Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the present Duke of Kent. For Queen Victoria's father, see Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. For other Dukes, see Duke of Kent
| Prince Edward | |
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| Kent at celebrations in Jersey, Liberation Day 2007 | |
| Duke of Kent | |
| Predecessor | Prince George, Duke of Kent |
| Heir-Apparent | George, Earl of St Andrews |
| Spouse | Katharine Worsley |
| Issue | |
| George, Earl of St Andrews Lady Helen Taylor Lord Nicholas Windsor |
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| Full name | |
| Edward George Nicholas Patrick Paul[1] | |
| Titles and styles | |
| HRH The Duke of Kent HRH Prince Edward of Kent |
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| Royal house | House of Windsor |
| Father | Prince George, Duke of Kent |
| Mother | Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark |
| Born | 9 August 1935 Belgrave Square, London |
| Baptised | 20 November 1935 Buckingham Palace, London |
| Occupation | prev. Military |
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (Edward George Nicholas Patrick Paul; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British Royal Family, a grandchild of George V. He has held the title of Duke of Kent since 1942.
The Duke of Kent carries out royal duties on behalf of his first cousin, Queen Elizabeth II. He is perhaps best known as President of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, presenting the winner of the Wimbledon men's tennis tournament with the winning shield. He also served as the United Kingdom's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, retiring in 2001. He is also the President of the Scout Association.
The Duke of Kent is currently 24th in the line of succession to the British Throne.
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[edit] Early life
Prince Edward was born on 9 October 1935, at No. 3 Belgrave Square, London. His father was Prince George, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George V and Queen Mary. His mother was Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (née Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark), the daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, and Grand Duchess Helen Vladimirovna of Russia. As a grandson of the British sovereign in the male line, he was styled as a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with the prefix, His Royal Highness, styled HRH Prince Edward of Kent.
The Prince was baptised in the Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace on 20 November 1935 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Lang and his godparents were: George V, Queen Mary, The Prince of Wales, The Princess Royal, the Duke of Connaught (whose son, Prince Arthur of Connaught, stood proxy), the Duchess of Argyll and Prince Nicholas of Greece.
[edit] Education
Prince Edward began his schooling at Ludgrove Preparatory School in Berkshire before going on to Eton College and then Le Rosey in Switzerland. After school he entered Royal Military College Sandhurst where he won the Sir James Moncrieff Grierson prize for foreign languages and qualified as an interpreter of French.
[edit] Duke of Kent
On 25 August 1942, Prince Edward's father, the Duke of Kent was killed in an air crash near Caithness, Scotland. Prince Edward, then aged 7, succeeded his father as Duke of Kent, Earl of St Andrews and Baron Downpatrick. He later took his seat in the House of Lords in 1959.
As a royal duke, he was destined for royal duties at an early age. Aged 16, he walked behind the coffin of his uncle, George VI, at his state funeral in 1952. In 1953, he attended the coronation of his cousin, Elizabeth II, paying homage at her throne after her crowning (following the Dukes of Edinburgh and Gloucester).
[edit] Military service
The Duke of Kent graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1955 as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys, the beginning of a military career that would last over 20 years. The Duke of Kent saw service in Hong Kong from 1962-63 and later served on the staff in Eastern Command. Later in 1970, the Duke commanded a squadron of his regiment serving in the British Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus, part of the United Nations force enforcing peace between the Greek and Turkish halves of the island. The Duke retired from the Army in 1976 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was subsequently promoted Major-General on 11 June 1983 and Field Marshal on 11 June 1993.
It was alleged[who?] that the Duke's regiment was deliberately held back from service in Northern Ireland, during the Troubles in the 1970s. Although the Duke was keen to join his regiment anywhere it was required to go, the British government were not keen to see the Queen's cousin exposed to potential danger, given the embarrassment his death or capture would cause. However, this story is almost certainly untrue, as it would have been much less disruptive to have simply ensured that the Duke was assigned elsewhere if his unit was required in Northern Ireland.[citation needed]
[edit] Marriage
The Duke of Kent married Katharine Worsley at York Minster on 8 June 1961. Katharine is the only daughter of Sir William Arthrington Worsley, 4th Bt., and his wife, Joyce Morgan. After their marriage, she was styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent, though in 2002, she abandoned the style of Royal Highness and has expressed a preference to be known as Katharine Kent, or Katharine, Duchess of Kent, the latter the typical style of a divorced or widowed peeress, which she is not.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent have three children, none of whom carries out royal duties:
- George, Earl of St Andrews, born 26 June 1962; married Sylvana Tomaselli
- Lady Helen Taylor, born 28 April 1964; married Timothy Taylor
- Lord Nicholas Windsor, born 25 July 1970; married, 2006, Paola Doimi di Frankopan, in the Vatican City, becoming the first British royal in history to do so.
The couple also had a stillborn child on 5 October 1977.
The Duchess of Kent later converted to Roman Catholicism in 1994. Despite this, the Duke of Kent did not lose his place in the line of succession due to the Act of Settlement 1701, in that The Duke married a fellow member of the Church of England in 1961, who only subsequently converted to Roman Catholicism. The couple's son Lord Nicholas also converted to Roman Catholicism, following his mother's example.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent reside at Wren House, Kensington Palace in London.
[edit] Royal duties
The Duke of Kent has performed royal duties on behalf of his cousin, the Queen, for over 50 years. The Duke has represented the Queen during independence celebrations in the former British colonies of Sierra Leone, Uganda, Guyana, Gambia and most recently Ghana for their (Ghana's) 50th Independence Anniversary Celebration. He has also acted as Counsellor of State during periods of the Queen's absence abroad.
One of the Duke's major public roles for many years was Vice-Chairman of British Trade International, and later as the United Kingdom's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment . This position saw the Duke travel abroad to represent the British government in fostering trade relations with foreign countries and organisations.
His other interests include serving as the president of the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, a position he succeeded from his late mother, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent. His other roles include President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the RAF Benevolent Fund, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Stroke Association.
Edward is President of the Scout Assosciation, and, along with Prince William, visited the Centenary World Scout Jamboree at Hylands Park, Chelmsford in July 2007.
He has also served as Royal Bencher of The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn since 2001, a position previously occupied by his father.
[edit] Freemasonry
The Duke is the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, the governing body of Freemasonry in England and Wales, and has served as the Grand Master of the Order of St Michael and St George since 1967.
[edit] Titles, styles, honours and arms
| Styles of The Duke of Kent |
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| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
[edit] Titles and styles
- 9 August 1935-25 August 1942: His Royal Highness Prince Edward of Kent
- 25 August 1942-: His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent
The Duke's current full style is Field Marshal His Royal Highness Prince Edward George Nicholas Patrick, Duke of Kent, Earl of Saint Andrews, Baron Downpatrick, Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty.
[edit] Honours
British Honours
- KG: Royal Knight of the Garter
- GCMG: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
- GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
- ADC(P): Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Queen
- Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, 1953
- United Nations Medal for Cyprus, 1970
- Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, 1977
- Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, 2002
Foreign Honours
The Order of St George and St Constantine, 1st Class
The Most Illustrious Order of Tri Shakti Patta, 1st Class
Knight Grand Band, the Order of the Star of Africa
Grand Cordon, the Order of the Renaissance
Grand Cross, the Order of St Olav
Grand Cross, the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
[edit] Military
- 2Lt, 1955–?: Second Lieutenant, Royal Scots Greys
- 1962–1963: Service in
Hong Kong; subsequently in Eastern Command - 1970–?: I/C, squadron in
Akrotiri and Dhekelia, 
Cyprus - LtCol, 1976: Retired from the British Army as Lieutenant-Colonel
- MajGen, 11 June 1983: Promoted to Major-General
- FM, 11 June 1993: Promoted to Field Marshal
[edit] Honorary military appointments
British
- Colonel, of the Scots Guards
- Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
- Royal Colonel, of the 1st Battalion, The Rifles
- Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
- Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Leuchars
- Honorary Air Chief Marshal, Royal Air Force
Commonwealth
- Colonel-in-Chief, of
The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment)
[edit] Other appointments
- Chancellor of the University of Surrey
- Freemasonry: Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England and First Grand Principal of the Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of England
- Patron of the British Computer Society, UK
- Patron of Trinity College of Music, London
[edit] Arms
The Royal Arms differenced by a label of five points argent, the first, third and fifth points charged with a blue anchor, and the second and fourth points with a red cross.
Crest: On a coronet of four crosses-patées alternated with four strawberry leaves a lion statant guardant or, crowned with the like coronet and differenced with a label as in the Arms.
Supporters: The Royal Supporters differenced with the like coronet and label.
[edit] Ancestry
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Cadet branch of the House of Wettin
Born: 9 October 1935 |
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| British royalty | ||
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| Preceded by Lady Rose Windsor |
Line of succession to the British throne HRH The Duke of Kent |
Succeeded by Lady Marina-Charlotte Windsor |
| Freemasonry offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Scarbrough |
Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England 1967 – present |
Incumbent |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by The Earl Alexander of Tunis |
Grand Master of the Order of St Michael and St George 1967 – present |
Incumbent |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by The Prince George |
Duke of Kent 2nd creation 25 August 1942 – present |
Incumbent Heir-apparent: George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews |
| Order of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester |
Gentlemen HRH The Duke of Kent |
Succeeded by Prince Michael of Kent |
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Kent, Edward |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Windsor, Edward George Nicholas Patrick Paul |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Grandson of George V |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 9 October 1935 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London, United Kingdom |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
