Prince George, Duke of Kent
Encyclopedia
Prince George, Duke of Kent (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British Royal Family
, the fourth son of George V
and Mary of Teck
, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI. He held the title of Duke of Kent
from 1934 until his death in 1942.
on the Sandringham Estate
in Norfolk, England. His father was Prince George, Prince of Wales
, the eldest surviving son of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra
. His mother was the Princess of Wales
, the eldest daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Teck
. At the time of his birth, he was fifth in the line of succession behind his father and three older brothers. As a grandchild of the British monarch in a male line, he was styled His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales.
He was baptised in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle
on 26 January 1903 by Francis Paget
, Bishop of Oxford
(with "ordinary" water, as opposed to water from the Jordan, usual for royal christenings). His godparents were: King Edward VII
and Queen Alexandra
(his paternal grandparents); the Dowager Empress of Russia (his paternal grandaunt, for whom his paternal aunt Princess Victoria stood proxy); Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
(his paternal grandaunt); Prince Valdemar of Denmark
(his granduncle, for whom Prince George's uncle Prince Carl of Denmark
stood proxy); and Prince Louis of Battenberg (his cousin).
), to St. Peter's Court Preparatory School at Broadstairs, in Kent. At age thirteen, like his brothers, Prince Edward (later Edward VIII
) and Prince Albert (later George VI
), before him, he went to naval college, first at Osborne
and, later, at Dartmouth
. He remained in the Royal Navy
until 1929, serving on the Iron Duke
and later the Nelson
. After leaving the navy, he briefly held posts at the Foreign Office and later the Home Office, becoming the first member of the British Royal Family
to work as a civil servant.
In October 1938 George was appointed Governor General of Australia in succession to Lord Gowrie
with effect from November 1939. On 11 September 1939 it was announced that, owing to the outbreak of World War II
, the appointment was postponed.
In 1939 George was elected Grand Master
of the United Grand Lodge of England
, an office he held until his death.
At the start of World War II
, George returned to active military service in the rank of Rear Admiral
, briefly serving on the Intelligence Division of the Admiralty
. In April 1940, he transferred to the Royal Air Force
. He temporarily relinquished his rank as Air Vice-Marshal
(the equivalent of Rear Admiral) to assume the post of Staff Officer at RAF Training Command
in the rank of Air Commodore
.
he was created Duke of Kent, Earl of St Andrews and Baron Downpatrick. The couple married on 29 November 1934 at Westminster Abbey
. The bride was a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and a great-niece of Queen Alexandra
. It was the last marriage between a son of a British Sovereign and a member of a foreign Royal House to date. Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II), daughter of King George VI, married Prince Philip of Greece in November 1947. This was the last marriage between the British and other Royal families.
Princess Marina became known as HRH The Duchess of Kent following the marriage. She and her husband had three children:
; banking heiress Poppy Baring; socialite Margaret Whigham (later Duchess of Argyll and involved in a notoriously scandalous divorce case); Barbara Cartland
, later known as a romantic novelist; and musical star Jessie Matthews
. Claims that he had a 19-year affair with Noël Coward
were denied by Coward's long-term partner, Graham Payn
. Intimate letters from the Duke to Coward are believed to have been stolen from Coward's house in 1942. There is some suggestion that the duke had an affair with Indira Raje, the Maharani of Cooch Behar
(1892–1968), in the late 1920s, according to British historian Lucy Moore
. He was also extremely close to Henry "Chips" Channon
.
The Duke of Kent is said to have been addicted to drugs (notably morphine
and cocaine
) – a weakness which his brother the Prince of Wales was deputed to cure him of during the latter part of the 1920s – and reportedly was blackmailed by a male prostitute to whom he wrote intimate letters. Another of his reported sexual liaisons was with his distant cousin Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia
; traitor and art historian Anthony Blunt
was reputedly another intimate. The Duke was known to have attempted to court Crown Princess Juliana
of the Netherlands. She spurned the overture and married Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Bisterfeld instead.
In addition to his legitimate children, the Duke is said to have had a son by Kiki Preston
(née Alice Gwynne, 1898–1946), an American socialite whom he reportedly shared in a ménage à trois
with Jorge Ferrara, the bisexual son of the Argentine ambassador to the Court of St. James's. Known as "the girl with the silver syringe", drug-addict Preston – a cousin of railroad heiress Gloria Vanderbilt
– was married first to Horace R.B. Allen and then, in 1925, to banker Jerome Preston. She died after jumping out of a window of the Stanhope Hotel
in New York City. According to the memoirs of a friend, Loelia, Duchess of Westminster, Prince George's brother (the Duke of Windsor
) believed that the son was Michael Temple Canfield (1926–1969), the adopted son of American publisher Cass Canfield
– and the first husband of Lee Radziwill
, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
.
Another reputed illegitimate lovechild was Raine McCorquodale, daughter of Barbara Cartland
, whose step-granddaughter Diana Spencer
married George's great-nephew Charles
.
, a position previously occupied by his father, the King. In 1937 he was granted a commission in the Royal Air Force
as a group captain
. He was also made the Honorary Air Commodore of No. 500 (County of Kent) Squadron
Auxiliary Air Force
. Prince George was later promoted to the higher rank of air vice-marshal
but, on taking up active RAF duties as a welfare officer in 1940, he relinquished his senior rank, reverting to group captain.
flying boat
in which he was a passenger crashed into a hillside near Dunbeath
, Caithness
, in bad weather. The plane was en route from Evanton
, Ross Shire, to Iceland
, and then on to the Dominion of Newfoundland
.
, only six weeks earlier. The Duke's remains lay initially in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. Later they were buried in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, directly behind Queen Victoria's
mausoleum, Windsor. He was succeeded as Duke of Kent
by his elder son, Edward
.
's 2003 television serial The Lost Prince
, a biography of the life of the Duke's younger brother John, who suffered from epilepsy, was isolated from most of the family and also kept away from public gaze, and who died at the age of 13. In the film, the teenage Prince 'Georgie' is portrayed as sensitive, intelligent, artistic and almost uniquely sympathetic to his brother's plight. He is shown to detest his time at Naval College, and to have a difficult relationship with his austere father.
Much of his later life was outlined in the documentary film The Queen's Lost Uncle mentioned above. The Duke's bisexuality
and drug addictions were explored in African Nights, a 2004 play written by American playwright Jeffrey Corrick.
He appears in the first and third episodes of the 2010 revival of Upstairs, Downstairs
, played by Blake Ritson
. The mini-series takes place in 1936, during the short reign of his elder brother, Edward VIII. He is portrayed as a caring brother, terrified of the mistakes that his family is making.
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
, the fourth son of George V
George V
George V was king of the United Kingdom and its dominions from 1910 to 1936.George V or similar terms may also refer to:-People:* George V of Georgia * George V of Imereti * George V of Hanover...
and Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI. He held the title of Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent is a title which has been created various times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of George V.-Pre-history:...
from 1934 until his death in 1942.
Birth
Prince George was born on 20 December 1902 at York CottageYork Cottage
York Cottage is the former home of the Duke and Duchess of York , who lived in the house after their marriage in 1893. It is currently used as the Estate Office for Sandringham House. Some of the building is also used as flats for estate employees and holiday accommodation....
on the Sandringham Estate
Sandringham House
Sandringham House is a country house on of land near the village of Sandringham in Norfolk, England. The house is privately owned by the British Royal Family and is located on the royal Sandringham Estate, which lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-History and current...
in Norfolk, England. His father was Prince George, Prince of Wales
George V
George V was king of the United Kingdom and its dominions from 1910 to 1936.George V or similar terms may also refer to:-People:* George V of Georgia * George V of Imereti * George V of Hanover...
, the eldest surviving son of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
. His mother was the Princess of Wales
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
, the eldest daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Teck
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge
Princess Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth of Cambridge was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of George III, and great-grandmother of Elizabeth II. She held the title of Duchess of Teck through marriage.Mary Adelaide is remembered as the mother of Queen Mary, the consort of...
. At the time of his birth, he was fifth in the line of succession behind his father and three older brothers. As a grandchild of the British monarch in a male line, he was styled His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales.
He was baptised in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
on 26 January 1903 by Francis Paget
Francis Paget
The Right Reverend Francis Paget was the 33rd Bishop of Oxford from 1901 until his death. He was the second son of the noted surgeon Sir James Paget, 1st Baronet, and brother of Luke Paget, Bishop of Chester. He was educated at St Marylebone Grammar School,Shrewsbury and Christ Church, Oxford...
, Bishop of Oxford
Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford...
(with "ordinary" water, as opposed to water from the Jordan, usual for royal christenings). His godparents were: King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
(his paternal grandparents); the Dowager Empress of Russia (his paternal grandaunt, for whom his paternal aunt Princess Victoria stood proxy); Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
Princess Helena of the United Kingdom
Princess Helena was a member of the British Royal Family, the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert....
(his paternal grandaunt); Prince Valdemar of Denmark
Prince Valdemar of Denmark
Prince Valdemar of Denmark, GCTE was a member of the Danish Royal Family, the youngest son of Christian IX of Denmark and his wife Luise of Hesse-Kassel...
(his granduncle, for whom Prince George's uncle Prince Carl of Denmark
Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
stood proxy); and Prince Louis of Battenberg (his cousin).
Education and career
Prince George received his early education from a tutor and then followed his elder brother, Prince Henry (later the Duke of GloucesterPrince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was a soldier and member of the British Royal Family, the third son of George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary....
), to St. Peter's Court Preparatory School at Broadstairs, in Kent. At age thirteen, like his brothers, Prince Edward (later Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
) and Prince Albert (later George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
), before him, he went to naval college, first at Osborne
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
and, later, at Dartmouth
Britannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...
. He remained in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
until 1929, serving on the Iron Duke
HMS Iron Duke (1912)
HMS Iron Duke was a battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class, named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. She served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet during the First World War, including at the Battle of Jutland...
and later the Nelson
HMS Nelson (1925)
HMS Nelson was one of two Nelson-class battleships built for the Royal Navy between the two World Wars. She was named in honour of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson the victor at the Battle of Trafalgar...
. After leaving the navy, he briefly held posts at the Foreign Office and later the Home Office, becoming the first member of the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
to work as a civil servant.
In October 1938 George was appointed Governor General of Australia in succession to Lord Gowrie
Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie VC, GCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, PC was a British soldier and colonial governor and the tenth Governor-General of Australia. Serving for 9 years and 7 days, he is the longest serving Governor-General in Australia's history...
with effect from November 1939. On 11 September 1939 it was announced that, owing to the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the appointment was postponed.
In 1939 George was elected Grand Master
Grand Master (Masonic)
In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....
of the United Grand Lodge of England
United Grand Lodge of England
The United Grand Lodge of England is the main governing body of freemasonry within England and Wales and in other, predominantly ex-British Empire and Commonwealth countries outside the United Kingdom. It is the oldest Grand Lodge in the world, deriving its origin from 1717...
, an office he held until his death.
At the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, George returned to active military service in the rank of Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
, briefly serving on the Intelligence Division of the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. In April 1940, he transferred to the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. He temporarily relinquished his rank as Air Vice-Marshal
Air Vice-Marshal
Air vice-marshal is a two-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in...
(the equivalent of Rear Admiral) to assume the post of Staff Officer at RAF Training Command
RAF Training Command
Training Command was the RAF's command responsible for flying and ground training from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1968 to 1977.-History:Training Command was formed from Inland Area on 1 May 1936 and absorbed into RAF Support Command on 13 June 1977...
in the rank of Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
.
Marriage
On 12 October 1934, in anticipation of his forthcoming marriage to his second cousin Princess Marina of Greece and DenmarkPrincess Marina, Duchess of Kent
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, née Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark was a member of the British Royal Family; the wife of Prince George, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck....
he was created Duke of Kent, Earl of St Andrews and Baron Downpatrick. The couple married on 29 November 1934 at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. The bride was a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and a great-niece of Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
. It was the last marriage between a son of a British Sovereign and a member of a foreign Royal House to date. Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II), daughter of King George VI, married Prince Philip of Greece in November 1947. This was the last marriage between the British and other Royal families.
Princess Marina became known as HRH The Duchess of Kent following the marriage. She and her husband had three children:
- Prince Edward of KentPrince Edward, Duke of KentThe Duke of Kent graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 29 July 1955 as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys, the beginning of a military career that would last over 20 years. He was promoted to captain on 29 July 1961. The Duke of Kent saw service in Hong Kong from 1962–63...
, born 9 October 1935; - Princess Alexandra of KentPrincess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady OgilvyPrincess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy is the youngest granddaughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck. She is the widow of Sir Angus Ogilvy...
, born 25 December 1936; - Prince Michael of KentPrince Michael of KentPrince Michael of Kent is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, making him a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He is also the first cousin once removed of Prince Phillip. Prince Michael occasionally carries out royal duties representing the Queen at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside...
, born 4 July 1942.
Personal life
Both before and after his marriage, Prince George had a long string of affairs with both men and women, from socialites to Hollywood celebrities. The better known of his partners included the African-American cabaret singer Florence MillsFlorence Mills
Florence Mills, born Florence Winfrey , known as the "Queen of Happiness," was an African American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian known for her effervescent stage presence, delicate voice, and winsome, wide-eyed beauty.-Life and career:A daughter of former enslaved parents, Nellie and John...
; banking heiress Poppy Baring; socialite Margaret Whigham (later Duchess of Argyll and involved in a notoriously scandalous divorce case); Barbara Cartland
Barbara Cartland
Dame Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, CStJ , was an English author, one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century...
, later known as a romantic novelist; and musical star Jessie Matthews
Jessie Matthews
Jessie Matthews, OBE was an English actress, dancer and singer of the 1930s, whose career continued into the post-war period.-Early life:...
. Claims that he had a 19-year affair with Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
were denied by Coward's long-term partner, Graham Payn
Graham Payn
Graham Payn was a South African-born English actor and singer, also known for being the life partner of the playwright Noël Coward. Beginning as a boy soprano, Payn later made a career as a singer and actor in the works of Coward and others...
. Intimate letters from the Duke to Coward are believed to have been stolen from Coward's house in 1942. There is some suggestion that the duke had an affair with Indira Raje, the Maharani of Cooch Behar
Cooch Behar
Cooch Behar is the district headquarters and the largest city of Cooch Behar District in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas and located at . Cooch Behar is the only planned town in North Bengal region with remnants of royal heritage...
(1892–1968), in the late 1920s, according to British historian Lucy Moore
Lucy Moore
-Biography:Moore was educated in Britain and the United States and studied history at Edinburgh University.-Bibliography:*Con Men and Cutpurses: Scenes from the Hogarthian Underworld...
. He was also extremely close to Henry "Chips" Channon
Henry Channon
Sir Henry "Chips" Channon was an American-born British Conservative politician, author and diarist. Channon moved to England in 1920 and became strongly anti-American, feeling that American cultural and economic views threatened traditional European and British civilisation. He wrote extensively...
.
The Duke of Kent is said to have been addicted to drugs (notably morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
and cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
) – a weakness which his brother the Prince of Wales was deputed to cure him of during the latter part of the 1920s – and reportedly was blackmailed by a male prostitute to whom he wrote intimate letters. Another of his reported sexual liaisons was with his distant cousin Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia
Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia
-Children:* Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia , married firstly Waltraud Freytag on 22 August 1967 in Plön, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; secondly Ehrengard von Reden on 23 April 1976; thirdly Sibylle Kretschmer. He renounced his succession rights on 18 September 1967...
; traitor and art historian Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
was reputedly another intimate. The Duke was known to have attempted to court Crown Princess Juliana
Juliana of the Netherlands
Juliana was the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 1948 and 1980. She was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry...
of the Netherlands. She spurned the overture and married Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Bisterfeld instead.
In addition to his legitimate children, the Duke is said to have had a son by Kiki Preston
Kiki Preston
Kiki Preston, née Alice Gwynne was an American socialite, a member of the infamous Happy Valley set, and the alleged mother of a child born out of wedlock with Prince George, Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George V of the United Kingdom...
(née Alice Gwynne, 1898–1946), an American socialite whom he reportedly shared in a ménage à trois
Ménage à trois
Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
with Jorge Ferrara, the bisexual son of the Argentine ambassador to the Court of St. James's. Known as "the girl with the silver syringe", drug-addict Preston – a cousin of railroad heiress Gloria Vanderbilt
Gloria Vanderbilt
Gloria Laura Vanderbilt is an American artist, author, actress, heiress, and socialite most noted as an early developer of designer blue jeans...
– was married first to Horace R.B. Allen and then, in 1925, to banker Jerome Preston. She died after jumping out of a window of the Stanhope Hotel
Stanhope Hotel
995 Fifth Avenue is a 16-story co-op condominium building at 995 Fifth Avenue and East 81st Street in New York City, across Fifth Avenue from Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was constructed in 1926 as The Stanhope Apartment Hotel and designed by Rosario Candela...
in New York City. According to the memoirs of a friend, Loelia, Duchess of Westminster, Prince George's brother (the Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
) believed that the son was Michael Temple Canfield (1926–1969), the adopted son of American publisher Cass Canfield
Cass Canfield
Augustus Cass Canfield was an American publishing executive who was the longtime president and chairman of Harper & Brothers, later Harper & Row.-Early life:...
– and the first husband of Lee Radziwill
Lee Radziwill
Caroline Lee Bouvier Canfield Radziwill Ross best known as Lee Radziwill, is an American socialite, public relations executive, and former actress and interior decorator. She is the younger sister of the late First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis...
, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
.
Another reputed illegitimate lovechild was Raine McCorquodale, daughter of Barbara Cartland
Barbara Cartland
Dame Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, CStJ , was an English author, one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century...
, whose step-granddaughter Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
married George's great-nephew Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
.
Honorary appointment
In 1932 he was appointed as Royal Bencher of The Honourable Society of Lincoln's InnLincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, a position previously occupied by his father, the King. In 1937 he was granted a commission in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
as a group captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
. He was also made the Honorary Air Commodore of No. 500 (County of Kent) Squadron
No. 500 Squadron RAF
No. 500 Squadron AAF was formed in 1931 as a Special Reserve squadron and in 1936 became part of the Auxiliary Air Force. It served in a number of roles before being disbanded in 1957.-Formation and early years:...
Auxiliary Air Force
Royal Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force , originally the Auxiliary Air Force , is the voluntary active duty reserve element of the Royal Air Force, providing a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service...
. Prince George was later promoted to the higher rank of air vice-marshal
Air Vice-Marshal
Air vice-marshal is a two-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in...
but, on taking up active RAF duties as a welfare officer in 1940, he relinquished his senior rank, reverting to group captain.
Death
Prince George was killed on 25 August 1942 when the Short SunderlandShort Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
in which he was a passenger crashed into a hillside near Dunbeath
Dunbeath
Dunbeath is a village in south-east Caithness, Scotland on the A9 road.It was the birthplace of Neil Gunn , author of The Silver Darlings, Highland River etc., many of whose novels are set in Dunbeath and its Strath...
, Caithness
Caithness
Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...
, in bad weather. The plane was en route from Evanton
Evanton
Evanton is a large village in Easter Ross, in the Highland Council Area of Scotland. It lies between the river Sgitheach and the Allt Graad, is north of the city of Inverness, some south-west of Alness, and north-east of Dingwall. The village has a dozen or so streets, the main one being...
, Ross Shire, to Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, and then on to the Dominion of Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
.
Funeral
The Duchess of Kent had given birth to their third child, Prince Michael of KentPrince Michael of Kent
Prince Michael of Kent is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, making him a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He is also the first cousin once removed of Prince Phillip. Prince Michael occasionally carries out royal duties representing the Queen at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside...
, only six weeks earlier. The Duke's remains lay initially in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. Later they were buried in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, directly behind Queen Victoria's
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
mausoleum, Windsor. He was succeeded as Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent is a title which has been created various times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of George V.-Pre-history:...
by his elder son, Edward
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
The Duke of Kent graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 29 July 1955 as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys, the beginning of a military career that would last over 20 years. He was promoted to captain on 29 July 1961. The Duke of Kent saw service in Hong Kong from 1962–63...
.
In popular culture
The Duke's early life is dramatised in Stephen PoliakoffStephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff, CBE, FRSL is an acclaimed British playwright, director and scriptwriter, widely judged amongst Britain's foremost television dramatists.-Early life and career:...
's 2003 television serial The Lost Prince
The Lost Prince
The Lost Prince is an acclaimed British television drama serial, produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC and originally broadcast in two episodes on BBC One in January 2003...
, a biography of the life of the Duke's younger brother John, who suffered from epilepsy, was isolated from most of the family and also kept away from public gaze, and who died at the age of 13. In the film, the teenage Prince 'Georgie' is portrayed as sensitive, intelligent, artistic and almost uniquely sympathetic to his brother's plight. He is shown to detest his time at Naval College, and to have a difficult relationship with his austere father.
Much of his later life was outlined in the documentary film The Queen's Lost Uncle mentioned above. The Duke's bisexuality
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
and drug addictions were explored in African Nights, a 2004 play written by American playwright Jeffrey Corrick.
He appears in the first and third episodes of the 2010 revival of Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
, played by Blake Ritson
Blake Ritson
-Early life:Blake attended the Dolphin School in Reading, Berkshire until 1993, before going to St Paul's School, an independent school for boys in Barnes in West London on an academic scholarship. He then attended the University of Cambridge, where he studied English and Medieval Italian, Dante...
. The mini-series takes place in 1936, during the short reign of his elder brother, Edward VIII. He is portrayed as a caring brother, terrified of the mistakes that his family is making.
Titles and styles
- 20 December 1902 – 6 May 1910: His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales
- 6 May 1910 – 12 October 1934: His Royal Highness The Prince George
- 12 October 1934 – 25 August 1942: His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent
- in Scotland: May 1935 – 25 August 1942: His Grace The Lord High Commissioner
Honours
British honours- KG: Knight of the GarterOrder of the GarterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
1923 - KT: Knight of the ThistleOrder of the ThistleThe Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
1935 - GCMG: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
1934 - GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian OrderRoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
1924 - Royal Victorian ChainRoyal Victorian ChainThe Royal Victorian Chain is an award, instituted in 1902 by King Edward VII as a personal award of the Monarch...
Arms
Around the time of his elder brother Prince Henry's twenty-first birthday, Prince George was granted the use of the Royal Arms, differenced by a label argent of three points, each bearing an anchor azure.Ancestry
Further reading
- Hunt, Leslie. Twenty-one Squadrons: History of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 1925–57. London: Garnstone Press, 1972. ISBN 0-85511-110-0. (New edition in 1992 by Crécy Publishing, ISBN 0-94755-426-2.)
- Millar, Peter. "The Other Prince". The Sunday Times ( 26 January 2003).
- Warwick, Christopher. George and Marina, Duke and Duchess of Kent. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1988. ISBN 0-29779-453-1.