In 1935, Alice returned to the United Kingdom after learning that her father's health had been deteriorating. A large wedding at
Westminster Abbey had originally been planned, but following the death of the Duke of Buccleuch from cancer on 19 October, and in view of the King's own declining health, the event was scaled down to a more intimate setting. Following the abdication of
Edward VIII in December 1936, the Duke, who was the first adult in the line of succession and therefore the
designated regent in case of an early accession of his niece
Princess Elizabeth, left the army to take on more public duties. The Duchess suffered two miscarriages, During
World War II, the Duchess worked with the
Red Cross and the
Order of St John. She became head of the
Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in 1939 as Senior Controller, changed to Air Commandant on 12 March 1940, and appointed Air Chief Commandant on 4 March 1943, when she took over as director until August 1944. When the WAAF became the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) in 1949, she was appointed an Air Chief Commandant (equivalent to Air vice-marshal) in the new service on 1 February 1949. She was promoted to
Air marshal on 1 September 1968, and to
air chief marshal in the
Royal Air Force on 23 February 1990. She also served as deputy to
Queen Elizabeth, the consort of
George VI, as Commandant-in-Chief of the Nursing Corps. In 1969, the Duke and Duchess were invited to their niece Moyra Dawnay's wedding to Timothy de Zoete, grandson of cricketer
Herman de Zoete. The Duchess of Gloucester served as
Colonel-in-Chief or deputy Colonel-in-Chief of a dozen regiments in the
British Army, including the
King's Own Scottish Borderers, the
Northamptonshire Regiment, the
2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire),
the Royal Anglian Regiment, the
Royal Hussars, and the
Royal Irish Rangers (27th Inniskilling); also, the
Royal Corps of Transport. She was Patron of the
Girls' Day School Trust and from 1940 until her death Patron of
Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh. Her husband was in such poor health at the time of their son's death that the Duchess hesitated whether to tell him, later admitting in her memoirs that she did not but that he may have learned of William's death from television coverage.
Residences In 1937 the couple received a London
grace and favour residence at
York House, St James's Palace, However, records of financial negotiations resulting from the
Abdication of Edward VIII state that Prince Henry received a legacy of £750,000 from his father's private fortune. Following the death of her sister-in-law
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent in 1968, it was announced in November 1969 that the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester would relocate from their home at
York House, St James's Palace to Apartment 1,
Kensington Palace. Justification for the Gloucesters' relocation was provided by a Palace spokesperson, who was quoted in contemporary newspapers as stating "York House is a large and unwieldy house for present-day use. The apartment at Kensington Palace is much more compact, modernised and easier to run." Alice and Henry's recently married younger son
Prince Richard of Gloucester also used the Apartment from 1972. Apartment 1, Kensington Palace would remain Alice's London home for the final thirty-five years of her life. ==Later life==