The dedicated Duke of Gloucester: As the first cousin of the late Queen turns 80, how he stepped up to royal duty after tragic plane crash death of his dashing older brother (the other Prince William), writes IAN LLOYD

It was an unexpected family tragedy which changed the life of the Duke of Gloucester for good.

Prince Richard, the late Queen's quiet and unassuming first cousin, turns 80 today, less than three months after marking half a century as a royal duke.

The lifetime of duty he had never envisaged was mapped out in August 1972, when his elder brother - the dashing Prince William - died in a plane crash.  

Born in the last year of the Second World War, Richard was the younger son of Prince Henry - the brother of King George VI - and his wife, Princess Alice, daughter of the wealthy 7th Duke of Buccleuch.

The youngest of George V's nine grandchildren, Richard was 5th in line to the throne at the time of his birth. 

Despite this senior ranking it was never assumed that he would become a full-time working royal. 

The Duke of Gloucester, the late Queen's quiet and unassuming first cousin, turns 80 today, less than three months after marking half a century as a royal duke. Above: Attending the Order of the Garter service in June 2022

 On the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside his wife Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, during Trooping the Colour in June this year

As well as being in the shadow of his older brother, by the time he was 20 Queen Elizabeth had given birth to four children and Princess Margaret had a son and daughter. 

It meant that Richard was becoming increasingly unimportant when it came to the royal pecking order.  

Princess Alice later recalled: 'As parents, we could never quite make out whether our children were supposed to lead royal lives at the command of the Queen or were free to follow professional careers of their choice.' 

Her own life was divided between royal duties and caring for Prince Henry, who became completely dependent following a series of strokes in 1968. 

Two years later, Prince William resigned from service abroad with the Foreign Office to run the family estate at Barnwell, Northamptonshire.

He also took on some of his father's official responsibilities. 

Richard meanwhile, as another royal 'spare', could do more or less what he liked.

Prince Richard pictured with his elder brother, Prince William,  in 1958. William was killed in a plane crash in 1972

Prince Richard and Prince William of Gloucester at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953

Prince William at a 1970 polo match at Windsor. He was a pilot who competed at air shows

How the Daily Mail covered Prince William's fatal air crash

Prince Richard (seated) is seen with his father Prince Henry, mother Princess Alice and brother Prince William at Barnwell Manor, Northamptonshire, in 1950

Prince William of Gloucester, left, with younger brother Richard at Barnwell Manor

Prince Richard, later the Duke of Gloucester, on his way to his job at the Ministry of Public Building and Works in 1966

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, leaves hospital after having an operation for a detached retina, 1978

Prince Richard seen outside his home in 1971, before he had any inkling that he was so succeed his father as the Duke of Gloucester

Prince Richard and his bride Birgitte seen on their wedding day in July 1972 at St Andrew's Church, Barnwell, Northamptonshire. This was just weeks before the death of his  brother  

After studying architecture at Cambridge University, he became a partner with Hunt Thompson Associates in London.

It was while he was studying at Cambridge that he met Birgitte van Deurs, a Danish lawyer's daughter who was attending a local language school. 

Their romance continued when she moved to London in 1971 to become a secretary at the Danish Embassy.

The couple married near the family seat, Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire, in July 1972. 

Prince William had been their best man and a month before the wedding had enjoyed a holiday with Richard, Birgitte and Princess Alice in Kenya. 

Prince and Princess Richard, as they were to be known, set up home in Camden, and were prepared for a relatively normal, uneventful life. Then tragedy struck. 

Just two days after Richard's 28th birthday, news reached them that William's plane had crashed while he was competing in an air race, the Goodyear International Trophy at Halfpenny Green, near Dudley in the West Midlands. 

The prince and his co-pilot, Lieutenant-Commander Vyrell Mitchell, were killed instantly and so badly burned that both had to be identified from dental records and personal belongings.

Richard and Birgitte's young life of quiet domesticity was shattered in an instant. 

Instead of commuting to work as plain Mr Gloucester on his motorbike, he now had to run the Barnwell estate and take on more royal duties. 

He summed it up in an interview at the time: 'One part of me is an architect, one is now a farmer, and one is a Royal Prince, really in that order. 

'Being all three does pose certain strains. But I hope to be able to fit all three together.'

For a time, he did juggle his responsibilities successfully. In 1971 he took photos of a selection of London's open-air sculpture, for his book 'On Public View'. 

The Duke and Duchess have three children together: son Alexander (born 1974) and daughters Lady Davina (right - born 1977) and Lady Rose (born 1980). Above: The family in 1989

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester with their Daughter, Lady Rose Windsor, at their home, Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire, in 1989

Lady Rose Windsor and her father the Duke of Gloucester at her wedding to George Gilman, which took place at the Queen's Chapel near St James's Palace on July 19, 2008

Two years later he released 'The Face of London', an illustrated book on the capital's architecture.

The death of Prince Henry in June 1974 was another watershed moment in Richard's life. 

He and Birgitte had already moved from Camden into the splendour of a Kensington Palace apartment that was once home to his aunt, Princess Marina. 

Tragedy was mixed with joy as, the same week the old Duke died, the couple announced that Birgitte was pregnant with their first child. 

Alexander, Earl of Ulster, was born on October 24, 1974. His arrival was followed by two daughters, Davina in 1977 and Rose in 1980. 

Each of them have had two children of their own, giving Richard and Birgitte six grandchildren in all.

So, after his father's death, Richard swapped the life of a part-time city architect for that of a full-time working royal. 

He became His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester  

The Duke would become associated with over 150 organisations, some of them to do with architecture. 

He also represented the late Queen as far back as the wedding of Crown Prince Birendra of Nepal in 1970 and attended the independence celebrations of the Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Vanuatu.

More recently, he represented Her Majesty at the Funeral of King Tupou V of Tonga in March 2012; at the Vatican for the Inauguration of Pope Francis on 19 March 2013; and in South Korea for the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice in July 2013. 

The Queen made him a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 1974 and a Knight of the Garter in 1997.

Quiet, understated and committed to royal duty, the Duke of Gloucester was a first cousin to Her Late Majesty The Queen. Above: The pair in 2012

The Duke of Gloucester is seen with his cousins the Duke of Kent (centre) and Prince Michael of Kent on the day of the Queen's funeral

The Duke of Gloucester depart the Order of the Garter service at Windsor Castle on June 17, 2024

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester depart the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester feature with other senior royals in one of the official photographs taken on the day of the King's Coronation, May 2023

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester make their way to their seats at the King's Coronation, May 2023

As he has approached the start of his ninth decade, the Duke has shown little sign of slowing down. 

Both he and the Duchess carry out hundreds of engagements every year as working members of the Royal Family. 

Their devotion to royal service was rewarded last year with a place in the carriage procession to Buckingham Palace following King Charles' Coronation. 

In June, Richard and Birgitte had a place on the Buckingham Palace balcony at Trooping the Colour.

Their meaningful engagements, which receive minimal press attention, have been especially integral this year amid the cancer treatment that both the King and the Princess of Wales are undergoing. 

When he took over the dukedom in 1974, Richard explained: 'You can never reject your heritage. I have a job to do. I can only do my best.' 

Half a century later, as he celebrates his landmark birthday, he is still continuing to do his best.