Alastair, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Alastair Arthur Duff Windsor (born August 9, 1914 in Mayfair , London , † April 26, 1943 in Ottawa ) was a member of the British aristocracy. Born Prince Alastair of Connaught , he held the courtesy title of Earl of Macduff for most of his life before inheriting the title of Duke of Connaught and Strathearn a year before his death .
Life
Early life
Alastair was born shortly after the outbreak of the First World War . He was the only child of Arthur of Connaught and his wife and 2nd cousin Alexandra Duff, 2nd Duchess of Fife . His paternal grandfather was Arthur, 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn . Descendant of Queen Victoria by both parents , he was a member of the royal family, ninth position in the line of succession , the title of Prince of Great Britain and Ireland and the address of highness . Alastair was baptized on August 25, 1914 in his parents' house in Mayfair, his godparents were King George V , King Alfonso XIII. of Spain, the Queen Mother Alexandra , his grandfather, the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll and Mary, Countess of Harewood .
In 1917, King George V changed the name of the royal family from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor due to the First World War . In the same year, a letters patent restricted the use of the British prince's title to close relatives of the king. Alastair Windsor, as he was now called, carried the courtesy title Earl of Macduff , since he was no longer a prince than heir apparent to his mother, the Duchess of Fife .
Education and Later Life
Since his father and grandfather were important military leaders, an officer career was also planned for Alastair. He attended Bryanston School and Sandhurst Military Academy . In 1935 he became a second lieutenant in his father's Scots Grays cavalry regiment , which was stationed in Egypt the following year. After his father died from cancer in 1938, Alastair was transferred to Canada in 1939, where he was aide-de-camp of the Governor General Earl of Athlone . In 1942 his grandfather also died; Alastair inherited his peerage as 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn . However, he himself died just over a year later, at the age of only 28, under tragic circumstances: as a loner and dreamer, unsuitable for military service, his comrades and superiors described him as incompetent and marginalized him. He eventually fell out of a window of Rideau Hall one night, very drunk , lay in the open air and died of hypothermia . His body was cremated in Canada, the urn brought to Scotland and buried in Braemar . Since he left no descendants, his titles of nobility became extinct.
Web links
- Death report from the CWGC
- Picture collection and short biography of the National Portrait Gallery
- Personal data sheet of Stanford University
- Mr Alistair Windsor at Hansard (English)
- Alistair Arthur Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn on thepeerage.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Yvonne's Royalty Home Page: Royal Christenings. August 6, 2011, accessed April 17, 2020 .
- ↑ Arthur Bousfield: Royal Observations: Canadians and Royalty , 1991, p. 141; similarly in the diaries of Alan Lascelles
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Arthur Windsor |
Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Earl of Sussex 1942-1943 |
Title expired |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Alastair, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Windsor, Alastair Arthur Duff; Windsor, Alastair, Earl of Macduff; Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Alistair; Prince Alastair of Connaught |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British nobleman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 9, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mayfair , London |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 26, 1943 |
| Place of death | Ottawa |