Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife

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Princess Alexandra
Duchess of Fife
Predecessor Alexander Duff
Successor James Carnegie
Spouse Prince Arthur of Connaught
Issue
Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Full name
Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise
Father Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife
Mother Louise, Princess Royal
Born (1891-05-17)17 May 1891
East Sheen Lodge, Richmond, London, England, UK
Died 26 February 1959(1959-02-26) (aged 67)
Burial Mar Lodge, Braemar, Scotland, UK

Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife, GCStJ (Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise; née Duff; later Princess Arthur of Connaught; 17 May 1891 – 26 February 1959) was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of King Edward VII. Alexandra and her younger sister Maud had the distinction of being two of only five female-line granddaughters of a British Sovereign to receive the style Highness. (Three of Queen Victoria's female-line granddaughters had previously been styled as Highness, albeit holding the style from birth: Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg.

Lineage and early life

Alexandra's father was Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife (10 Nov 1849 – 12 January 1912), the son of the 5th Earl of Fife (1814–1879) and his wife, the former Lady Agnes Hay. Having succeeded his father as the 6th Earl of Fife, he was elevated to Duke of Fife and Marquess of Macduff in the Peerage of the United Kingdom two days after his marriage in 1889 to Princess Louise of Wales, the eldest daughter of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and Alexandra of Denmark. Princess Louise accordingly became the Duchess of Fife.

Alexandra was born to them at East Sheen Lodge, Richmond on 17 May 1891. When it became apparent that the couple were unlikely to have a son, Queen Victoria renamed Alexander Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1900, giving the second dukedom of Fife a special remainder in default of male issue to the Duke's daughters and their agnatic male descendants.

As a female-line great-granddaughter of the British monarch, (Queen Victoria), Alexandra was not entitled to the title of a Princess of Great Britain or the style Royal Highness. Instead she was styled Lady Alexandra Duff, as the daughter of a Duke. She was fifth in the line of succession at the time of her birth.

Alexandra and her sister were unique among British princesses in that they were descended from both William IV (through his mistress, Dorothea Jordan), and William IV's niece, Queen Victoria, who succeeded him because he had no legitimate issue.

Princess Alexandra

Princess Alexandra of Fife.
On 5 November 1905, King Edward VII declared his daughter Princess Royal. He further ordered Garter King of Arms to gazette Lady Alexandra Duff and her sister Lady Maud Duff with the style and attribute of Highness and precedence immediately after all members of the British Royal Family bearing the style of Royal Highness. From that point, Her Highness Princess Alexandra of Fife held her title and rank, not from her father (a Duke), but rather from the will of the Sovereign (her grandfather).

Around 1910, she became secretly engaged to Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark, a son of George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. The engagement was terminated when their disapproving parents learned of the liaison. As Prince Christopher's father was a younger brother of Princess Alexandra's maternal grandmother, the hopeful couple were first cousins once removed.

Marriage

British Royalty
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Edward VII
Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence & Avondale
George V
Louise, Princess Royal
Princess Victoria
Maud, Queen of Norway
Prince Alexander John
Granddaughters in the female-line
Alexandra, Duchess of Fife
Maud, Countess of Southesk

On 15 October 1913, Princess Alexandra married Prince Arthur of Connaught at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, London.[1]

The bride's attendants were: [2]

  • Princess Mary, daughter of George V.
  • Lady May Cambridge daughter of the Earl of Athlone and Princess Alice of Albany.
  • Lady Mary Cambridge and Lady Helena Cambridge, daughters of the Marquess of Cambridge.
  • Princess Maud, the bride's sister.

Prince Arthur of Connaught was the only son of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the third eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and thus a younger brother of her maternal grandfather King Edward VII. As such, Arthur and Alexandra were first cousins once removed.

After their marriage, Alexandra was generally referred to as HRH Princess Arthur of Connaught. This followed the tradition of a wife taking the style and title of her husband.

With her husband, Alexandra also carried out royal engagements on behalf of her uncle, King George V, and later for her cousin, King George VI. She also served as a Counsellor of State between 1937 and 1944.

Career

Princess Arthur of Connaught with her only son Alastair.
During World War I, Princess Arthur of Connaught served as nurse at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington. When Prince Arthur was appointed governor general of the Union of South Africa in 1920, she accompanied him to Pretoria and worked on behalf of local hospitals. Upon the couple's return to Britain, she continued to carry out royal duties. She died at her home near Primrose Hill, London in 1959 and was buried at Mar Lodge chapel.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

  • 17 May 1891 – 5 November 1905: The Lady Alexandra Duff
  • 5 November 1905 – 22 January 1912: Her Highness Princess Alexandra of Fife
  • 22 January 1912 – 15 October 1913: Her Highness The Duchess of Fife
  • 15 October 1913 – 26 February 1959: Her Royal Highness Princess Arthur of Connaught

Honours

Honorary military appointments

Issue

NameBirthDeathNotes
Prince Alastair of Connaught9 August 191426 April 1943later styled Earl of Macduff and 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn

Ancestry

References

  1. ↑ "Royal Wedding Group". National Portrait Gallery, London. 
  2. ↑ "'H.R.H. Princess Arthur of Connaught (the Duchess of Fife) and her bridesmaids'". National Portrait Gallery. 
  • Ronald Allison and Sarah Riddell, eds., The Royal Encyclopedia (London: Macmillan, 1991), ISBN 0-333-53810-2
  • Marlene A. Eilers, Queen Victoria's Descendants (New York: Atlantic International Publishing, 1987), ISBN 91-630-5964-9
  • Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families: the Complete Genealogy, rev. ed. (London: Pimlico, 1996), ISBN 0-7126-4286-2

External links

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Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Alexander Duff		 Duchess of Fife
2nd creation
1912–1959 		Succeeded by
James Carnegie
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