| Prince Arthur | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke of Connaught and Strathearn | |||||
 Photograph by Alexander Bassano, c. 1885 | |||||
| 10th Governor General of Canada | |||||
| In office 13 October 1911 – 11 November 1916 | |||||
| Monarch | George V | ||||
| Prime Minister | |||||
| Preceded by | The Earl Grey | ||||
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Devonshire | ||||
| Born | 1 May 1850 Buckingham Palace, London, England | ||||
| Died | 16 January 1942 (aged 91) Bagshot Park, Surrey, England | ||||
| Burial | 23 January 1942 | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
| House | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (until 1917) Windsor (from 1917) | ||||
| Father | Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | ||||
| Mother | Queen Victoria | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
| Education | Royal Military Academy, Woolwich | ||||
| Military career | |||||
| Service | British Army | ||||
| Years of service | 1868–1942 | ||||
| Rank | Field Marshal | ||||
| Unit | Royal Engineers Royal Regiment of Artillery Rifle Brigade | ||||
| Commands | Inspector-General of the Forces Commander-in-Chief, Ireland Third Army Corps Aldershot Command Southern Command Bombay Army | ||||
| Battles / wars | Fenian Raids Anglo-Egyptian War | ||||
| Awards | Volunteer Officers' Decoration Territorial Decoration | ||||
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 1850 – 16 January 1942) was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as Governor General of Canada, the tenth since Canadian Confederation and the only British prince to do so.
Arthur was educated by private tutors before entering the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich at 16 years old. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the British Army, where he served for some 40 years, seeing service in various parts of the British Empire. During this time, he was also created a royal duke, becoming Duke of Connaught and Strathearn as well as Earl of Sussex. In 1900, he was appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, which he regretted; his preference was to join the campaign against the Boers in South Africa.[1] In 1911, he was appointed Governor General of Canada, replacing Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, as viceroy. He occupied this post until he was succeeded by Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire, in 1916. He acted as the King's, and thus the Canadian Commander-in-Chief's, representative through the first years of the First World War.
After the end of his viceregal tenure, Arthur returned to the United Kingdom and performed various royal duties there and in Ireland, while also again taking up military duties. Though he retired from public life in 1928, he continued to make his presence known in the army well into the Second World War, before his death in 1942. He was Queen Victoria's last surviving son.
- ^ "Ireland". The Times. 8 January 1900.