Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

Infobox British Royalty|royal
name =Prince Henry
title =Duke of Gloucester


caption =Photographic Portrait as Governor-General
succession = Duke of Gloucester
successor =Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
spouse =Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester
issue =Prince William of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
full name =Henry William Frederick Albert
titles ="HRH" The Duke of Gloucester
"HRH" The Prince Henry
"HRH" Prince Henry of Wales
"HRH" Prince Henry of Cornwall and York
"HRH" Prince Henry of York
royal house =House of Windsor
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
father =George V
mother =Mary of Teck
date of birth =birth date|1900|3|31|df=y
place of birth =York Cottage, Sandringham
date of christening =17 May 1900
place of christening =St George's Chapel
date of death =Death date and age|1974|6|10|1900|3|31|df=yes
place of death =Barnwell Manor, Northamptonshire
place of burial =Frogmore Royal Mausoleum
occupation =Governor-General of Australia; Military

The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was a member of the British Royal Family, the third son of George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary, and thus uncle to Elizabeth II. He was appointed potential regent for his niece, when his brother (George VI) came to the throne in 1936, and was required to stay in the United Kingdom until she came of age in case her father died and she ascended the throne under age.

The Duke served as the eleventh Governor-General of Australia, from 1945 to 1947. At his death, he was the last surviving knight of the Order of St. Patrick.

Early life

Prince Henry was born, on 31 March 1900, at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate. His father was Prince George, Duke of York, the eldest surviving son of Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. His mother was The Duchess of York, the only daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Teck. In 1898, Queen Victoria issued letters patent granting the children of the Duke and Duchess of York the style "Royal Highness". Thus he was styled "His Royal Highness" Prince Henry of York from birth.

He was baptised at the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on 17 May 1900, by Randall Thomas Davidson, Bishop of Winchester, and his godparents were Queen Victoria, William II, German Emperor, Princess Henry of Battenberg, the Duchess of Cumberland, Princess Carl of Denmark, Prince George of Greece, Prince Alexander of Teck and the Earl Roberts.

Prince Henry attended Eton College from September 1913 and during the First World War the house in which he lived, Mr. Lubbock's was also home to Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium (later Leopold III).

Military service

Unlike his brothers, Prince Henry joined the Army instead of the Royal Navy. He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1919. He later served with "The King's Royal Rifle Corps" and "the 10th Royal Hussars" before retiring from active service in 1937. Following the outbreak of World War II, he rejoined the Forces, serving as a Chief Liaison Officer. He was appointed a Field Marshal in 1955 and a Marshal of the Royal Air Force in 1958.

Duke of Gloucester

On 31 March 1928 [http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~canyon/peerage_titles.htm#Holders Yvonne's Royalty: Peerage] ] , his father, by now King, created him Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, and Baron Culloden, three titles that linked him with three parts of the United Kingdom, namely England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. On 2 November 1930 he attended the coronation of Haile Selassie of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. In 1934, with the agreement of the Irish President of the Executive Council, Eamon de Valera,Fact|date=February 2007 George V (as King of Ireland) made him a Knight of St Patrick, Ireland's chivalric order. It was the second to last time this order was awarded (the last appointment being the Duke of York, later George VI, in 1936); at the time of his death the Duke of Gloucester was the only remaining knight.

Marriage

On 6 November 1935, Henry married Lady Alice Christabel Montagu-Douglas-Scott, a daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. The marriage was originally planned to take place at Westminster Abbey, but was moved to the more low key Chapel Royal at St James's Palace owing to the death of Lady Alice's father shortly before the wedding.

Following their wedding, Alice was known as HRH The Duchess of Gloucester. Together they had two sons:
* Prince William of Gloucester, 1941-1972
* Prince Richard of Gloucester, born 1944; now Duke of Gloucester.

Infobox Governor-General | name=Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

---

order=11th Governor-General of Australia
term_start=30 January 1945
term_end=11 March 1947
predecessor=The Lord Gowrie
successor=Sir William McKell
birth_date=birth date|1900|3|31|mf=y
birth_place=York Cottage, Sandringham
death_date=death date and age|1974|6|10|1900|3|31|mf=y
death_place=Barnwell Manor, Northamptonshire
spouse=Alice Christabel Montagu-Douglas-Scott
profession=
religion=

Governor-General of Australia

In late 1944 the Duke was unexpectedly appointed Governor-General of Australia. His younger brother, the Duke of Kent, had been offered the position, but he was killed in an air tragedy in Scotland. The Labor Party of the Prime Minister, John Curtin, had a policy of appointing Australians to the vice-regal post. In the circumstances of wartime, Curtin decided that appointing a member of the Royal Family would have two advantages. It would improve the likelihood that Britain would maintain its commitment to the defence of Australia, and make the point that Australia had not become a dependency of the United States. Curtin also thought that appointing an Australian would cause unnecessary partisan division.

Although Gloucester formed a close friendship with Curtin, some considered the appointment was not an enormous success. The Duke had made a successful visit to Australia earlier in 1934. The Duke was shy and appeared stiff and formal to some. He and the Duchess travelled widely using his own plane during their time in office. When Curtin died in 1945, the Duke appointed Frank Forde as prime minister. Gloucester left Australia in March 1947, after two years in the job, due to the need to act as Regent during the absence in South Africa of his brother, King George VI. As a parting gift he left his own plane for use by the government and people of Australia.

Later life

Returning to the UK, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester acquired Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire, while retaining an apartment in Kensington Palace.

In May 1949, the Duke temporarily served in the office of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. This appointment afforded him, for its duration, its Scottish precedence (immediately below the King) and style, "His Grace" The Lord High Commissioner.

The Duke attended the coronation of his niece, Elizabeth II in 1953. Both the Duke and Duchess carried out royal engagements, including several overseas tours.

In 1972, the Duke's eldest son, Prince William, died in a plane crash. The Duke was the last surviving child of King George V and Queen Mary. When he died on 10 June 1974, his second eldest son, Prince Richard inherited the title of Duke of Gloucester. The Duke's wife, Alice, received permission from Queen Elizabeth II to be styled Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester to distinguish herself from Prince Richard's wife. She survived until 2004, becoming the longest-lived member of the British Royal Family in history.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles

*31 March 1900–22 January 1901: "His Royal Highness" Prince Henry of York
*22 January 1901–9 November 1901: "His Royal Highness" Prince Henry of Cornwall and York
*9 November 1901–6 May 1910: "His Royal Highness" Prince Henry of Wales
*6 May 1910–31 March 1928: "His Royal Highness" The Prince Henry
*31 March 1928–10 June 1974: "His Royal Highness" The Duke of Gloucester
**"in Scotland: "May 1949, May 1961, May 1962, May 1963: "His Grace" The Lord High Commissioner

Honours

*KG: Knight of the Garter
*KT: Knight of the Thistle
*KP: Knight of St Patrick
*GCB: Knight Grand Cross of the Bath
*GCMG: Knight Grand Cross of St Michael and St George
*GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
*Royal Victorian Chain
* Order of the Chrysanthemum, 1929 (Japan). [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732380,00.html "Imperial Garter,"] "Time Magazine," May 13, 1929.]

Military

*Colonel in Chief, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

Arms

In 1921, Prince Henry was granted a personal coat of arms, being the royal arms, differenced by a label argent of three points, the centre bearing a lion rampant gules, and the outer points crosses gules. [ [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm Heraldica – British Royal Cadency] ]

Ancestry

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1= 1. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
2= 2. George V of the United Kingdom
3= 3. Mary of Teck
4= 4. Edward VII of the United Kingdom
5= 5. Alexandra of Denmark
6= 6. Francis, Duke of Teck
7= 7. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge
8= 8. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
9= 9. Victoria of the United Kingdom
10= 10. Christian IX of Denmark
11= 11. Louise of Hesse-Kassel
12= 12. Duke Alexander of Württemberg
13= 13. Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde
14= 14. Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
15= 15. Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge
16= 16. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
17= 17. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
18= 18. Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
19= 19. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
20= 20. Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
21= 21. Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel
22= 22. Prince William of Hesse
23= 23. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark
24= 24. Duke Louis of Württemberg
25= 25. Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg
26= 26. Count Rhédy von Kis-Rhéde
27= 27. Baroness Ágnes Inczédy von Nagy-Várad
28= 28. George III of the United Kingdom
29= 29. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
30= 30. Prince Frederick of Hesse
31= 31. Princess Caroline Polyxene of Nassau-Usingen

Notes