An unofficial royal visit..

The funeral of the former President of Israel Shimon Peres was held on 30 September 2016 in Jerusalem.

Many dignitaries from all over the world made a final tribute to  this Great Man. Charles, the Prince of Wales, was among them.

At the end of the ceremony, which took place on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Prince Charles went to visit the Russian Orthodox nuns of the St. Mary Magdalene convent on Mount of Olives, where they live in contemplation.

He brought with him a bouquet of flowers, picked from his Scottish residence’s garden, to lay on the grave of his grandmother, Alice of Greece, born Battenberg, mother of Prince Philip.

                                                         A visit of utmost importance…. 

But who was this Princess Alice of Greece?

Princess Alice de Battenberg

She was a remarkable woman.

During the Second World War, she had hidden a Jewish family in her own home. In 1994 she posthumously received, for her bravery, the title of  :

                                                          “Righteous Among the Nations” 

For this occasion a ceremony was held at the Yad Vashem Holocauste Museum in Jerusalem, where the Prince Consort Philip was the guest of honor and he would
visit his mother’s grave on the Mount of Olives for the first time.

There is also a second Royal tomb to be found in crypt of the convent; that of the great-aunt of Prince Charles, the Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia, murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Princess Alice of Battenberg was born on February 25th, 1885 at Windsor Castle.

Queen Victoria, Alice’s grandmother, felt very close to the little girl and soon realises that her granddaughter suffered from congenital deafness. She was taught lips reading and was able to speack correctly. even mastering several languages.

At the age of seventeen, Princess Alice met Prince Andrew of Greece for the first time, and fell in love. The respective families marked reluctance due to Alice’s young age however the couple will be united and their marriage announced. They got married and separated a few years later but have five children together.

The princess gives birth to four girls and a boy.

In 1911, further to the murder of Alice’s stepfather and the tension due to the war in the Balkan, the Greek royal family fled into exile and settled in Lucerne in Switzerland.

Eventually the Princess would return to Athens in 1938 to remain there until the end of the World War II, helping the Red Cross and dedicating her life to the poor and the sick in field hospitals. She converted to the Orthodox religion and became increasingly mystical to the verge of insanity.

In 1949, she founded an order of orthodox nuns, which was inspired by the one created by her aunt,  the Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, born princess of Hesse.

Prince Phillip and his mother

The princess attended the coronation of her daughter in law Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, wearing the outfit of her religious order.

In December 1967, following the “Colonels coup d’etat” in Greece, she had to leave her country again. She came to live in Buckingham Palace, near her family.

She died in London on December 5th,1969. and was buried in the chapel of Windsor Castle.

Princess Alice’s last dying wish was to be buried in Jerusalem.

In 1988, her remains were finally transferred to the monastery of St. Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem, where she rests next to her aunt, Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia.

 

Monastery of St. Mary Magdalene

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