Second Prince William: The Story of Elizabeth II’s Playboy Cousin Who Dies at 30

Even if you’re a fan of the British royal family, it’s unlikely that you’d know of any other Prince William, with the exception of Cambridge. In the meantime, we want to talk about something else – Prince William of Gloucester.

The British press adored him, his subjects adored him. Prince William was Queen Elizabeth’s cousin – a handsome, intelligent, kind and energetic young man with impeccable manners. He deeply respected his family, but at the same time he greatly valued his freedom, which he bribed the conservative public. He even had fans among his relatives: for example, the son of Elizabeth II. he adored Uncle Will and after several decades named his first child in his honor.

Prince William of Gloucester was born on 18 December 1941 to the brother of King George VI. Henry of Gloucester and Lady Alice. Will’s parents knew that their son, as fourth in line to the throne, was unlikely to become king, so they tried to give him a normal childhood without prying eyes.

The royal couple had been trying for offspring for many years, so when baby William was born, their happiness knew no bounds. From childhood he grew up in an atmosphere of love and affection. The parents knew it was unlikely that their firstborn would ever become king, so they kept the boy away from the public eye.

Unfortunately, plans had to change dramatically after the sudden death of his uncle William, Duke of Kent, who was serving as Governor-General of Australia. The next post was to be taken by Henry of Gloucester, Will’s father, and so in 1944 the whole family moved to another continent. By the way, the local press adored baby William and his younger brother Richard.

In 1947, the whole family returned to the United Kingdom: the Windsors were preparing for an important event – the wedding of the future queen. On November 20, 1947, Elizabeth II. she married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten and little Prince William was honored to be one of the pageboys to accompany the bride to this historic celebration.

Also read: 74 years together: Queen Elizabeth II’s love story and Prince Philip

William, as befits all members of the royal family, received an excellent education. Classmates noted that he never looked down on people, did not take advantage of his status and position in society. The prince was a diligent student and at the same time had an adventurous spirit. He adored his friends, loved adventure and was always the life of the party.

“He was very clever, yet tried his best to avoid the ‘royal’ life. He hated being forced to do something against his will,” said Eton history teacher Giles St Aubyn.

After Cambridge University, William expressed a desire to fly to the United States to take courses in business and politics. He thus became the first member of the British royal family to receive an American education.

The prince was an athletic man: he loved skiing and racing cars. However, his main passion was flying airplanes. Of course, this added points to him in the eyes of women. William was already nicknamed the playboy prince in the press.

William abandoned the traditional military career for members of the British royal family and joined the diplomatic corps. The prince began to travel a lot (which he always dreamed of), but most of all, he was able to escape from the rigidity of royal life in favor of adventure and adventure. Away from the palace, all conventions and restrictions could be forgotten.

William often sat at the helm. For example, in 1967 he flew a plane from Lagos, Nigeria to Tokyo. The journey to the destination took 16 days! There were many tests during the flight, with which the young man coped perfectly, successfully landing the plane at the Tokyo airport.

Of course, a guy like William won the hearts of many girls. Half of Great Britain dreamed of marrying him! Meanwhile, the prince met his love in far away Japan. At one of the social evenings, the 27-year-old prince met a girl named Zuzi Starkloff.

The model of Hungarian origin won the heart of the prince from the first minutes: he fell in love and wanted to be only with her, although at that time Zuzi had two divorces, a child and flight attendant experience.

“We spent every minute together when we weren’t busy with work. He was so clean and seemed much wiser than his age,” Starkloff recalled.

Rumors of the prince’s affair with a twice-divorced flight attendant quickly reached Buckingham Palace. This had the effect of an exploding bomb: at that time Britain had not yet deviated from the scandalous story of King Edward VIII abdicating for his wife Wallis Simpson. Of course, William was not aiming at the king, but the romance of a member of the royal family with a commoner of dubious origin could damage the palace’s reputation even more.

In 1969, Princess Margaret, sister of Elizabeth II, arrived in Tokyo. – ostensibly to attend a business conference, but in reality she was sent by the Queen to ascertain the seriousness of the Prince’s intentions. Unfortunately, she failed to convince her cousin. Soon William personally approached Elizabeth II. “He said he had written to the Queen to ask her permission to marry me. Elizabeth told him to follow his heart, but Prince Philip was very unhappy,” Zuzi recalled.

On the one hand, Prince William had permission to marry from the Queen herself. On the other hand, he felt that he was trapped and this move could cost him too much. “William was devoted to his family, he had responsibilities. I knew there was a fight going on inside him. But I also knew that his feelings for me were strong, so I looked to the future with hope. I never pressured him,” explained his lover.

Being a wise girl, Zuzi decided to give William time to think and flew to New York. They continued to keep in touch: they wrote letters and spent evenings with long telephone conversations.

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In the summer of 1972, Prince William took part in the Goodyear International Air Trophy. He also invited Zuzi, but she couldn’t come because of work. Then the lovers agreed that right after the competition, William would take a plane ticket to New York and finally see each other.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. On August 28, 1972, William sat at the helm, rose into the air and began to maneuver. In an instant, something went wrong and the prince lost control of the ship: the plane crashed, an explosion thundered. Prince William (30) died at the scene.

Zuzi learned about her fiancé’s death from a journalist who called her in New York. Since then, she plunged into a long period of grief, at the end of which she decided to live according to William’s philosophy – to listen only to her heart. “William inspired me to start flying. After his death, I became not only a pilot, but also a flight instructor, “she admitted. By the way, Zuzi remains faithful to Will to this day.

Also read: Royal: what Elizabeth II, her children and grandchildren looked like on their wedding day