The Other Queen Mother: The Forgotten WW2 Hero | The Queen’s Mother in Law | Timeline

We all know about the late Queen Mum – one of Britain’s most instantly recognisable figures. But few have even heard of the Queen’s mother-in-law, Princess Alice. And yet, the life story of Prince Philip’s mother almost defies belief. A great granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Prince Philip’s mother married into the Greek royal family – only to see the Greek monarchy overthrown by revolution. Fleeing into exile, she suffered a severe nervous breakdown. She was locked away in mental hospitals and subjected to experimental treatments by psychiatrists – including Sigmund Freud himself. The trauma had a shattering effect on Princess Alice’s marriage and led to a fractured childhood for her only son Prince Philip. Philip’s mother eventually fought her way back from mental illness, and became an unlikely hero of World War Two – risking her life to hide a Jewish family from the Nazis. When her son married the future Queen Elizabeth in 1948, Alice turned down the option of a cosy royal life. Instead she