boring little man

Prince Arthur (later Duke of Connaught), only son of Queen Victoria’s third son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and Louise of Prussia. On October 15, 1913, he married his cousin’s daughter, Princess Alexandra (1891-1959), Duchess of Fife. Princess Alexandra held the title of Duchess of Fife in her own right. The first royal prince to be educated at Eton, he subsequently attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He received his commission as a second lieutenant in the 7th (the Queen's Own) Hussars. During the Boer War, he saw active duty with the 7th Hussars and spent several months stationed at Krugersdorp. In 1907, he was promoted to the rank of captain in the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys). He became the honorary Colonel-in-Chief of this regiment in 1920. During World War I, Prince Arthur served as aide-de-camp to Generals Sir John French and Sir Douglas Haig, the successive commanders of the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium. In October 1922, he was promoted to the honorary rank of major general and became an aide-de-camp to his first cousin, King George V. From 1920 until 1923, Prince Arthur held the posts of governor-general and commander-in-chief in South Africa. On his return to Britain, he became involved in a number of charitable organizations, including serving as chairman of the board of directors of Middlesex Hospital. Like his father, he was active in the Freemasons, becoming the Provincial Grand Master for Berkshire in 1924. Prince Arthur died of stomach cancer aged 55 on September 12, 1938. One of his last public appearances was at the coronation of King George VI in May 1937. His father outlived him by four years, dying aged 92 on January 16, 1942, the dukedom passing (briefly) to his grandson, Alistair Arthur (1914- April 26, 1942).