Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

British soldier and Governor-General of Australia

Date of Birth: 31-Mar-1900

Place of Birth: York Cottage, England, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 10-Jun-1974

Profession: politician

Nationality: United Kingdom, Australia

Zodiac Sign: Aries


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About Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

  • Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was the third son and fourth child of King George V and Queen Mary.
  • He served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947, the only member of the British royal family to hold the post. Henry was the first son of a British monarch to be educated at school, where he excelled at sports, and went on to attend Eton College, after which he was commissioned in the 10th Royal Hussars, a regiment he hoped to command.
  • But his military career was interrupted by royal duties, and he was nicknamed "the unknown soldier".
  • While big-game shooting in Kenya, he met the future aviator Beryl Markham, with whom he became romantically involved.
  • The court put pressure on him to end the relationship, but had to pay regular hush-money to avert a public scandal.
  • In 1935, also under parental pressure, he married Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, with whom he had two sons, Princes William and Richard. From 1939 to 1940, Henry served in France as a liaison officer to Lord Gort.
  • He performed military and diplomatic duties during the rest of the war, then in 1945 was appointed as Australia's governor-general at the request of Prime Minister John Curtin.
  • The post had originally been offered to his younger brother, the Duke of Kent, who died in an air crash.
  • Henry attended the coronation of his niece Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and carried out several overseas tours, often accompanied by his wife.
  • From 1965, he became incapacitated by a number of strokes.
  • Upon his death, he was succeeded as the Duke of Gloucester by his only living son, Richard.
  • At the time of his death, Prince Henry was the last surviving child of King George V and Queen Mary.
  • His widow, who died at the age of 102, became the longest-lived member of the British royal family in history.

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