Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester

Born 26 August 1944, Richard Alexander Walter George was the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and fifth in line to the throne - a position distant enough to plan an ordinary career. He trained and practised as an architect, building a life outside palace walls. Then his elder brother William died, and the path to the dukedom opened where none had been before. He married Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen on 8 July 1972. Two years later, in 1974, he succeeded his father as Duke of Gloucester, stepping into a role of royal representation he'd spent his youth assuming belonged to someone else. He and Birgitte have three children. He is now 32nd in line to the throne and the highest on that list who is not a descendant of George VI.