Following the
sudden death of Lord Tweedsmuir
while in office, the Earl of
Athlone, uncle of King George
VI, was approached to assume the
post of Governor General. There
had been calls from government
and the media for a Canadian
Governor General, but Prime
Minister Mackenzie King did not
feel the time was right for
this. Canada had been at war
since 1939 and the country was
adjusting to the difficulties of
committing military personnel
and materiel to the war against
Nazi Germany.
The trip
to Canada with his wife,
Princess Alice - a granddaughter
of Queen Victoria - was
complicated by the war, and
their ship zigzagged across the
Atlantic to avoid submarine
attack. But they arrived safely
in Halifax.
As World
War II continued, the Earl of
Athlone was very active in
supporting the war effort by
continuously inspecting troops,
training schools and military
hospitals. Princess Alice was
Honorary Commandant of the
Women's Royal Canadian Naval
Service, Honorary Air Commandant
of the Royal Canadian Air Force
(Women's Division) and president
of the nursing division of the
St. John Ambulance Brigade. Lord
Athlone travelled throughout
Canada to encourage Canadians,
and to let them know that
Canada's Sovereign stood with
them in fighting
totalitarianism.
The Earl
of Athlone and Princess Alice
hosted Prime Minister Mackenzie
King, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and American
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
at La Citadelle in Québec on two
separate occasions in 1943 and
1944. These meetings, known as
the Quebec Conferences, helped
decide the strategies of the
Western Allies that would lead
to victory over Nazi Germany and
Japan in 1945.
Not
everything was focussed on the
war, though. The Earl of Athlone
created the Athlone-Vanier
Engineering Fellowship at the
Engineering Institute of Canada,
recognizing academic excellence,
leadership and management
potential. He also enjoyed the
social activities around Ottawa,
hosting tobogganing parties,
skiing in Gatineau Park and
learning how to skate.
The
Governor General's office in the
East Block of Parliament Hill
was closed and moved to Rideau
Hall in 1940. Rideau Hall's main
role during this period,
however, was serving as a
temporary home for many
stateless members of royal
families displaced by the war,
many of whom were relatives of
the Lord Athlone or Princess
Alice. These included Crown
Prince Olav and Martha of
Norway, King Peter of
Yugoslavia, King George of
Greece, Empress Zita of Austria
and her daughters, and Queen
Wilhelmina, Princess Juliana,
Princess Beatrix, Princess
Margriet and Prince Felix of the
Netherlands. Princess Margriet
was born in Ottawa at the Civic
Hospital, where the delivery
room was temporarily declared
Dutch soil to ensure the
Princess was born in the
Netherlands. To this day,
Holland sends tulips to Ottawa
to commemorate the assistance
Canada gave to Holland.
Lord
Athlone took part in the
celebrations marking both
victory in Europe and victory
over Japan in 1945. And when he
received an Honorary Degree from
McGill University, he spoke
about the future of young
Canadians -- one not marked by
war, but by reconciliation and
reconstruction, in which Canada
would play a leading role.
Lord
Athlone witnessed major changes
in Canada as it emerged from the
war. The country was an
independent nation with a
strong, vital economy and active
in world affairs.
Prince
Alexander (he did not become the
Earl of Athlone until 1917) came
from a distinguished background.
He was the son of the 1st Duke
of Teck and Princess Mary
Adelaide. A brother of Queen
Mary's, he was the uncle of King
George VI, Queen Elizabeth II's
father. Following his education
at Eton, Prince Alexander went
into the military, training at
the Military College at
Sandhurst and was appointed
Second Lieutenant with the 7th
Hussar in 1894. He served in the
Matabele campaign in Africa in
1896-96 with the 7th Hussars,
and received the honour of being
mentioned in dispatches. In the
South African War of 1899 - 1901
he served with the Inniskilling
Dragoons and awarded the
Distinguished Service Order in
1900. In WWI, he was again
mentioned in dispatches twice.
On
February 10, 1904, he married
Princess Alice Mary Victoria
Augusta Pauline, daughter of
Prince Leopold and granddaughter
of Queen Victoria. They had
three children, although one
died within a year of birth, and
another at age 20.
Originally, Prince Alexander had
been appointed Governor General
of Canada in 1914, but he
convinced King George V to
release him for wartime service.
He acted as a Knight Grand Cross
of the Order of St. John of
Jerusalem and, from 1923 to
1930, served as Governor General
and Commander-in-Chief of South
Africa. Returning to England in
1931, he became Governor and
Constable of Windsor Castle.
After
their term in Canada, the Earl
of Athlone and Princess Alice
returned to England, where they
lived at Kensington Palace. The
Earl of Athlone became the
Chancellor of London University
from 1932 to 1955, and Princess
Alice became the first
Chancellor of the University of
the West Indies in 1950. He died
in 1957. Princess Alice returned
to Rideau Hall in 1959 as a
guest of the Vaniers. She also
came to Ottawa in 1963 when, as
honorary colonel of the Princess
Louise Dragoon Guards, she
presented their new regimental
colours. Princess Alice died on
January 3, 1981 at Kensington
Palace, at the age of 97.
