Prince William of Gloucester

He was the second member of the British royal family to work in the civil service or the diplomatic service (the first was his uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent, in the 1920s).

Prince William of Gloucester (William Henry Andrew Frederick; 18 December 1941 – 28 August 1972) was a grandson of King George V and paternal cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

At birth he was fourth in line to the throne; he was ninth in line at the time of his death.

A Cambridge and Stanford graduate, he joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office serving in Lagos and Tokyo, before returning to take over royal duties.

He led an active life, flying Piper aircraft, trekking through the Sahara, and hot air ballooning.

He was the most recent descendant of George III to be diagnosed with porphyria, probably hereditary, which is conjectured to be the illness that caused George III's mental breakdown.

He was baptised in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle on 22 February 1942 by Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury.

His godparents were King George VI (his paternal uncle), Queen Mary (his paternal grandmother), Princess Helena Victoria (his paternal first cousin twice-removed), Lady Margaret Hawkins (his maternal aunt), Major Lord William Montagu Douglas Scott (his maternal uncle) and Lord Gort, who was unable to attend.

Because of the war, newspapers did not identify the actual location of the christening, and said instead that it took place at "a private chapel in the country".

At the time of his birth, and for months afterwards, Prince Henry was away on military duties, some of which meant considerable risk.

This prompted George VI to write to his sister-in-law, promising that, if anything should happen to his brother, he would become Prince William's guardian.

Prince William spent his early childhood at Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire and later in Canberra, Australia, where his father served as Governor-General from 1945 to 1947.

After returning to England, he received his education at Wellesley House School, a prep school at Broadstairs in Kent, then at Eton College, where he achieved mention in the Eton College Chronicle for his performance in junior cricket and achieved house colours for football.

In 1947, Prince William was a page boy for his cousin Princess Elizabeth at her wedding to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

The other page boy was Prince Michael of Kent.

In 1953, he attended the coronation of Elizabeth II.

After leaving Eton in 1960, he went up to Magdalene College, Cambridge, to read history, graduating with a BA degree in 1963, subsequently raised to an MA (Cantab.) degree in 1968.

After Cambridge, he spent a post-baccalaureate year at Stanford University, studying political science, American history, and business.

After returning to Britain, Prince William took a position with Lazards, a merchant bank.

He joined the Commonwealth Office in 1965 and was posted to Lagos as the third secretary at the British High Commission.

In 1968, he transferred to Tokyo as second secretary (commercial) in the British Embassy.

By 1970, the health of his father, the Duke of Gloucester, had become critical after further strokes.

William had no choice but to resign from the diplomatic service and return to Britain in order to take care of his father's estate and, as he put it, take on the full-time job of a royal prince.

On his way back, he represented the Queen at the celebrations to mark the termination of Tonga's status as a protected state.

For the next two years, he managed Barnwell Manor and began to carry out public duties as a member of the royal family.

Apart from taking over many engagements his father could no longer perform, William took particular interest in St John Ambulance, where he became increasingly active.

He was also President of National Ski Federation Supporters' Association, the Magdalene Society (Cambridge), the East Midlands Tourist Board, and the Royal African Society.

His patronages included the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, the British Schools Exploring Society and the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society.

Prince William served on some occasions as Counsellor of State in the absence of his cousin, the Queen.

The prince was consistently described by friends as adventurous (almost to the point of recklessness), warm, tender and extremely generous.

But of all his qualities, the one most often mentioned is that of loyalty to his friends.

One account describes how William was particularly kind to friends who were either "ill, unpopular with others, or even downright embarrassing".

His status and circumstances had also influenced his personality and he could, at times, be "tiresomely selfish".

Regarding his family, Prince William considered himself extremely lucky compared to other members of the royal family.

He had a very close relationship with both his parents, especially with his mother of whom he said, "She is a human being and she must possess some faults. But so far as I am concerned she has no faults at all".

He was also very fond of his father, one friend describing William's love and tenderness for him as "infectious".

Prince William died in 1972, aged 30, in an air crash while piloting his plane in a competition.

Prince William was born at Hadley Common, Hertfordshire.

His father was Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary.

His mother was Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the third daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch and Lady Margaret Bridgeman.