The Duke of Gloucester & Royal Adjacent
Spotlighting the minor royals
It always amuses me when I see someone talk about the “minor royals.” You know, when people talk about Meghan and Harry not being “working royals,” and maybe the royal commentators mention others in that class—distant royal cousins like Prince Michael of Kent, who live in Kensington Palace but don’t necessarily work for “the Firm.” Prince Michael of Kent is said to have some kind of “proper” job, whatever that means. Harry and Meghan, likewise, are able to do commercial, corporate deals in the podcasting and video streaming industries, simply because they are no longer tied to the policies that govern “working” royals. Ironically, Harry and Meghan are working individuals. They’re just not working for the monarchy. They work for themselves. It never ceases to amaze me how royal watchers divide royals into these arbitrary categories: working, non-working, minor, major. The Duke of Gloucester is both “minor royal” and “working royal.” Prince Michael, his first cousin, is a “minor royal,” but not a “working royal.” Prince Harry is obviously in the major leagues, we might say, but he is not a “working royal.”
Irene Broutin wrote the eleven episodes of the completed Kindle Vella biography of Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. So little is known about this prince that you could easily be forgiven for confusing him with another, infinitely more famous Richard, Duke of Gloucester—that is, of course, Shakespeare’s Richard III, or even the real King Richard who is suspected of murdering his nephews, the “Princes in the Tower.” But no, this Prince Richard has no scandal to enrich his story. In fact, the most controversial thing he ever did was try to install windmills at his Northamptonshire estate. If it wasn’t for his brother William’s early demise in a flying accident, he never would have left his work in architecture and he surely would never have been counted in the Court Circular. He married a Danish woman as nondescript as he is. Richard and Birgitte are so good at blending in with the curtains, it will only be the keenest royal watcher who even notices their presence on the palace balcony or in the funeral procession. Unlike the more tech savvy millennial royals, the Gloucesters don’t give a damn how many followers they have on social media. They don’t even have social media accounts, although, of course, their completely anonymous grandchildren probably do. So, why, a royal biography for such a dud? Well, it seems Broutin likes to spotlight the supporting cast, Royal Adjacent being another one of her Kindle Vella works. Among those spotlighted in the Royal Adjacent series are the descendants of the late wild child Princess Margaret, who was portrayed on Netflix’s The Crown successively by Vanessa Kirby, Helena Bonham Carter, and Leslie Manville.
The Duke of Gloucester ****
https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09JBM3Z59
Royal Adjacent ***
https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09G9685YC
The cover image for this article is credited to Markus Spiske on Unsplash.