Princess Alexandra's birth was the last to involve an old tradition started in a time of royal crisis
16th November 2023
In years gone by, it was customary for the birth of any royal baby to be witnessed by the UK Home Secretary ensuring the new arrival was genuine.
The Queen’s cousin, Princess Alexandra, was the last royal to have had her birth witnessed by the by an official political observer in 1936.
Sir John Simon, Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Home Office, was present when Princess Marina…