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The Other Prince William Who Lived Fast and Died Young
The world knows all about Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. He’s second in line to the British throne and will, God willing, be king one day. However, there was another Prince William, who died not long before Prince William was born. This Prince William is all but forgotten by the public.
Prince William of Gloucester was the firstborn child of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and his wife, Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott. Prince Henry was the younger brother of Kings Edward VIII and George VI. His parents had married later in life for the time period and Alice was 39 when he was born. William was joined by a younger brother, Richard, who was three years younger.
William and Richard were royal princes, but behind their older cousins, Elizabeth and Margaret, in the line of succession. This afforded them the luxuries of a royal upbringing without the stress and limelight that Elizabeth and Margaret experienced.
William served as the pageboy at his cousin Elizabeth’s wedding to Prince Philip, and attended her coronation service. He was close in age to another cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, as well as a few years older than Prince Charles, his cousin’s son. Prince Charles looked up to William as a cool, older brother.
