Henry, Duke of Gloucester

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Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (born Henry William Frederick Albert on March 31 1900) is a member of the British Royal Family, the third son of King George V, and is currently in exile in Canada.

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Early Life

Henry was born on March 31 1900 at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate. His father was Prince George, Duke of York, the eldest surviving son of Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. His mother was The Duchess of York, the only daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Teck. In 1898, Queen Victoria issued letters patent granting the children of the Duke and Duchess of York the style Royal Highness. Thus he was styled His Royal Highness Prince Henry of York from birth.

He was baptised at the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on May 17 1900, by Randall Thomas Davidson, Bishop of Winchester, and his godparents were Queen Victoria, Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Princess Henry of Battenberg, the Duchess of Cumberland, Princess Maud of Denmark, Prince George of Greece, Prince Alexander of Teck and the Earl Roberts.

Henry attended Eton College from September 1913 and during the Weltkrieg the house in which he lived was also home to Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium. Unlike his brothers, Henry joined the Army instead of the Royal Navy and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1919.

Exile

When the 1925 British Revolution broke out the Royal Family had to flee to Canada. Unlike his elder brother Edward, Henry kept a low profile in the Canadian public life. He remained in the army and patronized the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, as an honorary colonel. It is suspected that he will be dispatched to one of the other Dominions as Governor-General to increase the connection between the Crown and its subjects.

Duke of Gloucester

On March 31 1928 King George V created Henry Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, and Baron Culloden, three titles that linked him with three parts of the United Kingdom, namely England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. On November 2 1930 he attended the coronation of Haile Selassie of Ethiopia in Addis-Ababa.

Personal Life

On November 6 1935, Henry married Lady Alice Christabel Montagu-Douglas-Scott, a daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. Following their wedding, Alice was known as Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester.

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