Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944), is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the youngest of the nine grandchildren of George V, nephew of Edward VIII and George VI, and first cousin of Elizabeth II. He is 32nd in the line of succession to the British throne, and the highest person on the list who is not a descendant of George VI. At the time of his birth, he was fifth in line to the throne.

Richard practised as an architect until the death of his elder brother, William, placed him in direct line to inherit his father's dukedom of Gloucester, to which he succeeded in 1974. He married Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen on 8 July 1972. They have three children.

Richard was born on 26 August 1944 at 12:15 pm at St Matthew's Nursing Home in Northampton, the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. His father was the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. His mother was the third daughter of John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch, and Lady Margaret Bridgeman. At the time of his birth, he was second in line to his father's dukedom, behind his elder brother, Prince William of Gloucester, who died in an air crash in 1972 before inheriting the title and having any children of his own.

Richard was baptised at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park on 20 October 1944 by the retired Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Gordon Lang. His godparents were his paternal aunt, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Marie Louise (his first cousin twice removed), Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (his grandaunt and first cousin twice removed, for whom her daughter, Lady May Abel Smith stood proxy), the Duke of Buccleuch (his maternal uncle), the Marquess of Cambridge (his cousin), Lady Sybil Phipps (his maternal aunt), and General the Earl Alexander of Tunis (for whom his wife, then Lady Margaret Alexander, stood proxy). Because of the War, newspapers did not identify the precise location of the christening, saying only that it took place at "a private chapel in the country". When Richard was four months old, he accompanied his parents to Australia, where his father served as governor-general from 1945 to 1947. The family returned to Barnwell Manor in 1947, where Richard spent most of his childhood.

Richard's early education took place at home, under the instruction of Rosalind Ramirez, who had also tutored young King Faisal II of Iraq; later, he attended Wellesley House School at Broadstairs and Eton College. In 1963, he matriculated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he studied architecture, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in June 1966. As is customary at Cambridge, this proceeded to MA (Cantab) in 1971.

In 1966, Richard joined the Offices Development Group in the Ministry of Public Building and Works for a year of practical work. He returned to Cambridge in 1967, completing both parts of the Diploma in Architecture degree in June 1969. Upon passing his exams, he became a practising partner with Hunt Thompson Associates, Architects, in London.

On 8 July 1972, Richard married Danish-born Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen at St Andrew's Church, Barnwell, Northamptonshire; the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester have three children:

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester's official residence is at Kensington Palace in London. They have leased their private home, Barnwell Manor, since 1994. In September 2022, the Duke put the manor up for sale for £4.75 million.