| Prince Arthur | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke of Connaught and Strathearn | |||||
 Photograph byAlexander Bassano,c. 1885 | |||||
| 10thGovernor General of Canada | |||||
| In office 13 October 1911 – 11 November 1916 | |||||
| Monarch | George V | ||||
| Prime Minister | |||||
| Preceded by | The Earl Grey | ||||
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Devonshire | ||||
| Born | (1850-05-01)1 May 1850 Buckingham Palace,London, England | ||||
| Died | 16 January 1942(1942-01-16) (aged 91) Bagshot Park,Surrey, England | ||||
| Burial | 23 January 1942 | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
| House | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (until 1917) Windsor (from 1917) | ||||
| Father | Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | ||||
| Mother | Queen Victoria | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
| Education | Royal Military Academy, Woolwich | ||||
| Military career | |||||
| Branch | British Army | ||||
| Years of service | 1868–1942 | ||||
| Rank | Field Marshal | ||||
| Unit | Royal Engineers Royal Regiment of Artillery Rifle Brigade | ||||
| Commands | Inspector-General of the Forces Commander-in-Chief, Ireland Third Army Corps Aldershot Command Southern Command Bombay Army | ||||
| Battles / wars | Fenian RaidsAnglo-Egyptian War | ||||
| Awards | Volunteer Officers' Decoration Territorial Decoration | ||||
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 1850 – 16 January 1942), was the seventh child and third son ofQueen Victoria of the United Kingdom andPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served asGovernor General of Canada, thetenth sinceCanadian Confederation and the onlyBritish prince to do so.
Arthur was educated by private tutors before entering theRoyal Military Academy at Woolwich at 16 years old. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as alieutenant in theBritish Army, where he served for some 40 years, seeing service in various parts of theBritish Empire and rising to the rank offield marshal. During this time, he was also created aroyal duke, becomingDuke of Connaught and Strathearn as well asEarl of Sussex. In 1900, he was appointed asCommander-in-Chief, Ireland, which he regretted; his preference was to join thecampaign against the Boers in South Africa.[1] In 1911, he was appointed Governor General of Canada, replacingAlbert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, asviceroy. He occupied this post until he was succeeded byVictor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire, in 1916. He acted as the King's, and thus theCanadian Commander-in-Chief's, representative through the first years of theFirst World War.
After the end of his viceregal tenure, Arthur returned to Britain and performed various royal duties there and in Ireland, while also again taking up military duties. Though he retired from public life in 1928, he continued to make his presence known in the army well into the Second World War, before his death in 1942. He was Queen Victoria's last surviving son.
Arthur was born atBuckingham Palace on 1 May 1850, the seventh child and third son ofQueen Victoria andPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He wasbaptised by theArchbishop of Canterbury,John Bird Sumner, on 22 June in the palace's private chapel. His godparents werePrince William of Prussia (the later King of Prussia and German Emperor Wilhelm I); hisgreat-uncle's sister-in-law,Princess Bernard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (for whom his maternal grandmother theDuchess of Kent stood proxy); and theDuke of Wellington, with whom he shared his birthday and after whom he was named.[2][3] As with his older brothers, Arthur received his early education from privatetutors. It was reported that he became the Queen's favourite child.[4]
It was at an early age that Arthur developed an interest in the army, and in 1866 he followed through on his military ambitions by enrolling at theRoyal Military Academy, Woolwich, from where he graduated two years later and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Corps ofRoyal Engineers on 18 June 1868.[5] The Prince transferred to theRoyal Regiment of Artillery on 2 November 1868 and,[6] on 2 August 1869, to theRifle Brigade,[7] his father's own regiment, after which he pursued a long and distinguished career as an army officer, including service in South Africa, Canada in 1869, Ireland, Egypt in 1882, and in India from 1886 to 1890.
In Canada, Arthur, as an officer with theMontreal detachment of the Rifle Brigade,[3] undertook a year's training and engaged in defending theDominion from theFenian Raids; there was initially concern that his personal involvement in Canada's defence might put the Prince in danger from Fenians and their supporters in the United States, but it was decided his military duty came first.[3] Following his arrival atHalifax, Arthur toured the country for eight weeks and made a visit in January 1870 to Washington, D.C., where he met withPresidentUlysses S. Grant.[3][8] During his service in Canada he was also entertained by Canadian society; among other activities, he attended an investiture ceremony inMontreal, was a guest at balls and garden parties, and attended the opening of parliament inOttawa (becoming the first member of the royal family to do so),[8] all of which was documented in photographs that were sent back for the Queen to view. On 25 May 1870 he was engaged in fending off Fenian invaders during theBattle of Eccles Hill, for which he received theFenian Medal.[9]
Arthur made an impression on many in Canada. He was given on 1 October 1869 the titleChief of the Six Nations by theIroquois of theGrand River Reserve inOntario and the nameKavakoudge (meaning the sun flying from east to west under the guidance of theGreat Spirit), enabling him to sit in the tribe's councils and vote on matters of tribe governance. As he became the 51st chief on the council, his appointment broke the centuries-old tradition that there should only be 50 chiefs of the Six Nations.[10] Of the Prince, Lady Lisgar, wife of then Governor General of CanadaLord Lisgar, noted in a letter to Victoria that Canadians seemed hopeful Prince Arthur would one day return as governor general.[11]
Arthur was promoted to the honorary rank of colonel on 14 June 1871,[12] substantive lieutenant-colonel in 1876,[3] colonel on 29 May 1880 and,[13] on 1 April 13 years later, was made a general.[3] He gained military experience as Commander-in-Chief of theBombay Army from December 1886 to March 1890.[14] He went on to beGeneral officer commandingSouthern District, atPortsmouth, from September 1890[15][16] to 1893.[17] The Prince had hoped to succeed his first cousin once-removed, the elderlyPrince George, Duke of Cambridge, asCommander-in-Chief of the Forces, upon the latter's forced retirement in 1895. But this desire was denied to Arthur, and instead he was given, between 1893[18] and 1898, command of theAldershot District Command.[15]He was appointedColonel-in-Chief of theRifle Brigade in 1880 and of the6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons in 1897,Honorary Colonel of theIsle of Wight Artillery Militia (later the 'Duke of Connaught's Own') in 1875 and of the3rd (West Kent Militia) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) in 1884.[19] In August 1899 the 6th Battalion, Rifles of the CanadianNon-Permanent Active Militia, located inVancouver,British Columbia, also asked Prince Arthur to give his name to the regiment and act as its honorary colonel. The regiment had recently been converted to the infantry role from the 2nd Battalion, 5th British Columbia Regiment of Canadian Artillery. With the Prince's agreement the unit was renamed 6th Regiment, Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles (DCORs) on 1 May 1900. He was subsequently appointed colonel-in-chief of the regiment, then known asThe British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own), in 1923. He held that appointment until his death. Additionally, in 1890 he became patron of, giving his name to, the6th Duke of Connaught's Royal Canadian Hussars, which in 1958 amalgamated with17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars, to become theRoyal Canadian Hussars.
On 26 June 1902 he was promoted to the post offield marshal, and thereafter served in various important positions, includingCommander-in-Chief, Ireland, from January 1900[20] to 1904, with the dual position of commander of theThird Army Corps from October 1901,[21] andInspector-General of the Forces, between 1904 and 1907.
For a brief period of time, after theMay Coup that took place inSerbia in 1903, he was among those considered for the vacant Serbian throne after the extinction of the then rulingObrenović dynasty. His succession was advocated particularly among the conservative anglophile circles, represented most prominently byČedomilj Mijatović, then Serbian ambassador to theCourt of St James's.[22]
On his mother's birthday (24 May) in 1874, Arthur was created a royalpeer, being titled as theDuke of Connaught and Strathearn andEarl of Sussex.[23] Some years later, Arthur came into the direct line of succession to the Duchy ofSaxe-Coburg and Gotha in Germany, upon the death in 1899 of his nephew,Prince Alfred of Edinburgh, the only son of his elder brother,Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. He decided, however, to renounce his own and his son's succession rights to the duchy, which then passed to his other nephew,Prince Charles Edward, the posthumous son ofPrince Leopold, Duke of Albany.[24]
AtSt. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 13 March 1879, Arthur marriedPrincess Louise Margaret of Prussia, the daughter of PrinceFrederick Charles and a great-niece of the German Emperor, Arthur's godfather, Wilhelm I. The couple had three children: PrincessMargaret Victoria Charlotte Augusta Norah (15 January 1882 – 1 May 1920), PrinceArthur Frederick Patrick Albert (13 January 1883 – 12 September 1938), and PrincessVictoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth (17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974), who were all raised at the Connaughts' country home,Bagshot Park, inSurrey, and after 1900 atClarence House, the Connaughts' London residence. Through his children's marriages, Arthur became the father-in-law of Crown PrinceGustaf Adolf of Sweden;Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife; and SirAlexander Ramsay. The Duke's first two children predeceased him; Margaret while pregnant with her sixth child.[n 1] For many years, Arthur maintained a liaison withLeonie, Lady Leslie, sister ofJennie Churchill, while still remaining devoted to his wife.[25]
Alongside his military career, the Duke continued to undertake royal duties beyond, or only vaguely associated with, the army. He also represented the monarchy throughout the Empire. On the return from a posting in India, he again, this time with his wife, toured Canada in 1890, stopping in all major cities across the country.[10] He also toured Canada in 1906.[26] In January 1903, the Duke and Duchess represented the new KingEdward VII at the 1903Delhi Durbar to celebrate his accession. On their way to India, the couple passed through Egypt where the Duke opened theAswan dam on 10 December 1902.[27]
In 1910, Arthur travelled aboard theUnion-Castle Line shipBalmoral Castle to South Africa, to open the first parliament of the newly formedUnion of South Africa,[28] and inJohannesburg on 30 November he laid a commemorative stone at theRand Regiments Memorial, dedicated to the British soldiers that died during theSecond Boer War.[29]
Prince Arthur was aFreemason and was elected asGrand Master of theUnited Grand Lodge of England when his elder brother was obliged to resign the office upon his accession in 1901 as King Edward VII. He was subsequently re-elected an additional 37 times before 1939, when the Prince was nearly 90 years of age.
It was announced on 6 March 1911 that KingGeorge V had, by commission under theroyal sign-manual, approved the recommendation of his British prime minister,H.H. Asquith, to appoint Arthur asGovernor General of Canada, the representative of the monarch.[30] His brother-in-law,John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, had previously served as the country's governor general, but when Arthur was sworn in on 13 October 1911 in thesalon rouge of theparliament buildings of Quebec,[31] he became the first Governor General who was a member of theBritish royal family.[30]
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To Canada, Arthur brought with him his wife and his younger daughter, the latter of whom would become an extremely popular figure with Canadians. The Governor General and his viceregal family travelled throughout the country, performing such constitutional and ceremonial tasks as opening parliament in 1911 (for which Arthur wore his field marshal's uniform and the Duchess of Connaught wore the gown she had worn at theKing's coronation earlier that year) and,[31] in 1917, laying at the newly rebuiltCentre Block onParliament Hill the same cornerstone his older brother, the late King Edward VII, had set on 1 September 1860, when the original building was under construction. The family crossed the country a number of times and the Governor General made another trip to the United States in 1912, when he met with PresidentWilliam Howard Taft.[32]
When in Ottawa, Connaught maintained a routine of four days each week at his office onParliament Hill and held small, private receptions for members of all political parties and dignitaries. The Duke learned toice skate and hosted skating parties at his official residence—Rideau Hall— to which the Connaughts made many physical improvements during Arthur's term as governor general. The royal family also took tocamping and other outdoor sports, such as hunting and fishing.[33]
In 1914, the First World War broke out, with Canadians called to arms againstGermany andAustria-Hungary. Arthur maintained a wider role inthe empire— for instance, from 1912 until his death, serving asColonel-in-Chief of theCape Town Highlanders Regiment[34]— but the Connaughts remained in Canada after the beginning of the global conflict, Arthur emphasising the need for military training and readiness for Canadian troops departing for war, and giving his name to the Connaught Cup for theRoyal North-West Mounted Police, to encourage pistol marksmanship for recruits. He was also active in auxiliary war services and charities and conducted hospital visits. Though well intended, upon the outbreak of the war, Arthur immediately donned his field marshal's uniform and went, without advice or guidance from his ministers, to training grounds and barracks to address the troops and to see them off before their voyage to Europe. This was much to the chagrin of Prime MinisterRobert Borden, who saw the Prince as oversteppingconstitutional conventions.[35] Borden placed blame on the military secretary, Edward Stanton (whom Borden considered to be "mediocre"), but also opined that Arthur "laboured under the handicap of his position as a member of the royal family and never realised his limitations as Governor General."[36] At the same time, the Duchess of Connaught worked forSt John Ambulance, theRed Cross, and other organisations to support the war cause. She was also Colonel-in-Chief of theDuchess of Connaught's Own Irish Canadian Rangers battalion, one of the regiments in theCanadian Expeditionary Force, and Princess Patricia also lent her name and support to the raising of a new Canadian army regiment—Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
His term as Canada's Governor General ended in 1916.
Following the war, Arthur commissioned in memory of Canada's fallen astained glass window which is located inSt. Bartholomew's Church, Ottawa, which the family attended regularly.
After his years in Canada, the Duke held no similar public offices but undertook a number of public engagements. In 1920, he travelled to South Africa to openChapman's Peak Drive.[37] The following year he travelled to India, where he officially opened the newCentral Legislative Assembly,Council of State, andChamber of Princes.[38] During his time in India, theIndian National Congress'sfirst satyagraha was ongoing; as part of this, shops were closed and few Indians attended the official ceremonies when he visitedCalcutta in the same year.[39] As president of theBoy Scouts Association and one ofLord Baden-Powell's friends and admirers, he performed the official opening of the3rd World Scout Jamboree atArrowe Park.
The Duke also returned to military service and continued well into the Second World War,[40] where he was seen as a grandfather figure by aspiring recruits. The Duchess, who had been ill during their years at Rideau Hall, had died in March 1917, and Arthur mostly withdrew from public life in 1928.[citation needed]
Prince Arthur died on 16 January 1942 atBagshot Park. At the age of 91 years and 260 days he was the equallongest-lived of Queen Victoria's children, alongside his elder sister,Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, who had died two years and one month before. A funeral service for the Duke was held atSt George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on 23 January, after which his body was placed temporarily in the Royal Vault beneath the chapel.[41] He was reburied on 19 March 1942 in theRoyal Burial Ground, Frogmore.[42] He was Queen Victoria's last surviving son.[43] His will was sealed inLlandudno after his death in 1942. His estate was valued at £150,677 (or £4.9 million in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).[44]
His great-nephewKing Edward VIII remembered Prince Arthur in his memoirs:
His manners were faultless; his courtesy invested his simplest action with dignity and naturalness. I would not have called him a completely happy man. His family life had not been without sadness. As a younger brother and later the uncle and great-uncle of successive Sovereigns he had always had to play second fiddle in the affairs of the Royal Family. Yet, he never shirked the onerous demands made upon his services. As a sponsor of a multitude of national institutions and undertakings he was a distinguished figure in public life. In his personal philosophy, he was urbane, tolerant and wise. Even when I sometimes found myself in rebellion against some of the things of the world of which he was a part, I nevertheless felt that, while he might not necessarily approve the course I had in mind, he would view it in a sympathetic and understanding light.[45]
As a member of the royal family and having been a viceroy, Prince Arthur held a number of titles and styles during his life. He was also the recipient of many honours, both domestic and foreign. He was an active member of the military, eventually reaching the rank offield marshal, and served aspersonal aide-de-camp to four successive sovereigns.
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| Image | Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Princess Margaret of Connaught | 15 January 1882 | 1 May 1920 | married, 15 June 1905, Crown PrinceGustaf Adolf of Sweden; had issue (includingIngrid, Queen of Denmark). |
 | Prince Arthur of Connaught | 13 January 1883 | 12 September 1938 | married, 15 October 1913,Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife; had issue. |
 | Princess Patricia of Connaught | 17 March 1886 | 12 January 1974 | married, 27 February 1919, Captain SirAlexander Ramsay, renouncing her title and becoming Lady Patricia Ramsay; had issue. |
| Ancestors of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn[48] |
|---|
Named in his honour:
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Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Cadet branch of theHouse of Wettin Born: 1 May 1850 Died: 16 January 1942 | ||
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor General of Canada 1911–1916 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | C-in-C, Bombay Army 1886–1890 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GOC Southern District 1890–1893 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GOC-in-C Aldershot Command 1893–1898 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief, Ireland 1900–1904 | Succeeded by |
| New post | Inspector-General of the Forces 1904–1907 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by New post | Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, Mediterranean 1907–1909 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonel of theScots Guards 1883–1904 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonel of theGrenadier Guards 1904–1942 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Great Master of the Order of the Bath 1901–1942 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senior Privy Counsellor 1921–1942 | Succeeded by |
| Masonic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England 1901–1939 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Duke of Connaught and Strathearn 1874–1942 | Succeeded by |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
