Birgitte was born Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen, in Odense, Denmark, the younger daughter of Asger Preben Wissing Henriksen, a lawyer, and his wife, Vivian van Deurs. She was educated in Odense and at finishing schools in Lausanne and Cambridge.[1] She took her mother's ancestral name van Deurs on 15 January 1966, after her parents' separation.[2][3] After completing a three-year course in Commercial and Economic Studies in Copenhagen, she moved back to the United Kingdom in 1971 to work as a secretary at the Royal Danish Embassy in London.[1]
Marriage and family
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
Van Deurs Henriksen first met Prince Richard of Gloucester, the younger son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, in the late 1960s in Cambridge, where he attended university. In February 1972, their engagement was announced.[1] They married on 8 July 1972 at St Andrew's Church, Barnwell, Northamptonshire.[1] The bride's wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell. It was constructed of Swissorgandie, with a high collar, a simple skirt, long sleeves and a small train. Instead of wearing a tiara, she wore stephanotis flowers on her hair which secured the veil.[4] Upon marriage, she assumed the style Her Royal Highness Princess Richard of Gloucester.
Six weeks after their wedding, Prince Richard's elder brother, Prince William of Gloucester, was killed in a flying accident. Prince Richard unexpectedly became heir apparent to the dukedom and upon his father's death in 1974, the couple became the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.[1]
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^ a bIlse, Jess (30 June 2021). "What is a royal ship sponsor?". Royal Central. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
^Jones, Tony (13 February 2024). "Fans fan Camilla made Honorary Liveryman in special ceremony". Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
^ a bBoutell, Charles; Brooke-Little, John Philip (1978). Boutell's Heraldry (8th (revised) ed.). Frederick Warne. p. 226. ISBN 9780723220961.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester.
The Duchess of Gloucester at the Royal Family website