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Prince Alastair of Connaught
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{{House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha}}
'''Prince Alastair of Connaught''' (Alastair Arthur Windsor), (
August 9 1914-
April 26 1943) was a member of the
British Royal Family, a great grandson of
Victoria of the United Kingdom Queen Victoria. Prince Alastair was denied the title of a
British prince and the style ''
His Highness'' in
1917. Afterwards he held the courtesy title of
Earl of MacDuff and later inherited his grandfather's titles of
Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.
Early life
Alastair was born on
August 9,
1914 at his parent's home at 54,
Mount Street, Mayfair,
London (now the Brazilian Embassy). His father was
Prince Arthur of Connaught, the only son of
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and
Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught Princess Luise Margarete of Prussia. His mother was Princess Arthur of Connaught (before her marriage
Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife), the eldest daughter of
Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife and
Princess Louise, Princess Royal The Princess Louise, Princess Royal. As a great grandchild of
Victoria of the United Kingdom Queen Victoria through the male line, Alastair was styled ''His Highness Prince Alastair of Connaught'' from birth.
The Prince was baptised at his parent's home and his godparents were:
George V of the United Kingdom King George V,
Alexandra of Denmark Queen Alexandra,
Alfonso XIII of Spain The King of Spain (for whom
Horace Brand Farquhar, 1st Earl Farquhar Lord Farquhar stood proxy),
Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood The Princess Royal,
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught The Duke of Connaught and
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll The Duchess of Argyll.
House of Windsor
Shortly after Alastair was born,
World War I broke out, prompting strong anti-German feelings in the
United Kingdom.
George V of the United Kingdom King George V responded to this by changing the name of the
Royal House from the
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the
House of Windsor and relinquishing all Germanic titles belonging to royals who were British citizens.
In Letters Patent dated
November 20,
1917, King George V undertook further restructuring of the royal styles and titles by restricting the titles of Prince or Princess and the style of
Royal Highness to the children of the sovereign, the children of the sovereign's sons, and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. It further stated all titles of "the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes."
1 At that point, the three year-old became known as ''Alastair Arthur Windsor, Earl of MacDuff''. Although second in line to the dukedom of Connaught and Strathearn as well as earldom of Sussex at the time of his birth, heir of his father who was the
heir apparent, he was the heir apparent to his mother's dukedom of Fife. Therefore, he used his mother's secondary peerage as a
courtesy title.
Army service
Alastair received his education at Bryanston and at
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Sandhurst. In January 1935, he received a commission as a second lieutenant in the Royal Scot Greys (2nd Dragoon), the same regiment in which his father served. He was posted to
Egypt in 1936 and remained there until his transfer to
Canada in 1939. He received a promotion to first lieutenant in July 1939. Alastair served as an aide-de-camp to
Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone Earl of Athlone, then the
Governor General of Canada. His father, Prince Arthur of Connaught, died on
September 12,
1938. Therefore, when his grandfather died on
January 16,
1942, he succeeded as 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Earl of Sussex.
Alastair died at Government House in
Ottawa, where he had been a guest of the Earl of Athlone and
Princess Alice of Albany Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone. The circumstances of his death were somewhat unusual: he apparently fell asleep or passed out in front of an open window and perished from
hypothermia during the night. His ashes were interred at Mar Lodge Chapel,
Braemar,
Aberdeenshire (traditional) Aberdeenshire. Upon his death, the Dukedom of Connaught and Strathearn became extinct. His first cousin,
James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife James Carnegie (
September 23,
1929-), succeeded as 3rd Duke of Fife and Earl of MacDuff, upon Princess Alexandra's death on
February 26,
1959.
Titles
*1914–1917: ''His Highness'' Prince Alastair of Connaught
*1917–1942: Earl of MacDuff
*1942–1943: ''His Grace'' The Duke of Connaught
{{start box}}
{{succession box | before=
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn The Prince Arthur | title=
Duke of Connaught and Strathearn | after=Extinct | years=1942–1943}}
{{end box}}
Category:1914 births Connaught, Alastair Arthur Windsor, 2nd Duke of
Category:1943 deaths Connaught, Alastair Arthur Windsor, 2nd Duke of
Category:Dukes in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Connaught, Alastair Arthur Windsor, 2nd Duke of
Category:English & British princes Alastair of Connaught, Prince
Category:Old Bryanstonians Alastair of Connaught, Prince
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