed by authorities outside of Greece.
1905 (18th April)
A daughter, Margarita, was born to Princess Alice and Prince Andrew of Greece at the Royal Palace, Athens, Greece.
1908 (3rd May)
Alice attended the wedding of her cousin Maria Pavlovna to Wilhelm, son of King Gustav V of Sweden at St Petersburg, Russia.
1908 (May)
While in Russia, Alice spent time with her aunt Elizabeth who had decided to found a religious order of nurses.
1908 (30th May)
A daughter, Cecilie, was born to Princess Alice and Prince Andrew of Greece at the Royal Palace, Athens, Greece.
1908 (October)
The Military League was formed in Greece. Comprised of members of the military, it aimed to gain increased spending and modernisation of the military and also called for the removal of royal princes from the armed services.
1909 (during)
Prince Andrew resigned from the army amid the worsening political situation in Greece.
1909 (9th May)
Eleftherios Venizelos became Prime minister of Crete. Venizelos had been an opponent of Prince George when he was High Commissioner and was fiercely opposed to the rule of dynasties.
1912 (8th October)
Balkan Wars
War broke out in the Balkans. Alice’s husband, Prince Andrew, was restored to his position in the army. Alice became a nurse in the field hospitals.
War broke out in the Balkans. Alice’s husband, Prince Andrew, was restored to his position in the army. Alice became a nurse in the field hospitals.
1913 (during)
Princess Alice was awarded the Royal Red Cross by King George V of England for her nursing work during the Balkan Wars.
1913 (18th March)
King George I of Greece was assassinated in Thessaloniki, Greece by Socialist Alexandros Schinas. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine.
1914 (26th June)
A daughter, Sophie, was born to Princess Alice and Prince Andrew of Greece at Mon Repos, Corfu, Greece.
1914 (28th June)
The heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, were assassinated while on a visit to the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.
1914 (28th July)
World War One
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia beginning World War One. Constantine I of Greece declared Greek neutrality, disagreeing with Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos who wanted Greece to enter the war.
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia beginning World War One. Constantine I of Greece declared Greek neutrality, disagreeing with Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos who wanted Greece to enter the war.
1917 (11th June)
King Constantine of Greece abdicated in favour of his son, Alexander. Constantine and other members of the royal family including Prince Andrew and Princess Alice were forced into exile. They sought refuge in Switzerland.
1917 (14th July)
The family renounced the surname Battenberg due to its strong connection with Germany. They adopted the surname Mountbatten.
1918 (17th July)
Alice’s aunt, Alexandra Feodorovna, her husband Tsar Nicholas II and their children were assassinated by firing squad at Ipatiev House, Yekaterinburg, Russia.
1918 (17th July)
Alice’s aunt, Elisabeth and other members of the extended Russian Royal Family were executed by being thrown down a disused mine shaft.
1918 (11th November)
World War One ended after the surrender of Germany.
1919 (15th May)
Greco-Turkish War
War broke out between Greece and Turkey over territorial changes put into effect at the end of World War One.
War broke out between Greece and Turkey over territorial changes put into effect at the end of World War One.
1920 (25th October)
King Alexander of Greece died after being bitten by a monkey. His father, Constantine was restored as King of Greece and the family returned to Greece.
1921 (10th June)
A son, Philip, was born to Princess Alice and Prince Andrew of Greece on the island of Corfu, Greece.
1922 (11th September)
Greek Revolution
With the war against Turkey all but lost, the Greek military revolted against the Greek government in Athens.
With the war against Turkey all but lost, the Greek military revolted against the Greek government in Athens.
1922 (22nd September)
King Constantine I of Greece was forced to abdicate the throne. Prince Andrew was arrested.
1922 (December)
Prince Andrew of Greece was tried by a revolutionary court in Greece and was banished from Greece for life. The family moved to Paris, France where they were taken in by Andrew’s brother George and his wife Marie Bonaparte. The exiled family lived in a lodge in the grounds of their home.
1923 (3rd November)
Alice’s sister, Louise married Gustaf Adolf, the Crown Prince of Sweden.
1928 (Autumn)
Alice’s son, Prince Philip, was sent to live with his Mountbatten relatives in England in order to attend Cheam school.
1928 (October)
Princess Alice became more religious and converted to Greek Orthodoxy. She spent time doing charity work and claimed to receive messages from God.
1930 (15th December)
Alice’s daughter Sophie married Prince Christoph of Hesse.
1931 (during)
Alice’s mental health began to deteriorate and she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Her husband, Prince Andrew, incarcerated her in Kreuzlingen sanatorium in Switzerland. While there she was seen by Sigmund Freud who believed that her condition was caused by sexual frustration and that she could be cured by x-raying her ovaries.
1931 (during)
Prince Andrew left Paris and went to live in the South of France.
1931 (2nd February)
Alice’s daughter Cecilie married Georg Donatus of Hesse at Darmstadt, Germany.
1931 (20th April)
Alice’s daughter, Margarita, married Prince Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.
1931 (17th August)
Alice’s daughter, Theodora, married Berthold, Margrave of Baden at Baden-Baden Germany.
1932 (during)
Alice was released from the sanatorium at Kreuzlingen in Switzerland. She chose not to contact her husband or children, but did make contact with her mother, Victoria of Hesse.
1934 (Spring)
Alice’s son, Prince Philip transferred to Gordonstoun boarding school in Scotland. He spent school holidays with Alice’s brother George, Marquess of Milford Haven.
1937 (16th November)
Alice’s daughter Cecilie, her husband and children were killed in a plane crash.
1937 (late November)
Princess Alice went to Germany to attend the funerals of her daughter Cecilie and her family. At the funeral she met her husband Andrew, her brother Louis and son Philip for the first time since 1930.
1938 (during)
Alice decided to return to Greece to work with the poor of Athens. She lived modestly in a two-bedroomed flat.
1938 (8th April)
Alice’s brother, George, Lord Milford Haven, died of bone cancer.
1938 (late)
Having left school, Alice’s son, Philip, became a cadet at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon.
1939 (22nd July)
Alice’s son, Philip met Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret when they made a royal tour of the Royal Dartmouth Naval College. Philip and Elizabeth began to correspond by letter.
1939 (1st September)
World War Two
War broke out again after Germany invaded Poland.
War broke out again after Germany invaded Poland.
1940 (January)
Alice’s son Philip graduated from Dartmouth Naval College and was sent to sea on the HMS Ramillies where he saw action in the Indian Ocean as a midshipman.
1941 (March)
Battle of Cape Matapan
Alice’s son Philip took part in this naval battle fought between the British and Italian off the coast of Greece.
Alice’s son Philip took part in this naval battle fought between the British and Italian off the coast of Greece.
1941 (27th April)
Greece surrendered to Germany. Alice chose to remain in Greece during the war. She must have found it difficult having a son fighting for the Allies while her sons-in-law were officers in the German army.
1943 (September)
The German army occupied Athens. Alice gave refuge to a Jewish family.
1944 (October)
Athens was liberated by the Allies.
1944 (3rd December)
Prince Andrew of Greece died in Monte Carlo, France.
1947 (28th February)
Prior to his engagement to Princess Elizabeth of Britain, Philip of Greece renounced his Greek nationality and became a British subject. He took the surname Mountbatten and converted to Anglican faith.
1947 (20th November)
Alice travelled to Britain to attend the marriage of her son, Philip, to Princess Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey.
1949 (January)
Modelled on the order founded by her aunt Elizabeth in Russia in 1909, Princess Alice founded an order of Greek Orthodox nuns. Named the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary the nuns nursed the sick of Athens. Despite becoming a nun, Alice continued to smoke heavily and regularly played cards.
1950 (during)
Princess Alice visited the United States to raise funds for her order.
1950 (29th October)
Alice’s sister, Louise became Queen of Sweden after the death of King Gustaf of Sweden.
1952 (during)
Princess Alice visited the United States for a second time to raise funds for her order.
1952 (6th February)
King George VI of Britain died and Alice’s daughter-in-law became Queen.
1953 (2nd June)
Princess Alice attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey by Dr Geoffrey Fisher Archbishop of Canterbury. It was the first royal coronation to be televised.
1960 (during)
Princess Alice visited India but was taken ill during the visit and returned to Greece.
1967 (21st April)
Greek Junta
A group of right-wing military colonels overthrew the government of Greece and established themselves as leaders of a dictatorship.
A group of right-wing military colonels overthrew the government of Greece and established themselves as leaders of a dictatorship.
1967 (Spring)
Princess Alice left Greece and went to live with her son and daughter-in-law at Buckingham Palace, London, England.
1969 (16th October)
Alice’s daughter Theodora, died at Büdingen, Hesse, West Germany.
1969 (5th December)
Princess Alice died at Buckingham Palace, London.
1969 (10th December)
Princess Alice was buried in the Royal Crypt at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
1988 (10th December)
The remains of Princess Alice were transferred to a crypt beneath the Church of Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, Jerusalem.
Published Oct 14, 2020 @ 2:50 pm – Updated – [last-modified]
Harvard Reference for this page:
Heather Y Wheeler. (2020). Princess Alice of Greece 1885 – 1969. https://www.thetimelinegeek.com/princess-alice-of-greece-1885-1969 Last accessed [date]