Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester the Royal Alexandra and Albert School; the Children's Society; Parkinson's UK; Hope for Youth Northern Ireland; Scottish Opera; and Lawn Tennis Association. 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. The Duke and Duchess live in London at Kensington Palace, their official royal residence. Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, (born Birgitte Eva Henriksen, later van Deurs; 20 June 1946), is the wife of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a first
Duchess of Marlborough (Fabergé egg) Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough. In 1902, the Duchess and her husband travelled to Russia, where they dined with Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and visited his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna at the Anichkov Palace. During this visit, the Duchess would have almost certainly seen the Dowager Empress' large collection of Fabergé items, which perhaps inspired her to order this egg. The egg is believed to have cost over 5,000 rubles. After her divorce from the Duke of Marlborough, she donated the Duchess of Marlborough Egg to a charity auction in 1926. The egg was bought by Ganna