Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester (born Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen; 20 June 1946) is a Danish-born member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a grandson of King George V.
Early life and education
Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen was born on 20 June 1946 in Odense, Denmark, the younger daughter of lawyer Asger Preben Wissing Henriksen and his wife, Vivian van Deurs. She was educated in Odense and at finishing schools in Lausanne and Cambridge. She took her mother's ancestral name van Deurs on 15 January 1966, after her parents' separation. After completing a three-year course in Commercial and Economic Studies in Copenhagen, she moved back to the United Kingdom in 1971 to work as a secretary at the Royal Danish Embassy in London. In February 1972, their engagement was announced. Upon marriage, she assumed the style Her Royal Highness Princess Richard of Gloucester.
Activities
thumb|263px|The Duchess in [[Brisbane, 1979]]
The Duchess of Gloucester has accompanied the Duke of Gloucester on his official visits overseas: her first visit was in 1973, when they represented the Queen at the 70th birthday celebrations of King Olav V of Norway. Birgitte has also travelled overseas in support of her own patronages and military units, including a visit to Iraq in December 2008. They also represented the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the coronation of King George Tupou V of Tonga on 1 August 2008 in Nukuʻalofa.
thumb|right|263px|The Duke and Duchess riding in the [[Scottish State Coach with Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence following the coronation on 6 May 2023]]
Birgitte is sponsor of two Royal Navy ships: and . She is also the royal patron of the Bermuda Regiment. She is patron of SeeAbility, a charity for people with learning disabilities and sight loss; The Lullaby Trust, a baby charity aiming to prevent unexpected deaths in infancy and promote infant health; and Music in Hospitals & Care. She regularly attends functions at schools of which she is president or patron: St Paul's Cathedral School; the Friends of St Paul's Cathedral; the Cathedral Music Trust; St John's School, Leatherhead; Bridewell Royal Hospital (King Edward's School, Witley); the Royal Alexandra and Albert School; the Children's Society; Parkinson's UK; Hope for Youth Northern Ireland; Scottish Opera; Lawn Tennis Association; the Royal School of Needlework; Turn2us; Missing People; and Princess Helena College. After the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, Birgitte became president of the Royal Academy of Music. She is also the patron of Prostate Cancer UK, and in March 2006, she opened the Prostate Centre.
Honours and arms
Honours
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!Country
!Date
!Appointment
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!Post-nominal
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!Other
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|1973
|Recipient of the Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II
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| rowspan="2" |1975
|Dame of Justice of the Order of St John
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|DCStJ
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|Recipient of the Service Medal of the Order of St John
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|1977
|Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
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|2024
|Royal Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
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|LG
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|2024
|Recipient of the Royal Family Order of Charles III
|45x45px
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!
|1 August 2008
|Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Crown of Tonga
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!
|3 March 2015
|Sash of the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle
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Honorary military appointments
; Australia
- Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Australian Army Educational Corps
; New Zealand
- Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal New Zealand Army Educational Corps
- Colonel-in-Chief, of the Adjutant General's Corps (2023–present; Deputy Colonel-in-Chief 1992–2023)
- Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Irish Rangers
- Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Army Medical Service (2024–present)
- Royal Colonel, of the 7th (V) Battalion The Rifles
- Lady Sponsor, of
- Honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Drapers
- 2005: Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers
- Honorary Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers
|year_adopted = 18 July 1973
|coronet = Coronet of a grandchild of the sovereign.
|escutcheon = The Duke of Gloucester's arms and in the centre an escutcheon of pretence Azure a lapwing proper, on a chief Or two pairs of ostrich feathers in saltire Sable