Official Title: His Royal Highness, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester

Place in Order of Precedence: The Duke of Gloucester is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth, and when he was born he was fifth in line to the throne. He is currently 27th in line and the first in line who isn’t descended from King George VI (The Queen’s father).

Royal Pedigree: He is the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary (the grandparents he shares with The Queen). He had originally planned to lead a “normal” life and was an architect until his older brother passed away, making him the heir to the dukedom of Gloucester, which he inherited in 1974.

Romantic History: Richard met his Danish wife, Birgitte in Cambridge and they were married in 1972, the first and only marriage for both of them.

Children: Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster (46), married to Claire Booth since 2002, the couple has two children. Lady Davina Windsor (43), who married Gary Lewis in 2004 and divorced him in 2018. They have two children. Lady Rose Gilman (40), married to George Gilman since 2008, they have two children.

Key Causes/Patronages:

• The Duke has several patronages related to his early career as an architect including the construction charity Construction Youth Trust, where he even gives his name to their long standing Duke of Gloucester Young Achiever's Scheme Awards. The Duke is also patron of the Architects Benevolent Society and the UK branch of the charity Habitat for Humanity, the President of the Society of Architect Artists, and a Commissioner of the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England.

• He is also a supporter of several architectural preservation societies, including the Kensington Society, the Victorian Society and the International Council on Monuments and Sites, UK National Committee. 

• With an interest in cars in driving, he was the President of the Institute of Advanced Motorists for more than 30 years (until stepping down in 2005) - he even passed their Advanced Driving Test!

• Total, there are more than 150 organizations that he supports or is the Patron of in addition to traveling around the world to represent The Queen.

Why You Want to Have Tea with Him:

Until I started following the Royal Family closely, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester had never crossed my radar - they are truly the royals that very few outside of the U.K. know about, which makes them all the more fascinating. I think part of this is because Prince Richard had lived his life not intending to inherit the Dukedom, or be a full time royal until his brother (also named Prince William) passed away. He had graduated from Cambridge and gone to work at a London architectural firm prior to stepping into his royal role. He is one of the royals who truly does his job out of duty and service to crown.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are residents of Kensington Palace, along with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. The lived in Apartment 1 from 1972-2018, when they moved to the Old Stables, a move that had originally been planned to allow Prince Harry and Meghan to move into Apartment 1, before they instead chose to move to Frogmore Cottage. All of that makes me think that the Duke of Gloucester must have so much good gossip on the extended royals!