Duchess of Gloucester: the hard-working royal you've never heard of

You won't see her featured on The Crown and you've probably never heard of her, but the Duchess of Gloucester has undertaken more than 5,000 engagements as she has been thrust into the spotlight.

She "never expected to undertake royal duties" when she married Prince Richard of Gloucester, said The Times, but a twist of fate meant she would, and she is now supporting the Queen at public events while the King "scales back his work to look after his health".

Who is the Duchess of Gloucester?

The daughter of a Danish solicitor, Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen was born in 1946 in Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, and educated at a Swiss finishing school and the Scandinavian Academy of International Fashion and Design at Copenhagen.

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She first met Richard, a grandson of George V, in the 1960s when both were studying in Cambridge. When the couple announced their marriage, the New York Times ran the headline "Queen's Cousin Will Wed a Secretary".

After they married in 1972, the "dashing" best man, his older brother Prince William, was expected to inherit the dukedom, so Richard "planned for a non-royal professional career", said Town and Country.

But William died six weeks later, when his racing aircraft crashed at an aerodrome near Wolverhampton. The death would mean that Richard became the Duke of Gloucester and Birgitte the Duchess.

The couple have undertaken tours to America and represented Queen Elizabeth at the coronation of King George Tupou of Tonga in 2008, but it is the duchess who is the most enthusiastic.

A documentary showed the Duke visiting a school in Croydon, southeast London, watching a troupe of children perform a dance routine to the Kenny Loggins song "Footloose". During the enthusiastic performance, he turned to a teacher, pointed at the ceiling and asked: “Is this an insulated roof?”

Why is she in the spotlight now?

The Duchess is regarded as more of a natural, and although she has "never given an interview or courted publicity", she now "finds herself with newfound attention", says The Times.

The Daily Express noted that this year, the "unsung hero" has helped Camilla hand out the Queen's Anniversary Prizes to universities and colleges. She joined the Queen and Queen Mathilde of Belgium for a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark International Women's Day.

Another engagement came at a ceremony at Clarence House when the Queen was made an honorary liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers, a philanthropic body whose members are drawn from all walks of life, trades and professions.

She is patron for around 60 charities, including the National Asthma Campaign, and her work for the Lawn Tennis Association has included appearances in the royal box at Wimbledon as well as opening public courts in Tottenham, north London.

She and the Duke, who have an apartment, the Old Stables, at Kensington Palace neighbouring William and Kate, have three children and six grandchildren.