George Edward Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

**Prince George, Duke of Kent** (George Edward Alexander Edmund, December 20, 1902 - August 25, 1942) was a member of British royal family. He was the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck.

He has four older siblings Edward, Duke of Windsor (1894-1972), George VI (1895-1952), Mary, Princess Royal (1897-1965) and Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900-1974) and a younger brother Prince John (1905-1919).

## Early Life

Prince George was born on December 20, 1902 at York Cottage on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England.

George was baptised in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle on January 26, 1903 by Francis Paget, Bishop of Oxford. His godparents were King Edward VII (his paternal grandfather), Prince Valdemar of Denmark (his paternal granduncle, represented by Prince Carl of Denmark, his paternal uncle), Prince Louis of Battenberg (husband of his father's cousin), Queen Alexandra (his paternal grandmother), Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna (his paternal grandaunt, represented by Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom, his paternal aunt), and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (his paternal grandaunt)

## Education

Prince George received his early education from a tutor and then followed his elder brother, Prince Henry, to St Peter's Court, a preparatory school at Broadstairs, Kent. At the age of 13, like his brothers, the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII and Prince Albert, later King George VI, before him, he went to naval college, first at Osborne and later, at Dartmouth. He was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 February 1924, and was promoted to lieutenant on 15 February 1926. He remained on active service in the Royal Navy until March 1929, serving on HMS *Iron Duke* and later on the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet (renamed the Home Fleet in 1932), HMS *Nelson*. He served on the latter as a lieutenant on the admiral's staff before transferring in 1928 to HMS *Durban* on the America and West Indies Station, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard at Bermuda. His father had previously served at Bermuda on HMS *Canada* and HMS *Thrush*, as a watch-keeping lieutenant.

## Career

After leaving the navy, he briefly held posts at the Foreign Office and later the Home Office, becoming the first member of the royal family to work as a civil servant. He continued to receive promotions after leaving active service: to commander on 15 February 1934 and to captain on 1 January 1937.

From January to April 1931, Prince George and his elder brother the Prince of Wales travelled 18,000 miles on a tour of South America. Their outward voyage was on the ocean liner *Oropesa*. In Buenos Aires they opened a British Empire Exhibition. They continued from Río de la Plata to Rio de Janeiro on the liner *Alcantara* and returned from Brazil to Europe on the liner *Arlanza*, landing at Lisbon. The princes returned via Paris and an Imperial Airways flight from Paris–Le Bourget Airport that landed specially in Windsor Great Park.

On 23 June 1936, George was appointed a personal aide-de-camp to his eldest brother, the new king, Edward VIII. Following the abdication of Edward VIII, he was appointed a personal naval aide-de-camp to his elder brother, now George VI. On 12 March 1937, he was commissioned as a colonel in the British Army and in the equivalent rank of group captain in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He was also appointed as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Fusiliers from the same date.

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 the Second World War, the appointment was postponed.

On 8 June 1939, George was promoted to the ranks of rear admiral in the Royal Navy, major-general in the British Army and air vice-marshal in the Royal Air Force. At the start of the Second World War, George returned to active naval service with the rank of rear admiral, briefly serving in the Intelligence Division of the Admiralty.

He was patron of the Society for Nautical Research between 1926 and 1942

## Personal Life

### Marriage and children

On October 9, 1934, in anticipation of his forthcoming marriage to his second Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, he was created Duke of Kent, Earl of St Andrews, and Baron Downpatrick. The couple married on 29 November 1934 at Westminster Abbey. The wedding was followed by a Greek ceremony in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace, which was converted into an Orthodox chapel for the ceremony. They had three children:

* Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (born 9 October 1935). He married Katharine Worsley on 8 June 1961. They have three children.

* Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy (born 25 December 1936). She married the Hon. Angus Ogilvy, son of David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie and Lady Alexandra Coke, on 24 April 1963. They had two children.

* Prince Michael of Kent (born 4 July 1942). He married Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz on 30 June 1978. They have two children.

## Death

On 25 August 1942, George and 14 others took off in a RAF Short Sunderland flying boat W4026 from Invergordon, Ross and Cromarty, to fly to Iceland on non-operational duties. The aircraft crashed on Eagle's Rock, a hillside near Dunbeath, Caithness, Scotland. George and all but one of those on board were killed. He was 39 years old.

Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince have written about the crash in their book *Double Standards*, which, however, has been criticised for its "implausible inaccuracy". They alleged that Kent had a briefcase full of 100 Swedish krona notes, worthless in Iceland, handcuffed to his wrist, leading to speculation the flight was a military mission to Sweden, the only place where Swedish notes were of value.

His death in RAF service marked the first time in more than 450 years that a member of the royal family died on active service. The prince's body was transferred initially to St George's Chapel, Windsor, and he was buried in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, directly behind Queen Victoria's mausoleum. His elder son, six-year-old Prince Edward, succeeded him as Duke of Kent. Princess Marina, his wife, had given birth to their third child, Prince Michael, only seven weeks before Prince George's death. His will was sealed in Llandudno in 1943. His estate was valued at £157,735 (or £5 million in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).

One RAF crew member survived the crash: Flight Sergeant Andrew Jack, the Sunderland's rear gunner. Flight Sergeant Jack's niece has claimed that Jack told his brother that the Duke had been at the controls of the plane; that Jack had dragged him from the pilot's seat after the crash; and that there was an additional person on board the plane whose identity has never been revealed

## Titles and succession

* December 20, 1902 - May 6, 1910: *His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales*
* May 6, 1910 - November 29, 1934: *His Royal Highness The Prince George*
* November 29, 1934 - August 25, 1942: *His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent*

At the time of his death, Prince George's full style was *His Royal Highness The Prince George Edward Alexander Edmund, Duke of Kent, Earl of Saint Andrews and Baron Downpatrick, Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Royal Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.*