Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester

He is 31st in the line of succession to the British throne, and the highest person on the list who is not a descendant of George VI, who was his uncle.

At the time of his birth, he was 5th in line to the throne.

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944), is a member of the British royal family.

He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, and the youngest of the nine grandchildren of King George V and Queen Mary.

Prince Richard was born on 26 August 1944 at 12:15 pm at St Matthew's Nursing Home in Northampton, the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.

His father was the third son of King George V and Queen Mary.

His mother was the third daughter of John Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch and Lady Margaret Bridgeman.

Richard was baptised at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park on 20 October 1944 by the retired Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Gordon Lang.

When Richard was four months old, he accompanied his parents to Australia, where his father served as governor-general from 1945 to 1947.

The family returned to Barnwell Manor in 1947, where Richard spent most of his childhood.

Prince Richard's early education took place at home, under the instruction of Rosalind Ramirez, who had also tutored young King Faisal II of Iraq; later, he attended Wellesley House School at Broadstairs and Eton College.

In 1963, he matriculated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he read architecture, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in June 1966.

In 1966, Richard joined the Offices Development Group in the Ministry of Public Building and Works for a year of practical work.

He returned to Cambridge in 1967, completing both parts of the Diploma in Architecture degree in June 1969.

Upon passing his exams, he became a practising partner with Hunt Thompson Associates, Architects, in London.

As is customary at Cambridge, this proceeded to MA (Cantab) in 1971.

On his appointment in 1971, it was recorded that the new president was "currently [driving] an Austin 1300", reflecting the modest image with which he has always been identified.

He married Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen on 8 July 1972.

They have three children.

At the time of his birth, he was second in line to his father's dukedom, behind his elder brother, Prince William of Gloucester, who was accidentally killed in 1972 before inheriting the title and having any children of his own.

On 8 July 1972, Prince Richard married Danish-born Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen at St Andrew's Church, Barnwell, Northamptonshire; the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester have three children:

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester's official residence is at Kensington Palace in London.

Prince Richard ended his architectural career in 1972, after the death of his elder brother Prince William, who crashed his plane in a flying competition.

Richard became heir apparent to his father's dukedom and had to take on additional family obligations and royal duties on behalf of the Queen.

Prince Richard was elected as a corporate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (and FRIBA) in 1972.

He is president of the Society of Architect Artists.

He also serves as a commissioner of the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England (English Heritage).

He has been patron of construction charity Construction Youth Trust for many years.

With his background in architecture, the Duke of Gloucester takes interest in the work of the trust and visits their projects, in addition to giving his name to their long standing Duke of Gloucester Young Achiever's Scheme Awards.

The Duke is also patron of the Architects Benevolent Society.

The Duke is also vice president of Lepra, a UK-based leprosy charity; as part of this role, he attends national and international events in support of the charity's work.

Richard practised as an architect until the death of his elder brother, William, placed him in direct line to inherit his father's dukedom of Gloucester, to which he succeeded in 1974.

He became Duke of Gloucester on his father's death on 10 June 1974.

The Duke of Gloucester, accompanied by the Duchess, represented his cousin Elizabeth II at the Solomon Islands independence celebrations on 7 July 1978.

He served as a judge in Prince Edward's charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament on 15 June 1987.

They have leased their private home, Barnwell Manor, since 1994.

In September 2022, the Duke put the manor up for sale for £4.75 million.

He is royal patron of the Society of Antiquaries of London (and elected FSA) since 2001, royal patron of the UK branch of the charity Habitat for Humanity, royal patron of the St George's Society of New York, and president of The London Society.

A keen motorist, Richard passed the Advanced Driving Test of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, of which he was president for more than 32 years.

He stood down as president in January 2005.